I let the satellite phone ring three times. After each ring, Dante checked the receiver as though the call had failed.
On the monitor, he hunched over the steel table and gripped the phone with both hands.
I answered without speaking.
"Elara?"
His voice was raw, nothing like the voice he had used in the car. He pressed the receiver harder to his ear and waited for me to answer.
"Elara, thank God. Listen to me. It was Sienna. She turned me against you. She was jealous and wanted you gone. I never wanted to hurt you. You have to believe me."
I stayed quiet. His shoulders began to shake, though he couldn't see whether I was watching.
"Do you remember the night we met? That awful charity auction? Everyone was trying to impress your father. I saw you by the window, looking bored. We talk
