Chapter 72: Outside Air
Agatha stood in front of the large mirror in her room. She pulled the collar of her silk shirt up slightly to make sure the red marks on her neck were completely hidden. She grabbed her small handbag and stepped out of the room. The Valois mansion felt very quiet after the noise at the breakfast table earlier. She walked down the stairs and saw Melynda sitting in the living room with a personal tailor.
"Mother, I am going out for a while," Agatha said as she approached.
Melynda turned and gave a wide smile. "Oh, you are going now? Don't we have an appointment at the boutique this afternoon?"
"I just want to walk around here, Mother. I need some fresh air before we go shopping," Agatha answered.
"Does Xavier know? You know how he gets if you leave without telling him," Melynda said in a warning but relaxed tone.
"He is busy in his study. I don't want to bother him just to say I'm going for a walk," Agatha replied.
Agatha quickly walked toward the main door before Melynda could ask more. However, as soon as she opened the door, two large men in black suits were already standing there. They were the private guards who were always on standby.
"Madam, where are you going?" one of the guards asked politely.
"I want to go for a walk. Don't follow me too closely," Agatha answered coldly.
"Master Xavier gave instructions for us to always be by your side, Madam," the guard said again.
Agatha took a long breath. She had expected this to happen. "Just one person. And stay ten meters behind me. If you argue, I will make sure Xavier fires you this afternoon."
The two guards looked at each other. Finally, one of them nodded. Agatha stepped out toward the mansion gate. She chose to walk along the clean sidewalk in that elite area of Paris. The sky was bright blue, but her mind was still on Xavier’s conversation in the study.
She walked quite far until she reached a small park overlooking the Seine river. She sat on one of the wooden benches. From a distance, she could see her guard standing still behind a large tree, pretending to look at his phone.
Agatha took out her own phone. She looked for Xavier's name in her contacts, but she hesitated to call. She switched to opening her messages. There were no new messages. She leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment.
"You look very restless for someone who just spent a beautiful night," a deep voice sounded from the side.
Agatha startled and immediately opened her eyes. She turned quickly. On the next bench, a man in a brown leather jacket and a flat cap sat reading a newspaper. Agatha could not recognize his face because it was covered by the paper.
"Who are you?" Agatha asked with a wary tone. Her hand automatically searched her handbag, looking for the sharp object she always carried.
The man lowered his newspaper slightly. He had sharp brown eyes and a small scar near his eyebrow. "I am just a passerby who happened to see a beautiful woman daydreaming in an unsafe place."
"This place is very safe. There is a guard back there," Agatha said while pointing toward the tree.
The man let out a short laugh. "That guard? He didn't even realize I've been sitting here for five minutes. If I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead long ago, Agatha."
Agatha's heart raced when the man mentioned her name. She observed the man more closely. "Are you one of Luigi's people?"
"Luigi? That old man is too slow to handle matters like this. I am only here to deliver a message," the man said.
"What message?"
"Tell your husband that what he keeps is not his. Valois took too much of what was not rightfully theirs. Your time is running out," the man said in a low, threatening voice.
Agatha stood up from her chair. "Who are you really?"
The man did not answer. He folded his newspaper and stood up. Before Agatha could call her guard, the man had already stepped quickly into the crowd near the bridge. Agatha was about to chase him, but her steps stopped when her phone vibrated in her bag.
She saw the screen. Xavier was calling.
"Hello?" Agatha's voice shook slightly.
"Where are you?" Xavier asked in a very loud voice. He sounded very angry.
"I am at the park near the Seine. I just needed some fresh air, Xavier," Agatha answered.
"Go home right now. I have sent a car to pick you up. Don't argue, Agatha!" Xavier snapped before hanging up the phone.
Agatha clenched her hand. She felt very annoyed being treated like a child. However, the warning from the stranger earlier made her realize that the threat Xavier heard in the study was not just a bluff.
A few minutes later, a black sedan stopped right in front of the park. The guard who had been following her immediately approached and opened the door. Agatha got into the car with mixed feelings.
When she arrived at the mansion, Xavier was already standing on the porch with his arms crossed. His face looked very rigid, more so than during breakfast. As soon as Agatha got out of the car, Xavier immediately pulled her arm and led her into the house.
"Let go, Xavier! You are hurting me," Agatha cried out as she tried to break free from his grip.
Xavier let go of her arm as soon as they reached the quiet living room. "What were you thinking? Going out alone without enough security when the situation is heating up like this?"
"I wasn't alone, your guard was there," Agatha countered.
"One guard will not be enough if something happens! You know who we are dealing with!" Xavier shouted.
"Precisely because I know, I needed fresh air! I feel suffocated in this house, Xavier! You are hiding something from me again," Agatha shot back just as loudly.
Melynda appeared from the kitchen with a worried face. "Xavier, Agatha, what is wrong with you two? Your voices can be heard all the way to the back."
"Mother, please do not get involved for now," Xavier said without looking at his mother.
Xavier looked back at Agatha. "I am hiding something to protect you. Why can't you understand that?"
"Protect me? A man came up to me in the park just now. He knew my name. He said our time is running out. He said you took something that wasn't yours. Is that what you call protecting?" Agatha asked defiantly.
Xavier's face instantly turned pale, then hardened again with even greater anger. He approached Agatha and grabbed both her shoulders. "A man? He talked to you? Did he touch you?"
"No. He just delivered that message and left," Agatha answered.
Xavier turned his face away and punched the wall beside him hard. "Damn it! They have already dared to approach you."
"Xavier, tell me what is really going on. Who are they?" Agatha asked with a softer voice, trying to dampen her husband's anger.
Xavier regulated his heavy breathing. He looked at Agatha with a gaze full of worry and guilt. "This is more complicated than just a business rivalry, Agatha. This is about a secret my father kept for years. Something that should have stayed buried."
"What secret?" Agatha asked curiously.
Melynda, who had been quiet in the corner, finally stepped closer. "Xavier, maybe it is time you told her. She is no longer a stranger. She is your wife."
Xavier looked at his mother for a moment, then back at Agatha. He took a long breath. "Come with me to the study. We will talk there."
Agatha followed Xavier to the study. Once inside, Xavier immediately locked the door. He sat in his desk chair and opened a drawer that was tightly locked. He took out a dark brown envelope that looked quite old.
"What is this?" Agatha asked as she sat in front of Xavier's desk.
"This is a copy of the documents about the last project my father worked on. There was another party that was supposed to be involved, but they were betrayed," Xavier explained while sliding the envelope over.
Agatha opened the envelope and read the contents. Her eyes widened as she saw several names she recognized very well. But there was one other family name written in red ink. The D'Angelo family.
"D'Angelo? Who are they?" Agatha asked.
"They were the largest syndicate in northern Italy before Valois took power. My father took over all their assets after an incident at the port of Naples thirty years ago. And now, the D'Angelo descendants have come to claim what they believe is their right," Xavier said.
"So the man in the park was a D'Angelo person?" Agatha asked.
"Most likely, yes. They are trying to shake us by terrorizing you. They know you are my weak spot," Xavier said in a low voice.
Agatha went silent. She looked at the document in her hand. She did not expect that her contract marriage with Xavier would bring her into a circle of deep past vendettas.
"Then what is your plan?" Agatha asked.
Xavier stood up and walked toward the large window overlooking the front yard. "I will hunt them down before they can go any further. I will not let anyone touch you, even if I have to burn all of Paris to do it."
Agatha stood up and went to Xavier. She held her husband's hand. "You don't need to burn Paris, Xavier. You have me. Don't forget that I am also trained to kill, not just to be a decoration in this house."
Xavier looked at Agatha with an unreadable expression. He pulled Agatha into his arms and kissed her forehead for a very long time. "I know you are strong, darling. But this time, I want you to stay behind me. Let me be your shield."
Agatha did not answer. She only tightened her hug. She knew that the great storm she felt this morning was now truly at the door. And she had to be ready for whatever would happen next.
"Agatha?" Xavier whispered softly in her ear.
"Yes?"
"Starting today, you are not allowed to leave the house without me. This is an order, not a request," Xavier said with a voice that was possessive once more.
Agatha took a long breath. She wanted to protest, but seeing the look in Xavier's eyes that was full of fear of losing her, she decided to nod slowly. "Fine. But you have to promise me one thing."
"What is it?"
"Never hide anything from me again. No matter how small it is," Agatha requested.
Xavier nodded. "I promise."
They both stood still in that study, strengthening each other in the shadow of a past vendetta that was beginning to rise again to destroy the happiness they had just found.