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man s wife. But Vanessa Hume is another matter. Even
though that article is in no way libelous, she did forge
Dani s name to the article and all the legal papers involved
including the endorsement on the check that she managed
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to get into Dani s checking account, Steve told Rafe who
had turned to resume his seat.
Rafe shook his head. No! I do not want to take
any legal action. Vanessa would get off too easy. No
doubt her attorneys would offer a settlement so there s a
good possibility that the case would never get to court
anyway.
But don t underestimate what money means to her,
Rafe, Steve said smiling wickedly. Position and money
are the all important issues to someone like Mrs. Hume. A
good stiff settlement would hurt her pocketbook and that s
something she would hate.
I don t need the money, Rafe said waving aside
the idea.
I know you don t. But you could always give it to
charity. That would make it twice as hard for Vanessa to
swallow.
Mr. Sanchez grinned. Get her where she d the
most vulnerable.
Rafe looked from one man to the other. He took a
deep breath as he came to his decision. Do it, Steve. But
make sure that the settlement amount is a very large one.
Oh, I think once we let it be known that if we bring
in the publishing company, things could get very nasty.
Vanessa is going to find that she won t have much choice
in the matter. The publishing company might want to file
their own suit in order to protect themselves. And she
would not want to get herself embroiled in a dispute like
that, Steve said grinning.
Mr. Sanchez, please continue your search for my
wife. Money is no object so if you must take on other
contacts in any part of the country, don t hesitate, Rafe
said with determination.
At this point, we don t have a clue where she could
be, Mr. de Corba. But we ll keep looking. It may take
some time before anything turns up, but something usually
does, he said with conviction. We know that she hasn t
filed for divorce yet or we d locate her that way. And that
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is still a possibility in the future. He stood extending his
hand out to Rafe. I ll be in touch.
Thank you again for you efforts, Rafe said
showing him out. After the detective had gone, Rafe
turned to Steve. I need to confront Vanessa with this.
I wouldn t recommend that, Rafe. From now on,
the less contact you have with her the better, Steve said
coming to stand by his client s side. But if you re set on
seeing her, at least wait until we ve served the legal papers.
She can t very well run off then. If she did, you could
really take her for all she s worth. And her attorneys will
tell her this also.
Rafe smiled but it wasn t pleasant or warm. How
long until you can get the papers filed?
This is Tuesday. I can have them ready to serve
Thursday morning, Steve replied relieved that Rafe was
taking this legal action. Vanessa deserved whatever they
could do legally& and more.
It was late Friday afternoon as Rafe sat in his car
outside the plush apartment complex. Steve had had the
legal papers served to Vanessa the afternoon before. Rafe
had wanted to see her immediately after the papers had
been served but Steve had warned him to wait until now.
Steve said that he wanted to be sure Vanessa had time to
talk with her lawyers and discuss this matter with them
before Rafe put in an appearance. Rafe hadn t liked this
waiting but when he paid good money for advice, he was
usually smart enough to heed it.
Rafe got out of his car to cross the street to the front
entrance. The doorman simply nodded as Rafe entered
having seen him before when Rafe had visited Vanessa.
He rode the elevator to the fourth floor. The thickly
carpeted corridor was silent as he made his way down the
hall. When Vanessa opened the door a short time later the
shocked expression on her face was priceless. But then she
caught herself schooling her expression to one of hurt and
betrayal.
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Rafe, I was just going to call you. Darling, what is
this horrible misunderstanding? Inside Van was seething.
How dare Rafe de Corba put her in this position? And all
because of that little twit of a wife! It was all Dani s fault!
That s why I m here, Van. We need to talk.
Without waiting for an invitation, he pushed past her.
Rafe& wait, Vanessa said as he strode past her
into the living room. The gall of the man!
Rafe stopped just inside the room. Sitting on the
sofa, looking very much at home, was Adrian Bernard.
Rafe smiled but his eyes were cold. Well, well! This
saves me from having to make a second stop.
Adrian had the good graces to look totally
uncomfortable and was more than a little intimidated by
Rafe s cold manner. He knew very well why he was here
to see Vanessa.
You have no right to just barge into my home like
this, Rafe, no matter how close our relationship, Vanessa
snapped.
And you had the right to intrude into my private
life?
Yes I did! You were going to marry me until you
met that little goody-two-shoes. She ruined everything for
us! Vanessa said raising her chin defiantly.
Rafe stared at her in astonishment. We were never
going to be married! Where in the hell did you ever get
that idea? We haven t been an item in years and even then
it was short lived, if you recall. And never in our
acquaintance have I ever mentioned a permanent
relationship. Just the opposite as I recall.
Darling, we were making a new beginning,
Vanessa said stepping to his side laying her hand on his
arm. You know I m the only woman who can be the
perfect wife to someone in your position. The only one
who can meet all your needs, she cooed up at him.
Rafe could hardly believe what he was hearing. He
threw his head back and laughed. Van stepped back as if
he d slapped her. Vanessa, the main reason that our
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relationship was so short was because you couldn t satisfy
my needs. What you offered then was stale and contrived
and would be in the future. Dani might not be an amazon
of a woman, but honey, she s more woman than you could
ever aspire to be!
Van s hand flew through that air but was stopped
short of Rafe s face by a strong hand clasping around her
wrist. You bastard! How dare you talk to me like this?
I ll&
You ll what, Van? I m sure your lawyers have
warned you about causing any more trouble. As far as I m
concerned you re getting off too easy, but there s only so
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