The new maid heard weeping beneath the mansion. Opening the heavy basement door, she found the missing wife, starved and chained. As gasps filled the dark room, the wife grabbed her hand, whispering, “Run before he hears you, or he’ll make you my replacement.” Suddenly, footsteps echoed on the stairs…

the toes of her designer heels.

Her husband, Ricardo del Monte, was the owner of the estate, the mountain, and seemingly everything the sun touched. Yet, he was a phantom in his own home. He traveled constantly, his mind buried in corporate acquisitions and international boardrooms. He was a man distracted by the sky, completely unaware of the rot at continue reading …