THE TAINTED TRUST (Volume 2 of The King Trilogy)

CHAPTER 60

         Visconti turned his gray Mercedes onto the Long Island Expressway, then turned to Kerri. "You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," she replied, still trembling. "The further we get from Brian the better I'll be."

"I mentioned earlier that you should seriously consider changing your name forever...Aside from considering it, could you actually divorce him?"

"In a heart-beat. I don't want another thing to do with that man for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I can't afford to do anything about it."

"Wrong. You can't afford not to do anything about it. It's probably not possible to forget it completely, but you should get rid of it so you're not constantly reminded of it."

"Louis, I can't just wave a magic wand. Divorcing Brian costs money I don't have."

Visconti reached for Kerri's hand. "I'll make a bet with you."

"On what?"

"I know a lawyer in the city. She's a very good friend. I'm willing to bet you that she can have a comprehensive restraining order slapped on Brian, get you a divorce plus alimony, and have Brian pay for the whole thing. If I lose, I'll pay her fees. If I win, Brian pays. Win or lose, you win. You interested?"

"Sure I'm interested, but I told you I don't want any money from Brian."

Visconti rolled his eyes. "Okay, we'll tell her to forget the alimony. Now, do we have a bet?"

"We have a bet," Kerri agreed, showing a hint of a smile as she shook Visconti's hand.

"Good. Then I'll call her on Monday and set up an appointment. You can walk to her office. She's less than a block away from yours." Visconti glanced at Kerri again and shook his head.

"What?" she asked.

"You continue to amaze me. Your husband has gone out of his way to ruin your life. In addition to drinking excessively, abusing you physically and running off with a stripper, he entered your home tonight and attempted to attack you. In spite of all that, you still insist on taking nothing from him. That's why you amaze me."

"There isn't anything amazing about it. Taking money from him is like descending to his level. That's something I won't do."

"What about the legal fees? Technically you would be accepting money from him if you allowed him to pay them."

"No. I would merely be asking him to return the two things he took from me."

"What things?"

"My freedom and self-respect. I had both before I met him and it's his responsibility to give them back to me. If the process of returning them costs him money, so be it."

Again Visconti was reminded of the elements of Kerri's personality to which he was so attracted. "You're one in a million," he said, placing his arm on her shoulders and drawing her close to him. "Brian's a fool. Maybe one day he'll wake up and realize what he's lost."