trench coat over a sleek black dress, her hair pulled back in a loose knot. There was a calm about h

few minutes later, a suited concierge escorted her to a private elevator. No need for a keycard. No sec

opulence-glass walls, brushed gold fixtures, cream and ch

ing two glasses of scotch like

rs. The stiffness in his jaw. He turned when

as if her name alone coul

letting the door close behind her.

re for a dr

, setting

en the new

. "They're looking into your wife's disappe

r face carefu

se thudded

w she was at your penthouse the night sh

change. But his fingers c

ed," he said. "It w

. "And the argument? W

pa

pped. "You've

hav

-longer this time. The air betwee

about you," h

i bl

een tracking me for weeks. Phone

s hear

oy me, Naomi. My company

e said bitterly. "That's what

nd things with her. You have to believe me.

u never

e are assets, board shares-it's not just a mar

d with tears she r

lian? That night. Aft

t her

t her. She left the building on her own. She told me I'd regret

e didn't know if it was fear for h

er? Do you have any

ling her, texting. I even sent someone to

s dropped t

now?" s

olice what you know, but nothing more. No theories. No specul

ared a

nt me t

tions? Once they connect the dots between you and me, your life will be disse

turned

want to be protec

ved c

me," he said gently. "

, his nearness clo

own her arm. A familiar

ve me now, if you turn your back on me when the wolves ar

erked

aybe you just neve

ng as she pressed the button. Just before

g," she said, "

doors s

-

in. She opened the documents again, this time diving deeper into the bank

payment note and fo

ent requested close m

hired someone to watch his wife.

e found an address tied to a small office in Brooklyn. She grabbed her coa

-

close-cropped black curls, dark skin, and a no-nonsense stare. Her office was

Delaney asked, after N

lian Thorne hired yo

brow. "You're the

to play games. His wife is missing. I think I'm

ned back in

just vanish. She was scared. Paranoid. She told me she

spiked. "Evi

y hesi

Hidden accounts. Offshore assets. St

here she kept

ng happened to her, the tru

though

ght she disappeare

s the street from the penthouse. Sa

breath

ulian

Thorne is a liar in a t

i st

. "If she's still alive, I nee

held h

eally had the power to ruin him-and you're the one with ac

ad stepped into a storm far bigger than she'd ever imagin

ering streetlight felt like it was watching her, judging her. She ended up at Marcie's apartment downtown,

of tea and curled up b

tly, "Sophia was g

h everything. The affair, the business fraud. Juli

n't she share

ught she had time. Or maybe..." Naom

ned. "He's

know th

ideo. You saw how he cornered her. You know

losed h

think he

her hand. "Maybe he did. But mayb

ing to the hum of the city, staring at the ceiling, wond

e woke to a text fro

found. Meet me tonight.

art sk

d it twice, then looked up

in this

i no

not bac

ing in the cold night air. A cargo ship loomed in the distance,

inch. A shadow moved near one of the warehouse doors. A tall man in a dark coat em

en he

Naomi

stop

es

houlder, then handed

iver this if somethi

-Sop

e said you'd know w

envelope to her che

that night. But she was scared. Said she didn't trust the

n down Nao

t a jou

eye. "You're the only on

zen, the envelope heavy in her hands. Inside it, she knew, was the truth. Or the close

transfer records-and a single flash drive. Marcie leaned ove

like her private study. Her hair wa

era, "then I've either disappeared or been sil

her voice compos

image, the philanthropy, the media empire-there is corruption.

ulian and an off-shore attorney-something about hidden

leaned

own

kept sp

just the latest in a long line of women he's manip

t back,

d. "Even when she hated you, she t

dummy corporations, payments tied to shell accounts. It was enou

to the police," Naomi

," Marcie warned. "Not without prote

an. But even as she made promises to herself, she knew one thing for sure. She wasn

re she could leave, she received another message. This one wasn't a text. It

Then again, entering Marcie's apartment. The footage was grainy, b

Or you'll end

e. Marcie ran into the

the wall. "He's watchi

ne and saw the video, he

s bad,

kno

She had two choices now. D

one's secret. She was going to finish what So