Chapter 2 - The Man Who Knew My Name
I laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the alternative was believing him.
“You’re saying Preston Hale threw a bottle at me on purpose?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“That’s what I’m trying to determine.”
I looked toward the sedan.
It pulled away.
Adrian watched it go.
“Get in.”
I stared at him.
“Absolutely not.”
“Lena.”
“You don’t get to show up outside my brother’s school and order me into your car.”
Mateo came down the steps carrying his backpack.
“Lena?”
He noticed Adrian.
Then the SUV.
Then Isabella.
“Who’s this?”
“Nobody.”
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
Mateo looked at me.
“That’s definitely not nobody.”
Isabella smiled.
“I’m Isabella.”
Mateo waved awkwardly.
“Mateo.”
Adrian nodded toward the SUV.
“Both of you. Now.”
I crossed my arms.
“I said no.”
A car engine revved behind us.
Adrian moved before I did.
He pulled me toward him as a gray sedan accelerated through the intersection and jumped the curb.
Mateo shouted.
Adrian’s security team dragged us behind the SUV.
The sedan disappeared.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Adrian looked at me.
“Still want to argue?”
I looked at Mateo.
He was pale.
“Get in the car.”
Inside, Mateo whispered, “Who is he?”
“A businessman.”
Adrian looked over.
“That’s generous.”
I glared at him.
Isabella sat beside me.
“Uncle Adrian says bad people sometimes wear nice suits.”
Mateo looked at Adrian.
“Is he a bad person?”
Adrian answered before I could.
“Depends who you ask.”
We drove to a townhouse overlooking the river.
I didn’t want to be there.
But after what happened outside the school, my priorities had changed.
Adrian led us into a study.
“Sit.”
“I’d rather stand.”
“Of course you would.”
Mateo whispered, “You two already sound divorced.”
“Mateo.”
“What?”
Adrian almost smiled.
Then one of his men entered.
“Boss.”
He handed Adrian a folder.
Adrian opened it.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He passed me a photograph.
It showed me leaving my clinic.
Another photo showed Mateo outside school.
Another showed our apartment building.
I felt cold.
“How long?”
“Eleven days,” Adrian said.
“That was before the gala.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“So this isn’t about the bottle.”
“No.”
“Then why me?”
Adrian opened another file.
“Your father.”
My stomach dropped.
“My father is dead.”
“I know.”
“You knew him?”
“No.”
Adrian placed a document on the table.
Ortiz Auto Repair.
My father’s shop.
“What is that?”
“A shipping invoice.”
I read the date.
Four days before my father died.
The listed cargo was auto parts.
Adrian tapped the page.
“The truck never carried auto parts.”
“What did it carry?”
“Records.”
“What kind?”
“Financial records.”
I looked at him.
“Whose?”
“Preston Hale’s father.”
Mateo leaned forward.
“What are you talking about?”
Adrian continued.
“Your father repaired commercial trucks. One of his mechanics discovered a false compartment inside a Hale transport vehicle.”
“That’s insane.”
“Your father photographed what he found.”
I shook my head.
“He would’ve told me.”
“Maybe he was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Judges. Contractors. Police officials. Money laundering.”
Mateo went silent.
I stared at the invoice.
“My father died in a car accident.”
Adrian said nothing.
I looked at him.
“No.”
He held my gaze.
“Lena.”
“No.”
“The accident report is wrong.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I had it reviewed.”
“Why?”
“Because Preston attacked you.”
“That doesn’t explain why you care.”
Isabella entered the room holding her repaired music box.
“Because you saved me.”
Adrian looked toward her.
She climbed onto the couch.
“You saved me, so Uncle Adrian has to save you.”
I smiled weakly.
“I’m not sure that’s how it works.”
Adrian looked at me.
“In my family, it is.”
His phone buzzed.
He answered.
“Yes?”
His expression became hard.
“When?”
Silence.
“Lock the building.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” I asked.
“The Halcyon Crown’s security archive was accessed.”
“By who?”
“Someone erased the footage from the night of the gala.”
My pulse quickened.
“Then there’s no proof.”
Adrian looked at me.
“There is one copy.”
“Where?”
His eyes settled on mine.
“Your apartment.”
“What?”
“You downloaded the incident report from Rebecca’s tablet.”
I remembered.
Rebecca had sent me the file for insurance.
“The clip automatically synced to my laptop.”
Adrian nodded.
“That’s what they were looking for.”
The break-in.
The surveillance.
The car.
Mateo stood.
“We need to get the laptop.”
Adrian said, “No.”
“It’s evidence.”
“It’s bait.”
I asked, “What if the laptop is still there?”
May you like
Adrian looked at me.
“Then someone is waiting for you to come back.”
