Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Fog
Victor disappeared before sunrise.
His bedroom was empty.
His car was gone.
So were two guards.
Dominic stared at the security footage.
"He ran."
Samuel shook his head.
"Maybe."
"You still think he's innocent?"
"I think guilty men run."
"And?"
"Innocent men who know they're about to be blamed run too."
Dominic turned.
"Pick a side."
"I'm on yours."
"Then find him."
Evelyn entered the security room.
Dominic frowned.
"You should be in bed."
"I've spent twelve hours in bed."
"The doctor said twenty-four."
"The doctor doesn't employ me."
"I do."
"Then fire me."
Dominic stared.
She stared back.
Samuel muttered, "I'll leave you two to whatever this is."
"No," Dominic said. "Stay."
Evelyn placed Claire's photograph on the desk.
"I found something."
Dominic looked down.
"What?"
"That diner."
She pointed to the building behind Claire and Victor.
"It closed six years ago. But Ruth recognized it."
"Where?"
"North of Waynesville."
"So?"
"Claire used to stop there whenever she visited her aunt."
Dominic's expression tightened.
"Her aunt died years before Claire disappeared."
"Exactly."
Evelyn produced a small notebook.
"Claire's recipes."
"You went through her things?"
"Ruth gave this to me when she retired."
She opened it.
Several recipes contained strange numbers written in the margins.
Dominic frowned.
"Measurements?"
"No recipe uses forty-seven tablespoons of rosemary."
Samuel leaned closer.
Evelyn arranged the numbers.
"Road numbers."
Dominic understood.
"Coordinates."
"Maybe."
Samuel entered them into a map.
A location appeared.
Twenty-seven miles west.
Deep in the mountains.
No town.
No businesses.
One private road.
Dominic was already moving.
Evelyn followed.
"No."
She stopped.
"No?"
"You stay."
"After someone poisoned me?"
"Especially after someone poisoned you."
"Dominic—"
"This isn't a kitchen argument."
"No. It's Claire."
He froze.
Evelyn softened her voice.
"If she left that notebook, she wanted somebody to understand it."
"She wanted me."
"Then why were the numbers hidden inside recipes?"
Dominic couldn't answer.
"Because Claire knew people would search your office. Your vehicles. Your accounts. But nobody would care about a cookbook."
Samuel nodded reluctantly.
"She's right."
Dominic shot him a look.
Samuel shrugged.
"I hate when that happens too."
Twenty minutes later, all three left.
The cabin appeared through the fog near sunset.
No lights.
No vehicles.
Dominic exited first.
Samuel drew his weapon.
Evelyn stayed behind them.
The front door opened before they reached the steps.
A woman stood inside.
Gray threaded through her dark hair.
Her face was thinner than it had been seven years earlier.
A scar ran from her temple toward her ear.
Dominic stopped.
The world seemed to stop with him.
The woman gripped the doorframe.
"Dominic?"
His weapon fell from his hand.
Claire.
Alive.
Nobody spoke.
Dominic took one step.
Claire covered her mouth.
He took another.
Then she ran.
They collided halfway between the cabin and the SUV.
Dominic wrapped both arms around her.
For seven years he had imagined seeing her again.
In dreams.
In nightmares.
Sometimes furious.
Sometimes crying.
Sometimes asking why he hadn't found her.
None of those imagined moments resembled reality.
Claire simply held him.
Then whispered, "I'm sorry."
Dominic pulled back.
"Don't."
"I had to—"
"Don't apologize."
Her eyes filled.
"I couldn't come home."
"Why?"
Claire looked at Samuel.
Then Evelyn.
"Who's she?"
Evelyn lifted one hand.
"Cook."
Claire blinked.
"Cook?"
"Long story."
Dominic almost laughed.
Claire stared at him.
"You laughed."
He froze.
She knew instantly.
"Someone made you laugh."
Evelyn looked away.
Dominic said, "Explain."
Claire's expression turned serious.
"Inside."
The cabin had been prepared for survival, not comfort.
Multiple locks.
Emergency radio.
Cash.
Weapons.
Claire placed a folder on the table.
"Before the crash, I discovered money disappearing from three companies."
"Victor told me."
Claire's head snapped up.
"You found Victor?"
"He disappeared this morning."
"He didn't betray you."
Dominic frowned.
"What?"
"Victor helped me."
Samuel leaned forward.
"His SUV was on Hawthorne Ridge."
"Because he took me away."
Dominic stared.
Claire continued.
"The crash wasn't an accident. Someone forced me off the road. Victor reached me before they came back."
"Who?"
"I didn't know then."
"And now?"
Claire opened the folder.
Inside were financial documents.
Photos.
Names.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Marcus Bell.
Dominic's captain.
The quiet one.
The man who had managed security on the night Claire disappeared.
Dominic whispered, "Marcus."
Claire nodded.
"He was stealing millions. I discovered accounts connecting him to crews in Atlanta and Virginia. He was building his own network."
"Why disappear?"
"Because Marcus didn't know Victor had rescued me. If I came home, he would've known Victor was involved."
"So you hid for seven years?"
Claire looked directly at Dominic.
"At first, it was supposed to be weeks."
"What changed?"
"He threatened you."
Dominic's face hardened.
"How?"
"He sent Victor photographs. You leaving restaurants. Entering your office. Sleeping in the hospital after the crash."
Claire's voice cracked.
"He said if I appeared, you'd die."
Dominic slammed his palm onto the table.
"So you sacrificed seven years because you thought I couldn't protect myself?"
"I sacrificed seven years because I knew you'd burn North Carolina down trying to protect me."
He looked away.
Because she wasn't wrong.
Evelyn spoke quietly.
"Why not tell police?"
Claire laughed bitterly.
"Marcus owned half the local department."
Samuel looked at the documents.
"Not anymore."
A vehicle engine sounded outside.
Everyone froze.
Then another.
And another.
Dominic looked toward the window.
Headlights appeared through the fog.
Claire whispered, "He found me."
Dominic picked up his weapon.
"No."
May you like
He chambered a round.
"We found him."
