Chapter 4 - The Signature That Shouldn't Exist
Someone had been using Rafe Calder's name to finance a secret prison.
And Sloane had every reason to believe that someone was her husband.
Rafe slammed the document onto his desk.
"Find out who accessed my authorization credentials."
Malik studied the records.
"Whoever did this had access to your private banking system."
"That narrows it down."
"To six people."
Rafe knew those six people personally.
One was Malik.
Another was his longtime attorney.
A third was Tessa Vale.
At the mention of her name, Rafe felt a familiar defensiveness rise.
Tessa had been his closest friend since childhood.
Her older brother had died saving Rafe during a warehouse fire fifteen years earlier. Rafe had promised the dying man that Tessa would never face danger alone.
It was a promise he had allowed to swallow his marriage.
"Tessa needs to come in," Rafe said.
Malik nodded.
Meanwhile, Sloane replayed her father's video for the fifth time.
June sat beside her.
"Something about it bothers me," June said.
"What?"
"He's frightened. But not of the camera."
Sloane watched again.
Behind her father stood a wooden door.
At the bottom of the frame, barely visible, was a woman's shadow.
Someone had been standing beside the camera.
Then Sloane noticed her father's left hand.
His fingers moved twice against the armrest.
Three taps. Two taps. One tap.
Her heart began pounding.
When she was little, Daniel had taught her a private family code for emergencies.
Three. Two. One.
Someone is listening.
The video wasn't an invitation.
It was a warning.
Her phone rang.
Tessa Vale.
Sloane almost rejected it.
Instead, she answered.
"Sloane, please don't hang up."
"What do you want?"
"I know you hate me."
"I don't hate you, Tessa. I'm tired of being invisible whenever you're in trouble."
A painful silence followed.
Then Tessa whispered, "You weren't imagining things. Someone has been creating those emergencies."
Sloane sat upright.
"What?"
"I found evidence that my office break-in, the threats, and last night's warehouse incident were coordinated."
"By whom?"
Tessa exhaled shakily.
"I think someone wanted Rafe away from you."
May you like
Before Sloane could respond, Tessa added one final sentence.
"And I think the person responsible has been living inside your home."
