Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN IN MAINE
Norah was in Maine.
Matteo found out because she wanted him to.
A transaction appeared in one of the accounts she had touched.
Thirty-six dollars.
A pharmacy.
No attempt to hide it.
Arthur frowned.
“She’s too smart for this.”
“I know.”
“She left a trail.”
“For me.”
Matteo drove north.
No convoy.
No helicopters.
No tactical team.
Just him.
The pharmacy clerk remembered a pregnant woman buying antacids and prenatal vitamins.
She drove a dark green Subaru.
Temporary plates.
Two hours later Matteo found the car outside a small coastal rental house.
He remained in his vehicle for ten full minutes.
He could order ten men inside.
He could break the door.
He could take back what he believed was his.
Instead, he knocked.
Norah opened it.
Her hair was loose.
No makeup.
Oversized sweater.
One hand rested protectively beneath her stomach.
For the first time in his life, Matteo understood what it meant to be afraid of a woman who held no weapon.
“You found me.”
“You let me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I need you to understand something.”
He looked past her.
No guards.
No Evelyn.
Nothing.
“You’re alone.”
“I’m not helpless.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“That’s new.”
He deserved it.
Norah stepped outside and closed the door.
Matteo looked at her stomach.
“How is the baby?”
“Healthy.”
“Can I—”
His hand moved slightly.
Then stopped.
“Can I touch?”
Norah studied him.
Then shook her head.
“No.”
That single word hurt more than he expected.
He lowered his hand.
“Okay.”
Another surprise.
She noticed.
“I’m not coming back.”
“I know.”
“You don’t.”
“I do now.”
For once, he did not argue.
“I was wrong.”
Norah laughed without humor.
“That sentence must hurt.”
“It does.”
“Good.”
He accepted that too.
Then his eyes hardened.
“Marco Rossi is alive.”
Norah’s face did not change.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Three months.”
Matteo felt betrayed again.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t know whether you already knew.”
He stared at her.
She reached into her coat.
A USB drive.
“Three months ago, someone mailed this to me.”
“What’s on it?”
“Proof Marco is alive. Proof he’s been routing money through your network. Proof Harper works for him.”
Matteo went completely still.
“Harper?”
Norah looked at him.
“The woman you took on our honeymoon wasn’t just your mistress.”
The humiliation of that truth hit deeper than jealousy ever could.
“She was collecting information from you.”
“For Marco.”
“Yes.”
Matteo thought of Harper beside the infinity pool.
Her constant questions.
Her access to his phones.
His schedules.
His temper.
He had believed she was uncomplicated.
He had been the uncomplicated one.
Norah continued.
“She didn’t seduce you because she wanted you.”
His jaw tightened.
“She seduced you because Marco needed someone close enough to watch when I left.”
Then Norah opened the cottage door.
“Come inside.”
Matteo hesitated.
“Why?”
“Because there’s one more thing on that drive.”
“What?”
Norah’s face lost color.
“A video.”
She turned toward him.
“Marco has been watching our house for almost a year.”
Matteo felt cold.
“And?”
“He recorded the night you came home with blood on your shirt.”
Matteo remembered.
One of his captains had died that night.
Norah had asked no questions.
“The video makes it look like you killed him.”
“I didn’t.”
“I know.”
“Then why does it matter?”
“Because Marco sent the same video to federal prosecutors yesterday.”
Matteo stared.
May you like
And Norah whispered:
“You have maybe forty-eight hours before they come for you.”
