Chapter 6 - THE MESSAGE JULIAN HID
I confronted Julian that night.
Not about everything.
Only enough.
I showed him the bank statement.
He sat silently at the condo table for nearly a minute.
Then he removed his glasses.
“I was wondering when you would remember that.”
My heart hammered.
“So you knew?”
“Yes.”
“And the brakes?”
His eyes lifted sharply.
“What about them?”
I told him.
For the first time since my accident, Julian looked genuinely shaken.
He crossed the room, grabbed his phone, and opened an encrypted folder.
Inside were screenshots.
Anonymous messages.
The first had arrived four months earlier.
BRING CLARA BACK TO BOSTON.
Another:
KEEP YOUR WIFE OUT OF YOUR OFFICE.
Then:
YOU OWE THE HALE FAMILY EVERYTHING.
The last message had arrived three days before my crash.
SHE IS GETTING CURIOUS.
My stomach turned.
“You knew someone was watching me?”
“I thought they were threatening my career.”
“You didn’t tell me?”
“I was trying to figure out who sent them.”
“You let me drive to work!”
“I didn’t know they would touch your car.”
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I whispered, “Why were you transferring money?”
Julian shook his head.
“I wasn’t taking it.”
“Then what were you doing?”
“Following Arthur Hale’s instructions.”
“He’s dead.”
Julian looked exhausted.
“Exactly.”
He opened another folder.
There were emails scheduled to arrive years after Arthur’s death.
Instructions.
Account numbers.
Names.
Then Julian showed me one final photograph.
It had been attached to an anonymous message.
It showed me leaving our townhouse.
The photograph had been taken through a car windshield.
May you like
Underneath were four words:
NEXT TIME, SHE REMEMBERS NOTHING.
