Chapter 1 - THE NAME BEHIND THE LETTER P
Vanessa didn't answer me.
That told me more than words would have.
I picked up her phone.
“Unlock it.”
“No.”
“Vanessa.”
“You have no right.”
I laughed once.
“You were sleeping with a married man and tracking my ex-wife's movements. Let's not suddenly discover boundaries.”
Her face hardened.
Then fear returned.
“Daniel, you don't understand what's happening.”
“Then explain.”
She looked toward the open apartment door.
The courier was already gone.
I held up Claire's brass key.
“Who is P?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Someone you know.”
“Name.”
“I can't.”
I stepped closer.
“Can't or won't?”
Her eyes filled.
“Both.”
That stopped me.
Vanessa wasn't protecting a lover.
She was afraid.
I took the photograph Claire had sent.
Maine cabin.
Fresh snow.
Claire standing near the porch.
Someone had taken the picture from the tree line.
Watching her.
“Who took this?”
Vanessa looked away.
“P.”
“Why?”
“Because Claire found something.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“I don't know everything.”
“Then start with what you do know.”
Vanessa sat down.
Six months earlier, she had been approached by someone connected to my company.
They knew she and I were having an affair.
They offered her money to report where I went, what I said, whether Claire suspected anything.
I stared.
“You were paid?”
“At first.”
“How much?”
“Twenty thousand.”
I almost laughed from disgust.
“You sold me for twenty thousand dollars?”
She flinched.
“I stopped taking money.”
“When?”
“When Claire contacted me.”
That surprised me.
“Claire contacted you?”
Vanessa nodded.
“She knew about us long before you realized.”
Of course she did.
“What did she want?”
“To know who was paying me.”
“And you told her?”
“Not at first.”
“Then?”
“She showed me proof they were watching me too.”
My anger shifted.
“Who?”
Vanessa whispered:
“Peter Morgan.”
The room went completely still.
My older brother.
Chief financial officer of Morgan Infrastructure.
The man who had stood beside me at my wedding.
The man who had introduced Vanessa to our company two years earlier.
“That's impossible.”
Vanessa gave me a tired look.
“That's what Claire said at first.”
My phone rang.
Peter.
Of course.
I stared at his name.
Vanessa whispered:
“Don't answer.”
I did.
“Daniel.”
His voice was calm.
“Where are you?”
“With Vanessa.”
A pause.
Then:
“Leave her apartment.”
“Why?”
“Because Claire is playing a dangerous game.”
There it was.
He knew.
“How do you know Claire sent me something?”
Silence.
I looked at Vanessa.
Her face went white.
Peter finally said:
“Daniel, whatever she gave you, don't use it.”
I stared at the brass key.
“What's in Maine?”
His answer came too quickly.
“Nothing.”
Which meant everything.
The call ended.
I turned toward Vanessa.
“Pack a bag.”
“What?”
“We're going to Maine.”
“No.”
“Then stay.”
I walked toward the door.
She grabbed my arm.
“Daniel.”
I looked back.
Her voice dropped.
“If you go to that cabin, Peter will know.”
“How?”
“Because the property isn't empty.”
“What does that mean?”
Vanessa released me.
“Claire wasn't using the cabin to hide.”
She looked terrified now.
May you like
“She was using it to store evidence.”
Evidence against my brother.
