Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN WHO WALKED INTO THE RAIN
By the time Sarah reached the iron gates, her shoes were ruined.
Rain had soaked through her silk dress, and her hair clung to her cheeks. The November wind cut through the fabric, but she kept walking.
Behind her stood the Moretti mansion.
Eleven years of marriage.
Eleven years of smiling when she wanted to scream.
Eleven years of convincing herself that patience was another form of love.
A black sedan rolled slowly alongside her.
The passenger window lowered.
“Sarah.”
She stopped.
The man behind the wheel was Daniel Mercer, her late father's former attorney.
He was sixty-three, silver-haired, and one of the few people who still called her by her maiden name when nobody else was listening.
“Get in,” he said.
Sarah glanced toward the mansion.
“Did someone send you?”
Daniel shook his head.
“You did.”
She frowned.
“Four months ago.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
Of course.
Four months earlier, she'd made arrangements for the night she finally found the courage to leave.
She had almost forgotten how carefully she'd prepared.
Daniel stepped out with an umbrella.
“You don't have to explain anything tonight.”
Sarah looked at him.
Then whispered:
“He's having a baby with another woman.”
Daniel's expression tightened.
“I know.”
She stared.
“How?”
He opened the car door.
“Because we've been investigating something much worse.”
Sarah felt the cold settle deeper into her bones.
“What?”
May you like
Daniel looked toward the mansion.
“The money your husband thinks belongs to him.”
