Chapter 7 - THE PHOTOGRAPH IN THE LOCKED DRAWER
Ethan's full name was Ethan Caldwell.
He worked in financial consulting.
Or at least, that was what he'd told me.
We'd been together for four years.
Engaged for eleven months.
Then, without warning, he'd packed his bags.
“I can't do this anymore,” he'd said.
No explanation.
No apology.
Just a suitcase and a closed door.
Now I was staring at a photograph of him outside my apartment.
Vincent's investigators uncovered something worse.
Ethan had been transferring money through companies connected to Alby's organization.
I felt sick.
Vincent sat beside me.
“Did you know?”
I stared.
“No.”
He nodded.
“I believe you.”
The words surprised me.
Because Ethan had spent years making me feel foolish for asking questions.
I looked down.
“Why would he involve me?”
Vincent hesitated.
Then said:
“We're still trying to understand.”
That evening, I found a photograph in Vincent's study.
It was inside a locked drawer he had opened while searching for a document.
A photograph of Ethan.
Standing beside Luca Romano.
My stomach dropped.
“Vincent.”
He looked up.
I held out the picture.
“Explain.”
His expression changed.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then whispered:
“Your ex-fiancé knew my brother.”
I stared.
“How long?”
Vincent swallowed.
“Years.”
My blood turned cold.
I looked at him.
“Did you know who I was before the restaurant?”
May you like
Vincent went still.
The silence was answer enough.
