Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
I had always considered myself a practical woman.
I understood money.
Contracts.
Human nature.
And the fact that expensive men often came with expensive problems.
What I did not understand was why Adrian Moretti had returned from the dead to warn me about my ex-husband's pregnant mistress.
I poured myself a glass of water.
“Start talking.”
Adrian sat opposite me.
“Vanessa Monroe has been working with Victor Salerno for nearly two years.”
I blinked.
“Two years?”
“Yes.”
“Ethan's affair started six months ago.”
Adrian nodded.
“She was preparing long before that.”
I stared at him.
“What does Salerno want?”
“Access to Blackwood's shipping contracts.”
“That sounds boring.”
“It isn't.”
He placed another document on the table.
A financial report.
Several shipping subsidiaries.
Millions of dollars in unexplained transfers.
I scanned the numbers.
Then frowned.
“These payments don't make sense.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You noticed?”
“Obviously.”
He raised an eyebrow.
I pointed at the page.
“Someone is moving money through consulting fees. But the invoices don't match the shipping volume.”
Adrian smiled faintly.
“Exactly.”
I looked up.
“Vanessa?”
“Possibly.”
I studied the document.
Then noticed something strange.
A company called Monroe Strategic Solutions had received nearly eight million dollars.
I laughed.
“Subtle.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“Claire, Ethan doesn't know.”
“Ethan doesn't know many things.”
“Someone inside his organization is helping her.”
That made me pause.
Ethan trusted very few people.
His attorney.
His accountant.
His security chief.
And Vanessa.
I looked at Adrian.
“Why should I believe you?”
He considered the question.
Then answered.
“Because seven years ago, I trusted you when I had no reason to.”
I remembered the elevator.
The blood.
The terrified young man trying not to die.
I looked away.
“That was different.”
“Was it?”
I said nothing.
Adrian stood.
“I'm not asking you to return to Ethan.”
“Good.”
“I'm asking you to be careful.”
I folded my arms.
“And what do you get out of this?”
His expression changed.
For a moment, he looked almost sad.
“Maybe a chance to repay a debt.”
Then he walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he turned.
“Claire.”
“Yes?”
“Don't tell Ethan I'm alive.”
I stared.
“Why?”
May you like
Adrian's voice became quiet.
“Because the last time he saw me, he was standing beside the man who tried to kill me.”
