Chapter 7 - THE NIGHT SOMEONE CAME FOR ADELINE
Adeline noticed the car at 9:17 p.m.
A dark sedan.
Parked across from Brennan's.
Its headlights were off.
The engine was running.
She had finished working on the porcelain plate.
Hollis had gone upstairs.
Dale was closing the kitchen.
Adeline stepped outside carrying her tools.
The sedan's window lowered slightly.
She stopped.
A man stepped out.
"Miss Vance?"
Her heart hammered.
"Yes?"
He smiled.
"We need to ask you a few questions."
She took a step backward.
"About what?"
"The wallet."
Adeline turned.
Ran toward the restaurant.
The man followed.
Dale opened the back door just as she reached it.
"Adeline?"
"Lock it!"
He slammed the door.
The man stopped outside.
Then walked away.
Dale called the police.
Adeline called Enzo.
He answered immediately.
"Where are you?"
"Brennan's."
"Stay inside."
Within minutes, Bruno arrived with security personnel.
They reviewed the exterior cameras.
The sedan had already disappeared.
Enzo arrived shortly afterward.
He found Adeline sitting in the kitchen.
Her hands were shaking.
He crouched beside her.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"No."
He nodded.
"Good."
Adeline looked at him.
"Why is this happening?"
Enzo's expression softened.
"Because you found something dangerous."
She swallowed.
"I didn't want any of this."
"I know."
He offered to arrange a safe place for her to stay while investigators handled the threats.
Adeline hesitated.
She didn't want to owe him.
Didn't want to become dependent.
But she was exhausted.
And frightened.
Finally, she nodded.
"Only until this is over."
Enzo smiled faintly.
"Of course."
That night, Adeline slept in a small guesthouse on a Rinaldi-owned property.
Clean sheets.
Warm water.
A locked door.
For the first time in months, she slept in a bed.
But at 3:12 a.m., her phone lit up.
An unknown number.
A message.
WE KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR TRUNK.
Adeline sat upright.
Her blood ran cold.
May you like
Because the bundle in her trunk contained more than restoration tools.
It contained the evidence that had destroyed her marriage.
