Chapter 3 - THE PHOTOGRAPH IN THE LOCKED DRAWER
Elena sat on the narrow bed in her room.
Her hands trembled.
She had promised herself she wouldn't cry.
Not tonight.
Not over Dante.
Not over a man who belonged to someone else.
She opened the drawer beside her bed.
Inside was a photograph of her mother.
Catherine Carter stood in front of a small brick house, smiling into the camera.
Elena had been fifteen when it was taken.
Her father was already dead.
Her mother had worked two jobs to keep them afloat.
Elena touched the photograph.
“I wish you were here.”
Her phone rang.
The care facility.
She answered immediately.
“Hello?”
The nurse sounded worried.
“Miss Carter, your mother's condition has changed.”
Elena stood.
“What happened?”
“She's being transferred to the hospital.”
Elena grabbed her coat.
She hurried into the hallway.
And nearly collided with Dante.
He looked at her face.
“What happened?”
“My mother.”
She tried to move past him.
He stepped aside immediately.
“Do you need transportation?”
“No, I can—”
“Elena.”
She stopped.
His voice softened.
“Let me help you get there.”
She looked at him.
For a moment, she wanted to say yes.
Then she remembered Vanessa.
The ring.
The laughter.
“I can't,” she whispered.
Dante's expression changed.
“Why?”
Elena's eyes filled.
“Because every time you're kind to me, I forget that I'm supposed to be invisible.”
The words struck him silent.
She hurried away.
Dante remained in the hallway long after she'd gone.
Then he took out his phone.
“Marco.”
His security chief answered.
“Yes, boss?”
“I want everything you can find about Elena Carter's dismissal from the Bellamy Grand.”
A pause.
“Why?”
Dante looked toward the empty hallway.
“Because someone has been hurting her.”
May you like
His voice hardened.
“And I want to know who.”
