Chapter 3 - THE NAME EVERYONE WHISPERED
The police searched my apartment.
Nothing appeared disturbed.
No forced entry.
No fingerprints they could immediately identify.
The man in the gray jacket had disappeared.
The officers took my statement.
I gave them Adrian's number.
One detective looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get this?”
I frowned.
“A man I met tonight.”
The detective exchanged a glance with his partner.
“What man?”
“Adrian Moretti.”
Silence.
Then the detective asked:
“Do you know who he is?”
“No.”
He studied me.
“Miss Reed, how exactly did you meet him?”
I explained the rideshare mistake.
The phone charger.
The scarf.
The warning.
By the time I finished, both detectives looked deeply uncomfortable.
“Is he dangerous?” I asked.
The older detective sighed.
“Moretti controls several major shipping and logistics businesses.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
“No,” he admitted.
I folded my arms.
“Then answer it.”
He lowered his voice.
“His family has been associated with organized crime for decades.”
My stomach dropped.
I remembered the black sedan.
The expensive suit.
The calm voice.
The men who approached him like soldiers.
“Oh.”
The detective nodded.
“Exactly.”
I stared at my phone.
A new message appeared.
Your scarf is with my assistant. She can deliver it tomorrow.
I showed the detective.
He looked at the screen.
Then shook his head.
“Miss Reed, I'd recommend being extremely careful.”
I almost laughed.
“Apparently, that's becoming a theme.”
That night, I stayed at my friend Olivia's apartment.
Olivia worked in the pediatric ward at St. Catherine.
She listened while I explained everything.
Then she stared at me.
“You accidentally got into Adrian Moretti's car?”
“Yes.”
“The Adrian Moretti?”
“Apparently.”
She pressed both hands against her face.
“Emma.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
She leaned closer.
“My cousin works for the city. People say Moretti can shut down an entire shipping terminal with one phone call.”
I stared at her.
“That's ridiculous.”
“Maybe.”
She paused.
“But nobody seems eager to test it.”
I lay awake until dawn.
Not because I thought Adrian would hurt me.
May you like
Because I couldn't understand why a man like him had bothered helping me.
And why someone had been waiting outside my apartment.
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