Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN IN THE OLD PHOTOGRAPH
Roman arranged for Nora to meet Evelyn Shaw, an independent attorney specializing in financial misconduct.
Nora insisted on having her own lawyer.
Roman agreed immediately.
Their first meeting took place in a neutral office building downtown.
Evelyn reviewed Nora's records.
The warehouse fire.
The missing-person investigation.
The original financial discrepancies.
And the recent threats.
“This is substantial,” Evelyn said.
Nora looked down.
“Substantial enough?”
“Enough to reopen questions. Not enough yet to prove who ordered the fire.”
Roman sat across the table.
“What about Mercer?”
Evelyn studied the documents.
“We need records linking him to the transactions.”
Nora nodded.
“I know where to look.”
Roman leaned forward.
“Where?”
“At Meridian Harbor.”
The next day, Roman's attorneys requested an independent audit of the proposed investment.
Mercer resisted.
He claimed the delay would jeopardize the project.
Roman remained firm.
“No audit, no money.”
That evening, Nora returned to her apartment.
She found a package outside her door.
No return address.
Inside was a photograph.
Sophie Lane.
Alive.
Older.
Standing outside a small house beside a lake.
On the back, someone had written:
SHE REMEMBERED YOU.
Nora's hands trembled.
She called Evelyn immediately.
The attorney advised her to preserve the package and contact investigators.
Roman arrived shortly afterward with Marco.
He didn't touch the photograph.
He simply stood beside Nora while she cried.
“She was alive,” Nora whispered.
Roman nodded.
“At least when this was taken.”
Nora looked up.
“I thought she was dead.”
Roman's expression softened.
“I know.”
He hesitated.
Then asked:
“Do you want me to stay?”
Nora stared at him.
She had spent three years avoiding people.
Three years believing closeness made others vulnerable.
But tonight, she didn't want to be alone.
“Yes,” she whispered.
May you like
Roman sat in the chair across from her.
And stayed until morning.
