Chapter 3
I did not sleep.
I called Olivia before sunrise.
She answered like a woman who expected disaster before coffee.
“Skylar?”
“He found the box.”
Silence.
Then her voice sharpened.
“Did he find the drive?”
“Yes.”
“And the letter?”
“Yes.”
“Are you safe?”
“I’m at the hotel.”
“Change rooms. Now. Use the back elevator. I’m sending someone.”
I moved fast.
No shower.
No breakfast.
Just my purse, documents, and the black hoodie I had bought from the lobby shop to cover the burns on my neck.
A woman named Maya Torres met me in the parking garage.
Private investigator.
Former detective.
Small frame.
Hard eyes.
Olivia trusted her.
That was enough.
She drove me to a safe apartment in Brickell.
No questions until we were inside.
Then she handed me a new phone.
“Use this. Derek sells insurance, but his brother-in-law works cyber claims. Assume your old phone is compromised.”
I sat on the couch.
The room swayed.
“Natalie said he monitored her too.”
Maya’s eyes narrowed.
“You spoke to Natalie directly?”
“Once.”
Two weeks earlier, an envelope had arrived at my office.
No return address.
Inside was a photograph of a woman with brown hair and tired eyes.
Natalie Shaw.
Derek’s first wife.
The woman he claimed died in a boating accident.
The letter said she was alive.
Hiding.
She wrote that Derek had burned her with tea once and called it an accident.
She wrote that he had forced her to sign insurance policies.
She wrote that when she tried to leave, he staged her disappearance and collected money through forged papers.
I had wanted to believe it was a cruel prank.
Then Derek’s temper got worse.
Then Suzanne asked for my bank card more often.
Then I found a life insurance quote in Derek’s laptop search history.
My name.
My age.
My medical history.
I copied everything onto the flash drive.
And left it in the shoebox.
Like an idiot.
Maya listened without interrupting.
Then she said, “Do you have backups?”
I almost laughed.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Natalie told me to make three.”
Maya smiled faintly.
“Smart woman.”
My new phone rang.
Unknown number.
Maya nodded.
“Answer. Speaker.”
I did.
May you like
Derek’s voice came through softly.
“Skylar, sweetheart. We need to talk about what you found.”
