“He believed he was protecting you.”
“Protecting me from what?”
She hesitated.
“The people who tried to kill him.”
I froze.
“What people?”
Before she could answer, someone knocked on the door.
Three slow knocks.
Colleen’s face went pale.
She looked at me.
“Your fiancé wasn’t killed in an accident.”
My heart stopped.
“Someone tried to murder him.”
I could barely breathe.
“Why?”
“Because Adrian discovered something he wasn’t supposed to know.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a photograph.
It showed Adrian standing outside his workplace beside another man.
I recognized the building immediately.
But I also recognized the man beside him.
He had been at Adrian’s funeral.
He had stood behind Colleen.
He had even offered me condolences.
“Who is he?” I asked.
Colleen’s voice became almost a whisper.
“He’s the reason Adrian had to disappear.”
Before I could ask another question, someone knocked again.
This time, the door opened.
Adrian stepped inside.
He looked at his mother.
Then at me.
Then at the photograph.
His expression changed.
“Mom.”
Colleen said nothing.
Adrian closed the door.
Then locked it.
Finally, he looked directly at me.
“Meredith.”
It was the first time he had said my name since I discovered he was alive.
And somehow, hearing it frightened me more than anything else.
“You’re in danger now.”
The Truth Adrian Had Hidden
Nobody spoke.
Adrian stood against the locked door.
His wedding suit was still perfect.
His face was still familiar.
His eyes were the same eyes I had once loved.
That made everything even harder.
I wanted to hug him.
