Chapter 2 - The Woman My Wife Chose Before She Died
I didn't confront Clara immediately.
Men like me survive by knowing when to speak and when to watch.
Ironically, I had become much better at the second.
The next morning, I watched Clara through the cameras.
She walked into Matteo's room carrying breakfast.
"Eggs?"
Matteo shook his head.
"Toast?"
Another shake.
"Then you're getting toast."
He smiled.
A real smile.
The first one I'd seen in months.
Clara placed the plate on his lap.
Matteo looked at her.
"Mommy liked eggs."
Clara's hand stopped.
"Did she?"
He nodded.
"Mommy made them."
I leaned closer to the monitor.
Clara didn't ask what my wife had been like.
She asked the more dangerous question.
"Do you miss her?"
Matteo nodded.
"Me too," Clara whispered.
I stared at the screen.
How could she miss a woman she'd supposedly never met?
I called Dominic.
"Run a full background check on Clara Hayes."
"Already did."
"Again."
"Anything specific?"
"Everything."
He hesitated.
"Sir, you know we've got a full report."
"I want the things that aren't in the report."
Three hours later, Dominic returned with a folder.
"There are inconsistencies."
"Such as?"
"She worked at two assisted-living facilities. One closed. The other says she resigned for family reasons."
"Which family?"
"That's the problem."
He placed a photograph on the desk.
A teenage girl.
A younger boy.
A woman.
I recognized the woman.
My breath caught.
"Who is that?"
"Her mother."
"No."
I pointed at the boy.
"Who is he?"
Dominic hesitated.
"Daniel Hayes."
I stared at the picture.
I knew that face.
Daniel had been one of Elena's assistants before our marriage.
He disappeared eighteen months before the bombing.
I had assumed he was paid off.
But there was something more.
"He worked for Elena."
"Yes."
"Anything else?"
Dominic slid over another document.
"Daniel Hayes was investigating money transfers from one of your shell companies."
I stared at him.
"That account was compromised after the bombing."
"Yes."
"Who had access?"
Dominic looked at me.
"Your chief financial officer."
My stomach tightened.
"Victor Sloane."
"Yes."
Victor had been with me for twelve years.
He was the man I trusted with every account.
Every signature.
Every confidential deal.
I suddenly remembered something.
Three months before the explosion, Elena had accused Victor of lying to me.
I had dismissed it as another business disagreement.
Now I wondered why.
I walked upstairs.
Clara was helping Matteo with an exercise.
She looked at me.
"You're angry."
"How do you know?"
"Your right hand is clenched."
I released it.
"You knew Elena."
The room became silent.
Clara looked at Matteo.
Then at me.
"Yes."
The word was almost a whisper.
"How?"
"Your wife came to my brother."
"Daniel."
She nodded.
"What were they investigating?"
"Money."
"Whose money?"
"Yours."
I stepped closer.
"My company?"
"Yes."
"Explain."
Clara took a breath.
"Daniel discovered large transfers from Rossi International into accounts controlled by a private security firm. Those transfers were then divided and moved through other companies."
"Money laundering?"
"Something worse."
"How much?"
"Enough to hurt people."
"What did Elena know?"
"She knew someone inside your organization was using your name."
I stared.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
"She was going to."
"Then why didn't she?"
Clara looked at Matteo.
"Because Daniel warned her that someone was watching you."
"Who?"
"We never knew."
"You're lying."
"No."
"Then tell me why she left that message."
Clara's face softened.
"Because she thought she wouldn't survive."
I stepped back.
My wife had known.
She had known she was in danger.
And she had known I was too.
"What did she tell you?"
Clara hesitated.
"She gave me instructions."
"What instructions?"
"Find Matteo."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because she believed whoever was after her would eventually come after him."
"And you accepted?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I owed her."
I walked toward the window.
My entire life had been built around vengeance after Elena's death.
I'd spent fourteen months hunting people I believed were responsible.
Now a woman I barely knew was standing in front of me telling me my wife had been investigating my own organization.
I turned.
"What else did she leave?"
Clara didn't answer.
"Clara."
She looked at me.
"She gave me a letter."
"Where is it?"
"Safe."
"Give it to me."
"I can't."
My eyes hardened.
"That's not optional."
"You can threaten me."
"I could."
"But then you'd become exactly what she was afraid you'd become."
The room went silent.
Matteo watched us.
Then he spoke.
"Dad."
I looked at him.
He pointed toward Clara.
"Trust."
It was the first time he'd ever used the word.
I looked at Clara.
She looked back.
I nodded once.
"Keep it."
She exhaled.
That night, a storm rolled over the coast.
At two in the morning, the estate security system flashed.
One camera had gone dark.
Then another.
Then another.
Someone was inside the house.
I grabbed my weapon and ran.
Dominic met me in the hallway.
"Three intruders."
"Where?"
"West wing."
I reached Matteo's room.
The door was locked.
I opened it.
Clara was standing between Matteo and the window.
Someone had fired through the glass.
She had thrown herself over my son.
"Get him out."
I picked Matteo up.
Clara covered us as we moved.
The intruders fled before security could catch them.
Outside, three vehicles disappeared into the rain.
Clara's hands were shaking.
I looked at her.
"You saved him."
She shook her head.
"He's your son."
"No."
I looked at Matteo.
Then at her.
"He's your son too, apparently."
She gave me a tired smile.
"Don't make this emotional."
I laughed despite myself.
Then I noticed blood.
Her shoulder.
"You've been shot."
"It's a graze."
"Sit."
"It's nothing."
"Sit down."
She obeyed.
I cleaned the wound myself.
She watched me silently.
"Why do you keep doing that?" she asked.
"Doing what?"
"Looking at me like I'm a puzzle."
"Because you are."
She smiled faintly.
"And what do you think you'll find?"
"I don't know yet."
"Maybe you should stop looking."
"I can't."
"Why?"
I looked into her eyes.
"Because Elena trusted you."
Her expression changed.
"And I trust Elena."
She whispered,
"That may be the first truly dangerous thing you've said to me."
I didn't disagree.
Because by then, I had realized something.
May you like
I wasn't keeping Clara in my house because I feared what she knew.
I was keeping her close because I feared what would happen if she disappeared.
