Chapter 2 - The Secret Inside the 3:14 Watch
Josie left the building before anyone could stop her.
She took the subway instead of a car because she didn't want to be followed.
The photograph stayed hidden beneath her coat.
She reached the apartment before sunset.
The door was locked.
Twice.
She knocked three times.
“Juny?”
Nothing.
Josie's heart stopped.
She unlocked the door.
“Juny?”
A small voice came from the bedroom.
“I'm here!”
Josie ran inside.
Her sister was sitting on the floor surrounded by coloring books.
Alive.
Safe.
Josie dropped to her knees.
She hugged her so tightly Juny complained.
“You're crushing me.”
Josie laughed and cried at the same time.
“I thought—”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Juny looked at her.
“You're crying.”
“No.”
“You are.”
Josie wiped her face.
“I had a long day.”
Juny leaned closer.
“Did the scary man do something?”
“What scary man?”
“The one with the black car.”
Josie froze.
“What black car?”
Juny pointed toward the window.
“There.”
Josie moved slowly.
Across the street sat a black sedan.
Engine running.
She recognized the vehicle.
Castellano security.
Two men were inside.
Josie closed the curtain.
“Did they talk to you?”
“No.”
“Did anyone else talk to you?”
Juny shook her head.
Josie exhaled.
Then she remembered the photograph.
Maybe Rafe had sent the guards.
She called him.
He answered immediately.
“Josie?”
“Did you send security to my apartment?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“The moment I learned about the photograph.”
Josie closed her eyes.
“How did you know?”
“You left the envelope on my desk.”
She turned.
She had forgotten she brought it.
“You read it?”
“Yes.”
“What do you think?”
“I think someone wants you afraid.”
“They threatened my sister.”
“I know.”
There was anger in his voice.
Real anger.
Not the controlled coldness people associated with him.
“Rafe.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you helping me?”
He didn't answer immediately.
“Because you're my employee.”
“That isn't enough.”
“No.”
Josie heard him breathe.
“It isn't.”
She didn't know what to say.
Finally, he said, “Bring your sister to a safe place tonight.”
“Where?”
“My home.”
Josie hesitated.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because your wife hates me.”
“That isn't your problem.”
“It becomes my problem when I'm inside her house.”
“Then stay in the guest wing.”
She looked at Juny.
The girl was watching her.
Josie made her decision.
“All right.”
They arrived at the Castellano estate thirty minutes later.
Camila was waiting.
She watched Josie step from the car with Juny.
Her face hardened.
“You brought her here?”
Rafe answered.
“She is not staying alone.”
Camila folded her arms.
“You think that is necessary?”
“Yes.”
Camila turned to Josie.
“What exactly did you do to make someone threaten you?”
Josie stared at her.
“Nothing.”
“Everyone does something.”
Rafe stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Camila smiled.
“You defend her very quickly.”
He ignored the comment.
Josie took Juny's hand.
“Come on.”
The guest wing was enormous.
Juny had never slept in a room larger than the family's entire apartment.
She stared at the bed.
“This is for one person?”
“Yes.”
“Can I jump on it?”
Josie smiled.
“Not unless you want me to apologize to a billionaire.”
Juny giggled.
Rafe stood at the doorway.
For a moment, he watched them.
Something about Josie's relationship with her sister made him remember Nico.
His younger brother had also laughed loudly.
He had been twelve.
He had been supposed to be protected.
Rafe had failed.
Or at least, he believed he had.
He walked away.
Later that night, Josie couldn't sleep.
She took the old steel watch from her bag.
3:14.
The hands were still frozen.
She turned it over.
The back panel had always been scratched.
But tonight, under the bright desk lamp, she saw a tiny seam.
She had never noticed it.
Her father had repaired watches.
He always told her that damaged things sometimes contained the most important mechanisms.
Josie took a small knife.
She opened the back.
A tiny memory card fell into her palm.
Her breath caught.
She had no idea it existed.
She inserted it into her laptop.
One file appeared.
A recorded message.
Her father's face filled the screen.
He looked younger.
Tired.
Afraid.
“Josie, if you're watching this, I didn't make it.”
She covered her mouth.
“I need you to understand something.”
He looked away from the camera.
“The Castellanos weren't responsible for the fire.”
Josie's world tilted.
“What?”
On the screen, her father continued.
“I found someone inside their operation.”
“He was taking money from several shipments.”
“I found proof.”
“He realized I knew.”
“If anything happens to me, don't trust the police record.”
“Trust the watch.”
The video ended.
Josie sat frozen.
Then she heard a knock.
She closed the laptop.
“Come in.”
Rafe entered.
He saw the expression on her face.
“What happened?”
She didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
“Josie.”
She looked at him.
“My father said your family wasn't responsible for his death.”
Rafe's expression changed.
“What?”
“He left me a message.”
She showed him the recording.
Rafe watched the entire video.
When it ended, he sat down.
“My father knew about this.”
“Maybe.”
“He never told me.”
“You were a teenager.”
“I was sixteen.”
He looked at her.
“Nico disappeared one year later.”
Josie nodded.
“And your father's death happened before that?”
“Yes.”
Rafe stared at the floor.
“What if they're connected?”
Josie's heart raced.
“That's what I'm afraid of.”
He stood.
“We need to find the thief.”
Josie looked at him.
“I've been searching for five years.”
“Then we do it together.”
She studied his face.
“Do you trust me?”
Rafe nodded.
“Yes.”
Josie smiled sadly.
“I don't know why.”
“I don't either.”
For the first time, the distance between them disappeared.
Not completely.
But enough.
The next morning, Rafe ordered a full audit of the old shipping records.
Three days later, someone tried to kill him.
His convoy was leaving the office when a truck swerved across the intersection.
Rafe's driver reacted instantly.
The SUV struck the truck.
Glass shattered.
Josie, who had been inside the second vehicle, watched in horror.
Rafe's car stopped against a concrete barrier.
She ran toward it.
“Rafe!”
He crawled from the wreckage.
Blood ran from his forehead.
“I’m fine.”
Josie grabbed his face.
“You're bleeding.”
He stared at her hand against his cheek.
Then quietly said, “You're shaking.”
She realized she was.
Because for one horrifying second, she had thought he was dead.
Neither of them said anything.
They didn't need to.
The attack changed something.
From that day forward, Rafe stopped treating Josie like an employee.
And Josie stopped pretending she didn't care about him.
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But while they were investigating, Camila was watching.
And she was beginning to understand that the marriage arrangement she had tolerated for three years was becoming something she could no longer control.
