Chapter 3 - The Message on the Flower Shop Door
The photograph stayed in Megan's mind long after Damian turned his phone away.
The broken window belonged to Harbor Bloom, the little flower shop on Wickenden Street where she had worked since abandoning her interior-design degree.
It wasn't an impressive business.
The sign was faded.
The refrigerator frequently malfunctioned.
And the owner, Nina Flores, insisted on keeping a ridiculous ceramic flamingo beside the register because her late mother had loved it.
But it was the first place Megan had ever felt useful without feeling afraid.
Now someone had destroyed its front window because of her.
"I need to call Nina."
Damian handed her a phone.
Megan dialed from memory.
Nina answered on the second ring.
"Megan? Oh, thank God."
"Are you hurt?"
"No. I'm fine. Where are you?"
Megan closed her eyes.
"Somewhere safe."
"Rick came by yesterday. He wanted your new address."
"Did you tell him?"
"Of course not."
"What happened to the window?"
Nina hesitated.
"Someone smashed it before sunrise."
Megan gripped the phone.
"And the message?"
A pause.
"I hoped you wouldn't see that."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't you dare apologize."
Nina's voice became fierce.
"Whatever Rick has done, this isn't your fault."
Megan felt tears rise.
"Are the police there?"
"Yes. They're taking photographs."
"Did you tell them about Rick?"
"I told them everything I know."
Megan glanced at Damian.
He was standing near the window, giving her privacy.
"Nina, I think I need to speak to them too."
"Then you do that. And Megan?"
"Yes?"
"Don't let him convince you to come back."
The call ended.
Megan remained motionless.
For years, Rick had taught her that every problem was hers to solve, every damaged relationship hers to repair, and every inconvenience proof that she was selfish.
Seeing the shop destroyed had awakened the same old reflex.
Go to Rick.
Apologize.
Make him calm down.
Instead, she looked at Damian.
"I want to report him."
Damian nodded.
"Then I'll arrange transportation."
"To the police?"
"Yes."
She hesitated.
"Won't that cause problems for you?"
A faint, humorless smile touched his face.
"Quite possibly."
"Then why help?"
"Because your safety shouldn't depend on protecting my reputation."
Megan looked at him with growing uncertainty.
He wasn't what she expected.
But she also knew kindness could be the most convincing disguise.
At ten o'clock, Moren escorted her to a private sitting room where an attorney named Elena Price was waiting.
Elena appeared to be in her early forties, with short brown hair, a navy suit, and an expression that suggested she had very little patience for nonsense.
"I represent people dealing with coercion, stalking, and domestic abuse," Elena explained.
Megan's eyes moved toward Damian.
"Do you work for him?"
"No."
"Who called you?"
"Moren. Mr. Caruso's office offered to cover an initial consultation. I declined. My organization provides this service without charge."
Megan looked at Moren.
The older woman simply nodded.
Elena continued.
"Anything you tell me during our consultation is confidential. If you decide you don't want assistance, you can walk out."
"What if Rick finds me?"
"We can discuss a protective order, emergency housing, and reporting options."
Megan stared at the table.
"He's very good at convincing people."
"I believe you."
The simple answer nearly broke her.
For the next ninety minutes, Megan told Elena things she had never said aloud.
How Rick isolated her from old classmates.
How he checked her telephone.
How he took control of their finances.
How he once locked her outside their apartment in January because she'd disagreed with him in front of friends.
How the bruise on her wrist came from his fingers four days before she left.
Elena listened without interrupting.
Then she explained that Megan could document what had happened, seek legal protection, and choose what information to share with investigators.
She didn't promise an immediate arrest.
She didn't suggest that a single statement would erase four years of harm.
She simply helped Megan understand her options.
By lunchtime, Megan had made three decisions.
She would report Rick.
She would preserve the document.
And she would not return to him.
Damian arranged for a driver to take her to Providence, but Megan refused the security vehicle initially offered.
"I don't want people thinking I'm being escorted by a mob boss."
He accepted the objection.
They arranged an ordinary car through Elena's office instead.
Before she left, Damian approached her in the hall.
"There's something you should know."
Megan stopped.
"The seal on that agreement belongs to an organization called the Anchor Society."
"What is that?"
"It was originally a private maritime investment group. My father had dealings with some of its members."
"Is it criminal?"
"It became criminal."
"Was Victor involved?"
"Yes."
"Then why haven't you stopped him?"
Damian's expression darkened.
"I thought I had."
Megan recognized something beneath his words.
Regret.
Not the theatrical regret Rick performed whenever he wanted forgiveness.
Something heavier.
Something unfinished.
She stepped toward the door.
"Damian?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for letting me choose."
He looked at her.
"You shouldn't have needed permission."
Megan left without answering.
At the Providence police station, Elena accompanied her into an interview room.
Detective Tessa Grant, an experienced investigator assigned to the financial crimes unit, joined them after reviewing the document.
Tessa examined the seal and frowned.
"Where did you find this?"
Megan explained.
"And you say Mr. Delaney took you to Damian Caruso's residence?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he said he owed money."
"Did Mr. Caruso threaten you?"
"No."
"Did he ask you to stay?"
"No."
"Did he offer you anything in exchange for keeping quiet?"
Megan shook her head.
Tessa leaned forward.
"Ms. Walsh, I need you to understand something. The people involved in this document may be connected to a larger investigation."
"What kind?"
Tessa hesitated.
"Financial exploitation. Possible unlawful confinement. Missing persons."
Megan's mouth went dry.
"Three women?"
The detective's eyes sharpened.
"Who told you that?"
"Damian."
Tessa exchanged a look with Elena.
Then she opened a drawer and removed a photograph.
It showed a young woman with long auburn hair standing beside a blue bicycle.
"Do you recognize her?"
Megan shook her head.
"Her name is Avery Reed. She disappeared seventeen months ago."
Megan looked closer.
Avery appeared happy.
Young.
Ordinary.
The kind of woman Megan might have passed on the street without noticing.
Then Megan saw the necklace.
A small silver pendant shaped like two crossed anchors beneath a crown.
The same symbol appeared on Rick's document.
She looked up.
"Where did she get that necklace?"
Tessa's expression became grave.
"That's one of the things we're trying to establish."
Megan stared at Avery's face.
For the first time, she understood that the paper in her coat wasn't merely evidence of what Rick had intended to do.
May you like
It might be connected to what had already happened to other women.
And somewhere in Newport, a man named Victor Kade knew why.
Related Stories
