Chapter 2 - The Notebook That Vanished
The rain began before Maya and Lorenzo reached the parking garage.
She stood beneath the concrete overhang, staring at the photograph on her phone.
Lorenzo remained beside her.
He did not crowd her.
That was one of the things Maya had learned about him during their marriage.
The city knew Lorenzo Vitali as an intimidating businessman with connections nobody wanted to discuss.
Maya knew him as the man who remembered exactly how she took her coffee.
The man who warmed her side of the bed before leaving for an early meeting.
The man who had once spent two hours repairing a broken cardboard model because she was too frustrated to look at it.
“You’re thinking,” he said.
“I’m trying to remember where I put that notebook.”
“You said it disappeared.”
“I thought it did.”
“That’s different.”
Maya looked at him.
“You knew what I meant.”
“I did.”
She handed him the phone.
He studied the photograph.
“Do you recognize the paper?”
“Yes.”
“The handwriting?”
“Yes.”
“Then someone has access to your old work.”
Maya’s stomach tightened.
The notebook had disappeared three years ago.
Three months before Ethan ended their engagement.
It had contained early versions of Haven House.
Back then, the project had not even been called Haven House.
It had simply been an idea Maya carried around because she wanted to create safe buildings for women leaving dangerous homes.
She had shown Ethan sketches.
He had dismissed them.
Later, he had become obsessed with the concept.
He told her to stop wasting time and focus on projects that brought money to the company.
She had eventually stopped showing him her private work.
Then the notebook vanished from the office.
She had blamed herself.
Now she wondered if she should have blamed someone else.
At home, Maya went straight to the small study.
She opened boxes, drawers, folders.
Lorenzo quietly helped.
After twenty minutes, Maya found an old envelope tucked behind architectural journals.
Inside was a photograph of her and Ethan at the beginning of their relationship.
On the back, written in Ethan’s handwriting, were four words.
You will thank me later.
Maya stared at it.
“For what?” Lorenzo asked.
“I don’t know.”
She turned the photograph over again.
A memory surfaced.
The notebook had disappeared the same week Ethan convinced her to let his assistant digitize some of her sketches.
His assistant had been Nina Hart.
Maya remembered Nina.
Smart.
Quiet.
Always carrying a tablet.
Always taking notes.
Nina had left Cole Development shortly after the engagement ended.
Maya had not seen her since.
Lorenzo picked up his phone.
“I can locate her.”
Maya shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know what she remembers before she knows we’re asking.”
Lorenzo gave her a look.
“You are aware that statement is extremely difficult for me.”
She almost smiled.
“I married a difficult man.”
“And yet you still hide me from the newspapers.”
“I am beginning to reconsider that decision.”
His expression softened.
“You don't have to.”
Maya walked toward him.
“I kept the marriage private because I wanted something in my life that belonged only to me.”
“And now?”
“Now somebody else is trying to take something that belongs to me.”
Lorenzo touched her cheek.
“Then let me stand beside you.”
“I am.”
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then Lorenzo’s phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough for Maya to notice.
“What happened?”
He ended the call.
“One of my legal teams found something interesting.”
“What?”
“The forty-million-dollar contract was not the first contract attached to Ethan’s shelter project.”
Maya waited.
“There was an earlier proposal.”
“How much?”
“Eight million.”
“Why would they increase it?”
“They didn’t.”
He turned the phone toward her.
The contract had two versions.
The first listed the designer as Maya Bennett.
The second listed Ethan Cole.
The second had been signed two months later.
Maya looked at the dates.
Her heart pounded.
“That’s before we broke up.”
“Yes.”
“Why was I never shown this?”
“Because the original agreement was withdrawn.”
“By whom?”
Lorenzo hesitated.
“Your mother.”
Maya froze.
“My mother?”
“She contacted the developer.”
“My mother died two years ago.”
“I know.”
Maya stared at the screen.
Her mother had never mentioned an eight-million-dollar contract.
Never.
Lorenzo continued.
“Apparently she claimed your sketches were being used without your permission.”
Maya sat down.
“She knew.”
“She may have known more than you realized.”
A second file appeared.
It was a scanned email.
Maya read it.
Dear Mr. Cole,
My daughter does not understand how vulnerable her work becomes when she trusts someone who wants the work more than the daughter.
Do not use her designs.
If you do, I will make sure everyone knows where they came from.
Maya’s eyes filled with tears.
“That sounds like her.”
Lorenzo sat beside her.
“She protected you.”
“I thought she didn't understand why I kept fighting with Ethan.”
“She understood.”
Maya wiped her eyes.
Then another line caught her attention.
The email continued.
There is also the matter of the drawings you took from her office.
Maya looked up.
“Drawings.”
Lorenzo nodded.
“That's the part that matters.”
Maya stood.
“Where is Nina?”
“Already found.”
“Where?”
“Working at a small architecture firm outside the city.”
“Then we go.”
Lorenzo watched her.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“You haven't eaten.”
“I don't care.”
“You will when you get home.”
She looked at him.
“Was that an order?”
“No.”
He reached for his jacket.
“A husband complaint.”
She laughed despite herself.
For the first time all night, the pressure inside her chest eased.
They drove through the rain.
Halfway there, Maya received another message.
This one came from Camille.
Please don't trust what Ethan tells you tomorrow.
Attached was a photo.
It showed Ethan standing outside a warehouse.
Next to him was Nina Hart.
And behind them was the unmistakable logo of Cole Development.
The date on the photo was five months ago.
Maya stared.
“Camille took this?”
“I think so.”
“Why?”
“She may be afraid.”
When they arrived at Nina’s office, the receptionist said she had gone home.
Lorenzo made one phone call.
Five minutes later, a nervous woman appeared from a side entrance.
Nina.
She looked older than Maya remembered.
And frightened.
“You shouldn't be here,” Nina whispered.
Maya stepped closer.
“Did Ethan steal my work?”
Nina looked at Lorenzo.
Then back at Maya.
“Yes.”
The answer came so quickly that Maya almost staggered.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was scared.”
“Of Ethan?”
Nina nodded.
“Not anymore.”
Nina's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know how long I have.”
“What does that mean?”
“Ethan knows I kept copies.”
Maya's heart dropped.
“Copies of what?”
Nina pulled a small flash drive from her coat.
“Everything.”
Then headlights appeared outside the office window.
Three black vehicles stopped at the curb.
Nina went pale.
“They found me.”
Lorenzo stood.
Maya knew that look in his eyes.
The controlled stillness.
The absolute focus.
She touched his arm.
“Remember.”
He looked at her.
“No fighting in front of me.”
He nodded.
Then Maya faced Nina.
“Tell me where the original drawings are.”
Nina swallowed.
“Inside Cole Development.”
“Where?”
“The private archive.”
Maya's pulse raced.
“Why keep them there?”
Nina looked toward the vehicles.
May you like
“Because Ethan never stole your work to build one shelter.”
“He built a business around it.”
