The bottle stopped.
A folded note was taped beneath it.
I picked it up.
Dominic said, “Don't.”
I ignored him.
The note contained one sentence.
THE FIFTH NAME IS NOT A PERSON. IT IS THE PLACE WHERE THEY MEET.
I looked at the contracts.
Five names.
Five locations.
The fifth wasn't Anton Belov.
It was a warehouse address.
In Manhattan.
Only three miles from Le Rêve.
Victor read it.
“That warehouse belongs to Pierce Logistics.”
Dominic's face changed.
I looked at him.
“You own it?”
“Then whoever is behind this has been using your company.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Without my knowledge.”
Simon shook his head.
“Not entirely.”
Everyone turned.
He pointed toward the contract.
“There is a second authorization.”
Dominic took the document.
His face went still.
The authorization bore his signature.
But the date was from a day when Dominic had been in Europe.
“I didn't sign this.”
Simon nodded.
“Then who did?”
Simon looked at me.
“Your father knew.”
I felt exhausted.
“Stop saying that.”
Simon took a breath.
“He discovered that someone had access to Dominic's signature files.”
Dominic stared at him.
Simon hesitated.
Then he said,
“Your chief financial officer.”
Victor frowned.
“Marcus Reed?”
Simon nodded.
Dominic laughed once.
“Because Marcus has worked for me for twelve years.”
“So did my father.”
Dominic's expression changed.
The room became quiet.
He looked at the contracts again.
Then he removed his phone.
“Call Marcus.”
No answer.
Dominic called again.
Victor looked at him.
“Where is he?”
Dominic didn't know.
Natalia suddenly pointed at the photograph.
The image of my father and mother had a reflection in the window behind them.
A third person.
A man standing outside.
I leaned closer.
I knew him.
Not personally.
But from the restaurant.
He had been at Le Rêve earlier that week.
Marcus Reed.
Dominic stared.
“That photograph was taken three years before Marcus joined my company.”
I looked at him.
“Then he wasn't working for you.”
Dominic's voice dropped.
“He was working for my father.”
Everything clicked.
The network.
The stolen contracts.
The manipulated negotiations.
The medical debt.
The watch.
My father's death.
Marcus had access long before Dominic knew he existed.
But why had he stayed hidden?
I turned toward Simon.
“Where is Marcus now?”
Simon looked at me.
“He's at Pier 17.”
My blood ran cold.
The address from the note.
Dominic immediately moved toward the stairs.
“We're going.”
“No,” Natalia said.
Everyone stopped.
She pointed toward the briefcase.
“There is something else.”
Inside the bottom lining was a small envelope.
It contained a plane ticket.
Prague to New York.
Passenger:
ELENA HARPER.
I stared at the name.
My mother was coming home.
Then another piece of paper slipped from the envelope.
A handwritten note.
IF ELENA RETURNS, THEY WILL KILL DOMINIC FIRST.
Dominic looked at me.
I looked back.
I CAUGHT MY BILLIONAIRE HUSBAND PRACTICING HOW TO CRY WHEN HE APOLOGIZED...
PLEASE DON'T DIVORCE HIM!” MY HUSBAND'S MISTRESS SCREAMED, DROPPING TO H...