Chapter 3 - The PhotographI couldn't look away from the photograph.
My husband.
Thomas.
Standing beside Adrian.
Except Adrian looked younger.
Much younger.
Clean-shaven.
Strong.
Confident.
And Thomas was smiling.
The man I had buried three years ago.
The man who had supposedly spent his entire life as an accountant.
The man who had never once mentioned Adrian.
Never.
“Where did you get that?” I whispered.
The woman lowered the phone.
“Your husband kept secrets.”
I stared at Adrian.
“Did you know Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
His eyes dropped.
“We worked together.”
“At what?”
He hesitated.
“Mercer Security.”
I almost laughed.
“That company doesn't exist.”
“It did.”
“When?”
“Before you met him.”
The woman interrupted.
“Enough.”
Adrian stepped in front of me.
“Leave them out of this.”
She smiled.
“You already did.”
“What does that mean?” I demanded.
She looked at me.
“Mrs. Bennett, your husband wasn't an accountant.”
My heart pounded.
“He worked in information security. High-level government contracting.”
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“No.”
She pulled another photograph from her coat.
Thomas.
Again.
This time beside several other men.
One wore a military uniform.
Another wore a suit.
And the third—
Adrian.
My husband was laughing.
I felt sick.
“Why did he lie?”
The woman looked at Adrian.
“Because he had to.”
“And you?”
“I had to find him.”
“Why?”
She smiled.
“Because Thomas left something behind.”
My mouth went dry.
“What?”
“The truth.”
The woman stepped closer.
“Your husband built an encrypted archive before he died. It contains names, financial records, covert transactions, blackmail material, and evidence connecting some very powerful people.”
Adrian quietly said, “Enough, Evelyn.”
So that was her name.
Evelyn turned.
“You lost the right to tell me when enough was enough thirteen years ago.”
I stared.
“Thirteen?”
Adrian closed his eyes.
My mind raced.
Thirteen years.
That was before I met Thomas.
Before Oliver.
Before everything.
“What does this have to do with me?”
Evelyn's expression softened.
“Everything.”
She handed me the photograph.
On the back was handwriting.
Thomas's handwriting.
I knew it instantly.
My knees almost gave out.
The message contained only six words.
If anything happens to me, trust her.
I looked at Adrian.
“Thomas wrote this?”
“Yes.”
“About you?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Adrian looked at Evelyn.
She looked back at him.
“Me.”
I took a step away.
“This is insane.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No. Insane is thinking your husband died in a random car accident.”
My breath stopped.
Everyone had told me Thomas lost control on wet pavement.
The police report said mechanical failure.
He died on impact.
I had spent three years believing that.
“You're saying he was murdered?”
Evelyn didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Oliver tugged my coat.
“Mom.”
I looked down.
He was holding something.
The flash drive.
Adrian's flash drive.
“What is that?” I asked.
Oliver looked confused.
“It fell out of Adrian's pocket.”
Adrian's face changed.
“Give it to me.”
Oliver hesitated.
I took it first.
A tiny symbol was etched into its metal surface.
A circle divided by three lines.
Adrian whispered:
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
He stared at the symbol.
“Thomas destroyed that file.”
“What file?”
He looked at me.
“The one that got your husband killed.”
Behind us, a gunshot cracked through the alley.
Evelyn shoved us down.
Adrian grabbed my arm.
“Run!”
We ran.
But before we reached the corner, I heard Evelyn shout:
“Mrs. Bennett!”
I turned.
She was looking straight at me.
“You were never the accident.”
May you like
Her final words followed us into the darkness.
“You were the backup plan.”
