Chapter 4 - THE MAN IN THE ELEVATORThe hospital went into lockdown within minutes.
Security officers appeared on every floor.
Two agents stood outside my room.
Diana stayed with me.
She kept the photograph inside an evidence bag.
“Did you recognize him?” she asked.
“No.”
“Look again.”
I did.
There was something familiar about the man's posture.
Not his face.
His shoulders.
The way he stood.
The slight tilt of his head.
Then I remembered something.
“The wedding.”
“What?”
“The man near the vineyard office.”
Diana leaned forward.
“Who?”
“I saw him twice.”
“When?”
“Once before the ceremony. Once during the reception.”
“Did you speak to him?”
“No.”
“What was he doing?”
“Watching.”
Diana's expression darkened.
“Could he be one of the family's employees?”
“I don't know.”
She showed me several photographs.
“No.”
We searched old investigation records.
Nothing.
Then an agent rushed inside.
“We found him.”
Diana stood.
“Where?”
“Parking garage.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Have him brought up.”
Minutes later, two officers escorted a man into a secure interview room across the hall.
I watched through the glass.
He was around fifty.
Expensive coat.
Calm expression.
No panic.
No hesitation.
Diana entered.
I couldn't hear the first few sentences.
Then the man leaned forward.
Diana stiffened.
She looked toward me.
Then walked out.
“What?”
She closed the door behind her.
“That man's name is Marcus Vale.”
“Who is he?”
Diana looked at me.
“He's a lawyer.”
“For the Sterlings?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
She hesitated.
“Your husband.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“Julian hired him eight months ago.”
I stared through the glass.
Marcus wasn't looking at me anymore.
He was looking at his own hands.
“What is he doing here?”
“That’s what we're trying to find out.”
Diana returned to the interview room.
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Finally, Marcus requested his attorney.
The agents brought him another lawyer.
Before leaving, Marcus looked through the glass.
Straight at me.
He smiled.
Not warmly.
Not cruelly.
Confidently.
Then he mouthed three words.
I knew exactly what they were.
Ask your husband.
Julian.
I looked at Diana.
“I want to speak to him.”
“No.”
“Diana.”
“You just delivered a premature baby and almost lost your life.”
“I don't care.”
“You should.”
“Then tell me why Marcus Vale knows something about my husband that I don't.”
Diana was silent.
Finally:
“Julian asked for a lawyer before he said another word.”
“Which lawyer?”
“Marcus Vale.”
I stared at the floor.
Everything suddenly seemed connected.
The shell companies.
The fake documents.
The stolen credentials.
The trust account.
The surveillance.
And now Marcus.
My husband had not simply been protecting his family's finances.
He had been preparing for something.
Diana's phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Then she looked at me.
“Your husband has disappeared.”
“What?”
“He was being transported for questioning.”
“When?”
“Seven minutes ago.”
“Where did he go?”
“That’s the problem.”
A pause.
“He was never booked.”
My heart pounded.
“Meaning?”
“Someone released him.”
“Who?”
Diana looked at me.
“Your husband walked out of a secured government facility using credentials belonging to a federal investigator.”
The room went silent.
I looked toward the NICU.
Then back at Diana.
“Is my baby safe?”
“Yes.”
“For now?”
Diana didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
I already understood.
The case wasn't about catching Julian anymore.
May you like
It was about finding him before he came back.
And for the first time, I wondered whether he had ever intended to let me live long enough to testify.
