Chapter 2 - The Secret Behind My Husband's DisappearanceFor a moment, I thought I had misunderstood him.
“What did you say?”
Dominic Moretti stood beneath the department store's golden Christmas lights, his expression unreadable.
“Your husband didn't go to Chicago.”
I shook my head.
“That's impossible. He told me he had a job interview. He bought a bus ticket. He said he would call me when he arrived.”
“Did he ever call?”
The question cut straight through me.
“No.”
“Did he send you money?”
“No.”
“Did anyone from Chicago contact you?”
I stared at him.
“No. Why are you asking me these questions?”
Dominic glanced at his bodyguard.
“Find somewhere private.”
“I don't need somewhere private,” I snapped. “I need you to explain why you know my husband.”
A few nearby shoppers turned to look.
Nobody spoke to Dominic Moretti like that.
Apparently, nobody except a desperate woman who had spent four years waiting for a man who might never return.
To my surprise, Dominic didn't threaten me.
Instead, he reached into his coat and removed a business card.
“Six years ago, Michael worked for Moretti Logistics. He managed financial records for several shipping operations. He was intelligent, disciplined, and one of the few men I trusted with confidential information.”
My fingers went cold.
“What kind of information?”
“The kind that can make powerful people dangerous.”
“That doesn't explain why my husband abandoned his family.”
“No,” Dominic admitted. “It doesn't.”
Rosie tugged at my sleeve.
“Mommy, is Daddy in trouble?”
I knelt and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
“I don't know, sweetheart.”
Dominic watched us with an expression that made me uncomfortable.
Then he addressed Rosie.
“Would you like to see those shoes up close?”
Her eyes immediately returned to the display.
I stood.
“No. Thank you, but we have to go.”
“Mrs. Bennett—”
“We're not accepting money from strangers.”
Something flickered across his face.
“You're right to be cautious.”
He took a step back, allowing me space.
“I won't force you to accept anything. But I need to ask one more question. Did Michael leave anything behind? Documents, a key, an old notebook?”
I thought about the cardboard box beneath my bed containing the few things he had left behind.
His wedding ring.
A faded photograph.
A broken watch.
And a small wooden music box he had bought Rosie when she was two.
“No,” I lied.
I didn't know why I lied. Perhaps I was afraid this man would take the last pieces of Michael away from us, too.
Dominic studied me, apparently recognizing the fear beneath my answer.
He nodded toward the exit.
“Bruno will arrange a car to take you home. You may refuse it. You may leave without speaking to us again.”
“Then why bother?”
His gaze moved to the drawing Rosie was still clutching.
“Because four years ago, I made a promise to a man who trusted me.”
“What promise?”
“That if anything happened to him, I would protect his family.”
I stared at him.
“My husband never mentioned you.”
“No,” Dominic said quietly. “I suspect he didn't want you to know what his work involved.”
Before I could respond, his phone vibrated.
He read the message.
All the warmth disappeared from his face.
“Bruno.”
The bodyguard immediately approached.
Dominic turned his phone toward him.
A photograph filled the screen.
It showed an old warehouse engulfed in flames.
Beneath it was a single line of text.
THE ACCOUNTANT IS DEAD. STOP DIGGING, OR HIS FAMILY WILL JOIN HIM.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Dominic looked at me.
“Mrs. Bennett, I believe someone has just reminded us that your husband may not be the only person in danger.”
Then Rosie quietly slipped her drawing into Dominic's hand.
She had written something on the back of the bus ticket.
Seven small words.
Please find Daddy. Mommy cries at night.
Dominic stared at the message for a long time.
Then he folded the paper carefully and placed it inside his jacket.
“Bruno,” he said, his voice turning cold, “nobody leaves this store until we know who took that photograph.”
His bodyguard hesitated.
“Boss, if Carlo is involved—”
Dominic's head snapped up.
“Especially if Carlo is involved.”
For the first time, I saw genuine fear in a grown man's eyes.
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And it wasn't fear of Dominic Moretti.
It was fear of what Dominic was about to do.
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