Chapter 4
“The person standing beside Sofia that night wasn't supposed to be alive.”
Marcus Cole's words seemed to drain every trace of warmth from the hallway.
Dominic Vale stood motionless, holding the photograph of his dead sister.
I could hear the rain dripping from the roof outside.
Somewhere downstairs, a grandfather clock began to chime.
But nobody moved.
Then Dominic spoke.
“Explain yourself.”
Marcus swallowed.
“The person in that photograph is Thomas Reed.”
My stomach dropped.
“The private investigator?” I whispered.
Marcus nodded.
Dominic's expression hardened.
“That's impossible. Reed wasn't hired until six months after Sofia died.”
“I know.”
“Then how could he be standing beside her car?”
Marcus looked at Evelyn Price.
She closed her eyes.
And that was when I realized something horrifying.
They weren't surprised by the photograph.
They were terrified that Dominic had finally seen it.
“Marcus,” Dominic said, his voice dangerously quiet, “you have one chance to tell me the truth.”
Marcus took a shaky breath.
“Thomas Reed wasn't his real name.”
The silence was absolute.
“He was using another identity when Sofia knew him. After her death, he disappeared. Six months later, he returned under the name Thomas Reed and convinced you to hire him.”
Dominic stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because he wanted access to the investigation.”
“Who was he really?”
Marcus hesitated.
Then he said the name.
“Daniel Mercer.”
I felt the floor tilt beneath me.
Daniel Mercer.
The former security chief.
The man Sofia had feared.
The man who had allegedly resigned after her death.
And the investigator who had vanished while supposedly searching for her killer.
One man.
Two identities.
Ten years of lies.
Dominic looked as though Marcus had struck him.
“You knew?”
Marcus lowered his eyes.
“Not at first.”
“When did you find out?”
“The night before Reed disappeared.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“And you let him walk away?”
Marcus's voice broke.
“I confronted him. He admitted who he was, but he said Sofia's death wasn't what everyone believed.”
“What did he tell you?”
“That he'd been working for someone who wanted access to the household's financial records. He claimed he tried to stop what happened.”
Dominic's hands curled into fists.
“Who was he working for?”
Marcus looked toward Evelyn again.
May you like
This time, she didn't look away.
“Me,” she whispered.
