Chapter 10 - THE FIRST LIE
Mara showed Adrian the note the next morning.
He read it twice.
“Where did you get this?”
“Your desk.”
His eyes sharpened.
“You went through my things?”
“It was addressed to me.”
He looked at the envelope.
“That wasn’t there yesterday.”
“So somebody entered your study.”
“Yes.”
“Marcus?”
“I don’t know.”
Mara folded her arms.
“Why did you choose me?”
Adrian looked tired suddenly.
“Because you needed help.”
“That isn’t what the note means.”
“No.”
“Then answer it.”
He walked toward the window.
“When I saw you beside that highway, you reminded me of someone.”
“Elena?”
He did not answer.
That was enough.
Mara felt embarrassed by how deeply the realization cut.
The house.
The clothes someone had ordered for her.
The school placement.
The quiet way Adrian always checked that Sophie had eaten.
His insistence that Mara never worry about money while she rebuilt her life.
She had interpreted those things as kindness.
Now they felt borrowed.
“You brought us here because I look like her.”
“No.”
“But I remind you of her.”
“Yes.”
“That’s worse.”
“Mara—”
“I’m not a rehabilitation project.”
He stepped toward her.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
She left before he could answer.
That afternoon she opened a checking account in her own name.
She had $1,286 from temporary bookkeeping work she had begun doing remotely.
It was not enough for rent, deposits, groceries, and two children.
But it was hers.
Then she contacted a property manager about a two-bedroom apartment in Mesa.
That decision changed Adrian.
He did not argue.
He became quieter.
At dinner, he asked Caleb about baseball and helped Sophie cut her pork chop.
After the children went upstairs, he placed a folder on the kitchen island.
“What’s this?”
“Copies of the school enrollment records. Medical insurance information. Everything you’ll need if you move.”
Mara stared at him.
“You’re helping me leave?”
“I told you I wouldn’t trap you here.”
Her anger softened slightly.
“Then tell me everything about Elena.”
He remained silent.
Mara picked up the folder.
“I’m signing the lease Friday.”
That finally reached him.
Adrian looked at her.
“If you leave before I know who sent that note, I need you to be careful.”
“Why?”
“Because someone knew you were here before Marcus arrived.”
The meaning settled between them.
Mara slowly lowered the folder.
“Who else knows about Elena?”
Adrian answered without hesitation.
“My mother’s former business partner.”
“Who?”
“Grant Ellison.”
Mara knew the name.
Everyone in Arizona finance knew the name.
May you like
Adrian continued.
“And yesterday morning, he asked my assistant for your home address.”
