Chapter 5 - The Best Friend Who Knew Too Much
Blake Adams had never been afraid of his own apartment.
Until that night.
He entered the Tribeca loft shortly after midnight and found it almost empty.
Not empty of furniture.
Empty of Kira.
Her books were gone from the shelves.
Her drafting pencils had disappeared from the kitchen counter.
The framed photograph of her grandfather standing beside her at architecture school graduation was missing.
Even the little ceramic bowl where she kept her earrings had vanished.
Blake stood in the doorway.
He had expected anger.
Perhaps a suitcase thrown onto the bed.
A handwritten note on the refrigerator.
Instead, he found evidence of a departure that had been planned for weeks.
He walked into the bedroom.
Kira's side of the closet was empty.
Only one thing remained.
A photograph from their first vacation together.
They were standing beneath an umbrella in Charleston, laughing because a thunderstorm had ruined their carefully planned anniversary dinner.
On the back, Kira had written:
The best days are the ones we never planned.
Blake sat on the bed.
He remembered that trip.
He remembered promising Kira that he would spend the rest of his life making her laugh.
He also remembered leaving their anniversary dinner the following year because Riley had called.
His phone rang.
Riley.
He rejected the call.
She called again.
He rejected it.
Then a message arrived.
Blake, please. I need you.
For the first time, he typed a response he should have sent years earlier.
Call someone else.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Appeared again.
You're abandoning me because of her?
Blake stared at the message.
Then he wrote:
No. I'm finally recognizing what I've done.
He blocked her number.
It should have felt decisive.
Instead, it felt fourteen years too late.
A knock sounded at the door.
Gavin stood outside.
He was still wearing his tuxedo trousers, although he had changed into a plain black sweater.
“You look terrible,” Gavin said.
Blake stepped aside.
“I feel worse.”
Gavin entered and surveyed the apartment.
“She's really gone.”
Blake nodded.
“Everything.”
Gavin looked toward the empty shelves.
“She must have been planning this.”
“For weeks.”
Blake reached into his pocket and placed the wedding ring on the kitchen counter.
Gavin stared at it.
“God.”
“An attorney called me.”
“About what?”
Blake explained the forged property agreement.
Gavin's expression changed.
“Riley?”
“That's what they're investigating.”
Gavin walked to the window.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Gavin asked, “Do you know why Riley wanted that dance?”
Blake laughed bitterly.
“Because she wanted to humiliate Kira.”
“Maybe.”
Gavin turned.
“But I think there's more.”
Blake looked up.
“More?”
“Two months ago, Riley asked me whether Kira had a trust fund.”
Blake frowned.
“What?”
“She said she was curious about Kira's family.”
“Why would she ask you?”
“Because I work in commercial real estate.”
Gavin had built a successful career advising developers and investment firms.
He knew Kira's grandfather by reputation.
Arthur Lawson's engineering company had been involved in several major New York projects decades earlier.
“What did you tell her?” Blake asked.
“Nothing.”
Gavin hesitated.
“Actually, I told her Arthur was respected but probably not as wealthy as people assumed.”
Blake rubbed his face.
“Why didn't you mention this?”
“Because it sounded like idle gossip.”
“Nothing Riley does is idle.”
Gavin looked at him.
“Now you're beginning to understand.”
Blake's phone rang.
Daniel Whitmore.
The attorney sounded grim.
“Mr. Adams, we need to meet tomorrow morning.”
“Why?”
“We've identified a possible connection between the forged agreement and several unauthorized financial transfers.”
Blake straightened.
“What transfers?”
“Money moving through a company called Parker Holdings.”
Blake froze.
“Parker?”
“Yes.”
“Riley's last name is Parker.”
“I understand.”
Whitmore hesitated.
“Mr. Adams, do you have access to your company's administrative email system?”
“Of course.”
“I recommend preserving every login record immediately. Do not delete or modify anything.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever submitted the agreement appears to have accessed your account repeatedly.”
Blake's stomach tightened.
“How repeatedly?”
“More than forty times in six months.”
Blake stared at the floor.
Riley had occasionally used his office when she needed somewhere quiet to work.
He had given her a spare access card.
He had even let her use his laptop.
He remembered laughing when she called herself his unofficial assistant.
Now he felt sick.
After the call, Gavin asked, “What happened?”
Blake explained.
Gavin's face darkened.
“Did you give Riley your passwords?”
“No.”
“Access to your computer?”
Blake said nothing.
Gavin closed his eyes.
“Jesus, Blake.”
“I trusted her.”
“I know.”
The words landed harder than an accusation.
Blake sat down.
“I have to tell Kira.”
Gavin shook his head.
“Tell her attorney. Don't use this as an excuse to force her to talk to you.”
Blake looked at him.
“I love her.”
“Then respect her decision.”
Blake lowered his head.
For the first time, he didn't argue.
At 8:17 the following morning, Blake arrived at his office.
His chief technology officer, Melissa Grant, was waiting.
She had spent the night reviewing security records.
Her expression was severe.
“Sit down.”
Blake obeyed.
Melissa opened a laptop.
“We found the unauthorized sessions.”
“Riley?”
“Most of them originated from the access card assigned to her.”
Blake felt his chest tighten.
“Most?”
Melissa nodded.
“There's another credential.”
She turned the screen toward him.
A list of security events appeared.
Blake recognized the name immediately.
GAVIN PIERCE.
He stared.
“That can't be right.”
Melissa said nothing.
Blake looked closer.
Gavin's credentials had been used to access the company's secure financial files seventeen times.
Including the night before the wedding.
Blake's phone vibrated.
A message from Gavin.
Don't believe everything they show you.
Blake looked up sharply.
“How did he know we were looking?”
Melissa's expression changed.
Then the office door opened.
Two investigators stepped inside.
One displayed a badge.
“Mr. Adams, we need to ask you some questions about Gavin Pierce.”
Blake stood.
“What's going on?”
The investigator placed a photograph on the desk.
It showed Gavin entering a Manhattan hotel.
Beside him stood Riley Parker.
The timestamp was 11:43 p.m.
Three nights before the wedding.
May you like
The investigator looked directly at Blake.
“Mr. Adams, your best friend and Riley Parker may have been working together for months.”
