Chapter 2 - THE FIRST NIGHT WITHOUT HIM
Mara drove through Manhattan without knowing exactly where she was going.
The city looked different from behind a windshield.
For nine years, she had moved through it beside Dominic.
Private restaurants.
Charity galas.
Hotel lobbies.
Boardrooms.
The city had always seemed to belong to him.
That morning, for the first time, she realized it didn't belong to anyone.
She drove to her grandmother's old apartment on the Upper West Side.
It had been sitting empty for almost two years.
The place smelled faintly of cedar and old books.
It wasn't luxurious.
The radiator rattled.
The kitchen tiles were cracked.
The elevator groaned between floors.
Mara loved it immediately.
She put her suitcase beside the couch and sat down.
Then she stared at the envelope Elena had given her.
She hadn't opened it.
Not yet.
Her phone buzzed.
Dominic.
She ignored it.
Again.
Ignored it.
A third time.
Then Tessa called.
Mara answered.
“Tell me you're safe.”
“I am.”
“Where are you?”
“My grandmother's apartment.”
There was a pause.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“No.”
“Then why do you sound like you're about to fall apart?”
Mara looked at the envelope.
“Because I think my marriage isn't the worst thing happening.”
Tessa went silent.
“What does that mean?”
“I'll call you later.”
She hung up.
At 8:17, Dominic sent a message.
Please answer.
At 8:19:
I'm not asking you to come back.
At 8:21:
Just let me know you're safe.
Mara stared at the screen.
She almost replied.
Instead, she turned the phone over.
Then she opened the envelope.
Inside was a bank statement.
One account.
Mara's name was on it.
She frowned.
She had never seen the account before.
There were transfers totaling $3.2 million.
The dates stretched across the previous fourteen months.
Her name appeared as the authorized beneficiary.
At the bottom was a note.
If the investigation reaches Calder Holdings, this account will make Mara Bennett Calder legally responsible for the missing funds.
Mara stopped breathing.
She read it twice.
Then a third time.
Her phone rang.
Elena.
Mara almost didn't answer.
“Hello?”
Elena's voice was low.
“Did you open it?”
“Yes.”
“I thought you should know.”
“Who are you?”
“I work for Dominic.”
“I know that.”
“No. You don't.”
Mara frowned.
“Elena, you were in my kitchen wearing my husband's sweatshirt.”
“I know.”
“And you slept with him.”
“Yes.”
“Then don't expect me to trust you.”
“I don't.”
That answer surprised Mara.
Elena continued.
“I need you to believe one thing.”
“What?”
“I never wanted Dominic.”
Mara laughed bitterly.
“That's difficult to believe.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because he was the only person close enough to the financial records that I could investigate without someone noticing.”
Mara went silent.
“You were investigating him?”
“No.”
Elena's voice cracked.
“I was investigating someone who was using him.”
Mara looked at the bank statement again.
“Who?”
“I don't know yet.”
“Then why involve me?”
“Because whoever is doing this knows you're leaving.”
Mara felt cold.
“How?”
“Elena?”
No answer.
“Where are you?”
The line went dead.
Mara stood.
Someone knocked on her apartment door.
Three slow knocks.
She froze.
Then her phone buzzed.
A message from Dominic.
Do not open the door.
Mara stared at it.
Another knock.
Then another message.
I'm outside.
She walked toward the door.
“Dominic?”
“Don't open it.”
His voice came through the wood.
“Why?”
“Because I don't know who followed me.”
Mara stepped back.
“What do you mean?”
“I came here because someone broke into your apartment twenty minutes ago.”
Her blood went cold.
“What?”
“I had the locks changed after you left.”
“You had no right.”
“I know.”
She heard movement in the hallway.
Dominic lowered his voice.
“Stay away from the door.”
Mara did.
Two minutes passed.
Then footsteps.
Someone ran down the stairs.
Dominic opened the building's side door and disappeared after them.
Mara watched through the window.
He returned ten minutes later.
His coat was torn.
He was breathing hard.
He looked up at her window.
For one second, their eyes met.
Then he walked away.
Mara didn't know why that frightened her more than anything else.
Dominic had spent years controlling every room he entered.
But that night, he had looked powerless.
The next morning, she received another message.
Not from Dominic.
From an unknown number.
You should have stayed married.
Then another.
The account is already in your name.
Then a final message.
The next thing we take won't be money.
Mara stared at the screen.
Her hands began to shake.
She called Dominic.
He answered immediately.
“Mara?”
“Someone is threatening me.”
“I know.”
“What?”
“I've been waiting for you to tell me.”
She swallowed.
“Dominic…”
“Yes?”
“I still don't trust you.”
“I know.”
“But I need answers.”
“I'll give you everything.”
“Everything?”
“Yes.”
“Then start with Elena.”
Silence.
Dominic exhaled.
“Elena is my employee.”
“I know.”
“She was assigned to my financial division eight months ago.”
“And the affair?”
“I won't lie.”
He paused.
“It happened.”
Mara closed her eyes.
“But it wasn't what you think.”
“I don't care what I think anymore.”
“I need you to understand.”
“No.”
She opened her eyes.
“I need you to understand something.”
“What?”
“You don't get to decide when I forgive you.”
Dominic was silent.
“I'll decide.”
She ended the call.
For the first time in nine years, Mara felt something she hadn't felt in her marriage.
Control.
May you like
Then she looked down at the bank statement.
And realized control was exactly what someone wanted to take away from her.
