Chapter 2 - THE NAME IN THE FILEAlessandro survived the night.
Barely.
The doctors moved him to a secured ICU room.
Federal agents arrived before sunrise.
So did men who never showed identification.
The hospital suddenly had more armed security than patients.
I sat beside Logan in a waiting room, staring at the ring Alessandro had given me.
I couldn't stop shaking.
At 6:30 a.m., an FBI agent named Marcus Bell approached.
“Mrs. Winters?”
“Yes.”
“We need to talk.”
“About my husband?”
He nodded.
“Your husband was involved in an investigation.”
I laughed bitterly.
“David was an accountant.”
“That was his cover.”
The room seemed to tilt.
Marcus opened a folder.
David had worked for a logistics company.
That company had been laundering money through legitimate shipping contracts.
Alessandro had discovered it.
David had been the accountant assigned to uncover the financial trail.
Then David found something bigger.
Someone inside the federal investigation was leaking information.
Marcus showed me a photograph.
David.
Alive.
Taken eleven months after his supposed death.
My breath caught.
“Where?”
“Belize.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because whoever staged his death had access to sealed records.”
I looked at Logan.
My son was coloring quietly.
“Does David know about him?”
Marcus hesitated.
“That is what we're trying to determine.”
I stood.
“I want to see Alessandro.”
“You shouldn't.”
“I don't care.”
Two hours later, I entered his room.
He looked exhausted.
But awake.
“You're Catherine.”
“Yes.”
“Your husband talked about you.”
I sat beside him.
“What happened to David?”
“He discovered a ledger.”
“What ledger?”
“A list of payments.”
“To whom?”
“Judges. Police officials. Port authorities.”
My stomach tightened.
“And my husband?”
“He tried to expose them.”
“Who killed him?”
Alessandro stared toward the window.
“They didn't kill him.”
“Then where is he?”
“I don't know.”
I stood.
“You know something.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
He looked at me.
“Your husband was working undercover.”
I shook my head.
“David hated lying.”
Alessandro almost smiled.
“He hated lying to you.”
That sentence broke something inside me.
Then the door opened.
A nurse rushed in.
“Mr. Romano, there's been an incident.”
“What?”
“Someone tried to access your medical records.”
Alessandro's expression changed.
“Who?”
She handed him a printed log.
He looked at it.
Then gave it to me.
My name was listed.
Someone had accessed Catherine Winters — Spouse of David Winters.
Three minutes earlier.
Someone knew I had come to the hospital.
May you like
Someone knew David was still the key.
And someone was already watching us.
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