Chapter 5 - The Woman in the PhotographI moved into the apartment.
It was beautiful.
Too beautiful.
I told Harlan that.
He said:
“Then break something.”
I laughed.
He didn't.
He was serious.
For several weeks, life became strangely normal.
Belle went to school.
I worked part-time at a bakery.
Harlan visited almost every evening.
Sometimes he brought groceries.
Sometimes he brought nothing.
He simply sat with Belle while she did homework.
One evening, Belle asked him:
“Are you going to marry Rue?”
I nearly dropped my coffee.
Harlan stared at his daughter.
“No.”
Belle frowned.
“Why?”
“Because your father is complicated.”
I said.
Harlan looked at me.
“Very.”
But neither of us noticed the man watching from across the street.
Until the window shattered.
Harlan moved faster than I thought possible.
He pulled me down.
Glass exploded across the room.
Belle screamed.
Security rushed inside.
A bullet had struck the wall exactly where I had been standing.
Harlan held me against the floor.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Belle?”
“She’s safe.”
His eyes were furious.
Then he looked toward the window.
“Someone wants you dead too.”
I swallowed.
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
Because he had finally discovered the truth.
Victor wasn't targeting Belle.
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He was targeting anyone who could expose him.
And I had become the closest person to the evidence.
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