Chapter 4 - The Man Dominic Feared
“Little Finch.”
Nadine went rigid.
Her father had given her the nickname when she was five.
Amber knew it.
Their mother had known it.
Dominic did not.
Carver released Nadine immediately.
He positioned himself beside the door.
“Ask her something.”
Nadine swallowed.
“What did Dad hide in the blue jar?”
Silence.
Then:
“Your first paycheck. Thirty-two dollars and fourteen cents.”
Nadine closed her eyes.
Amber.
Carver checked the camera feed.
Empty hallway.
“No one’s there.”
Nadine stared at the door.
“Then where is her voice coming from?”
They found the speaker beneath a console table.
A remote transmitter.
Amber was not outside.
Someone wanted Nadine to believe she was.
Carver’s security team searched the house.
No intruder.
No breach.
That was worse.
The device had been planted before Nadine arrived.
Someone inside Carver’s organization knew she was coming.
By morning, nobody had slept.
Carver dismissed half his household staff from the secured wing.
Nadine watched him work.
He did not shout.
That made him more intimidating.
“Who knew I was coming?” she asked.
“Six people.”
“Now?”
“Five.”
“What happened to the sixth?”
“He lied.”
Nadine’s expression sharpened.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
She exhaled.
Carver noticed.
“I’m not Dominic.”
“I’m still deciding what you are.”
“Fair.”
The temporary marriage arrangement was prepared that afternoon.
Nadine read every line.
Then rewrote twelve clauses.
Carver’s attorney objected twice.
Carver overruled him twice.
Separate property.
Independent legal counsel.
Immediate dissolution upon Nadine’s request.
No authority over Ada.
No restrictions on travel except mutually agreed security procedures during an active threat.
Nadine added another clause herself.
“No locked confinement under any circumstances.”
Carver initialed it without comment.
“You’re really willing to do this?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I already answered.”
“No. You answered why you helped me. Why marry me?”
Carver looked at her.
“Because Dominic thinks every relationship is ownership.”
“And?”
“I want him to discover that yours isn’t.”
They married at 5:42 p.m.
No flowers.
No music.
Ada slept through most of it.
Nadine wore a sweater and borrowed pants.
Carver wore the same dark suit.
When the officiant pronounced them married, Carver did not kiss her.
He asked, “May I?”
Nadine stared at him.
Then offered her cheek.
His lips barely touched it.
For reasons she did not understand, that gentleness nearly broke her.
Hours later, a package arrived.
No return address.
Inside was the AC-0714 keycard.
And a photograph of Nadine’s father.
Written on the back:
THE CASTELLANOS DIDN’T KILL HIM.
Nadine’s hands trembled.
Carver took the photograph.
Below the sentence was another line.
THE MAN WHO DID IS IN THIS HOUSE.
Nadine slowly raised her eyes.
Carver’s security team stood around them.
Five men.
One attorney.
One doctor.
May you like
And Carver.
Then the lights went out.
