Chapter 3 - THE SECRET JESSICA LEFT BEHIND
Matthew couldn't sleep.
At three in the morning, he sat alone in his office staring at the photograph.
Jessica.
Grace.
Daniel Hart.
Three people connected by something he had never noticed.
His entire marriage suddenly felt like a puzzle with half the pieces missing.
At four-thirty, he called Grace.
She answered from the guest room.
"Mr. Carter?"
"Come downstairs."
A few minutes later, she entered the office.
Matthew didn't offer her a seat.
"Tell me everything."
Grace looked exhausted.
"I don't know everything."
"Tell me what you know."
She sat down.
"Jessica started coming to the Rainier about two months before she left."
"Why?"
"She met someone there."
"Daniel?"
"No."
Matthew's jaw tightened.
"Who?"
Grace shook her head.
"I never saw his face clearly."
"What did he want?"
"Money."
Matthew stared.
"How much?"
"Five hundred thousand dollars."
He nearly laughed.
"Jessica didn't have access to that kind of money."
"I know."
"Then why would anyone demand it?"
Grace looked at him.
"Because they knew about your company."
Matthew went still.
"What did they know?"
"Your import routes."
The room seemed to shrink.
Matthew sat down.
His company handled millions of dollars in international shipments.
Sensitive information was heavily protected.
"Who had access?"
"Your business partner."
"Michael?"
Grace nodded.
Michael Dawson had been Matthew's closest business partner for eleven years.
He was the only person besides Matthew with access to certain financial accounts and shipping schedules.
"No."
Matthew shook his head.
"Michael wouldn't."
Grace didn't argue.
She simply looked at him.
"You don't believe me."
"I believe you saw something."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
She lowered her eyes.
"Jessica did."
Matthew froze.
"What?"
"She saw something too."
"What did she see?"
Grace hesitated.
"She discovered that someone inside your company was moving money."
Matthew's face hardened.
"How much?"
"I don't know."
"How do you know this?"
"Jessica told me."
"When?"
"The night before she left."
Matthew stared.
"She knew she was leaving?"
"Yes."
"Where did she go?"
"I don't know."
"Grace."
"I swear."
Matthew stood.
"You expect me to believe you?"
Grace's voice cracked.
"I don't care what you believe."
He stopped.
She continued.
"I promised Jessica I would protect her children."
Matthew's anger disappeared.
"What did you just say?"
Grace looked directly at him.
"She asked me to."
"When?"
"The night before she disappeared."
Matthew's heartbeat thundered.
"Why would my wife ask a hotel housekeeper to protect her children?"
Grace's eyes filled with tears.
"Because she knew something terrible was going to happen."
Matthew stepped closer.
"What?"
Grace reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small silver key.
Matthew stared at it.
"What's that?"
"Jessica gave it to me."
"Why?"
"She said if anything happened to her, I should give it to you only when you were ready to listen."
Matthew took the key.
On it was a number.
417.
"Room 417?"
Grace nodded.
"At the Rainier."
Matthew looked at her.
"What's inside?"
"I don't know."
"Did Jessica tell you?"
"No."
"Then why wait three days to tell me?"
Grace's expression hardened.
"Because I didn't know whether you were safe."
Matthew stared.
"Safe from what?"
"From the people who were watching your house."
A long silence followed.
Then footsteps sounded upstairs.
Both of them turned.
A small cry echoed through the hallway.
"Grace!"
She immediately ran.
Matthew followed.
Benjamin was standing in the bedroom doorway.
He was crying.
"What's wrong?"
The boy pointed toward the window.
"That man."
Matthew rushed to the window.
Across the street, beneath a broken streetlight, stood a figure.
Gray jacket.
Baseball cap.
Watching the house.
Matthew grabbed his phone.
"Security!"
The figure suddenly turned.
Then disappeared into the darkness.
Matthew ran downstairs.
By the time security reached the street, the man was gone.
But he had left something behind.
A small envelope.
Matthew opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Jessica.
Holding Benjamin and Caleb.
On the back, three words had been written.
You were warned.
Matthew's hands trembled.
For the first time, he understood.
This wasn't about his marriage.
It wasn't even about his company.
May you like
Someone had targeted his family.
And Grace might be the only person who knew why.
