AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ipressthebuttonfor the elevator and wait, still in shock. I’m not sure why, though. When the door attendant told me to come up here, I was certain he had confused Brian with someone else. Even when I knocked on Brian’s actual door, I was sure this was a mistake.
It probably still is a mistake. I mean, the door attendant said that Brian was upstairs, not that that was his house. And Andrew was there. He opened the door. It makes sense that that was his house. What else could it be?
I shake my head to chase these thoughts away. I’m getting paranoid. Too scared to give this an actual chance, I’m simply looking for ways to sabotage it. But then why was Brian so upset? He turned completely pale when he saw me there.
The elevator doors open, and I walk inside, my reflection greeting me, wide-eyed and pale. Close to what Brian looked like.
After a few deep breaths, I press the button for the ground floor.
This is stupid. I’m being silly. I steady my bag on my shoulder and put both hands in my pockets. That’s when I feel the USB stick with the digital versions of the folders.
Damn it. Should I go up again? They are necessary to go over the rest of the data, but I could just send them via email.
The ground floor bottom glows one more time before becoming gray again, and the doors close. I am ready to push the floor button again to open it, but I change my mind. I didn’t come all this way to leave like this. I did act a bit weird. Brian looked very confused by my behavior.
I press the first button on the top row and let the elevator return me up to the penthouse again. Silently, the doors open, and I take a step toward the open apartment door. Andrew is standing there, both hands and back visible.
“As you wish, Boss,” he says and the door swings slightly.
“Cut that crap,” Brian barks from inside followed by Daniels’s sweet laughter.
Not moving, I reach for the elevator button again and press it. The doors open and I take a step backward, getting inside again, this time I move quickly to get to the ground floor and out of the building. A few more steps and I’m in the street, and then in a taxi going home.
Andrew said boss.
The taxi stops right in front of my apartment building. With shaky hands, I pay him and get out. I don’t know how, but I manage to open the door, walk inside and then reach my couch.
There’s no reason for me to be this upset. Just make a list, Carol, like you always do.
What’s tipped me off? The apartment. The favor. The luxury. That he never works. I mean, he says he works but every time I need him, he’s there so taking leave is no issue for him.
The company Andrew works for is Reeds, the cross-checking of the documents revealed that. I open my laptop again and this time search for the one and only Brian Knight.
Nothing. No social media. No work profile. Absolutely nothing after he quit his job at Dartmouth. I type the name of the company Dennis told me about. It’s an actual company, but Brian’s name does not appear on the main staff list.
I stop, knowing that this search is futile. It’s not the first time I’ve searched for all this data, I’ve been doing this since that first night I saw him after so many years. Perhaps this kind of research requires a professional. Let’s see. How many private investigators are in my area? I crouch in front of my laptop and an hour later I’ve found the right guy for the job. Years of experience and of course secrecy.
“When will I have the results of your research?” I ask. The PI insisted that we talk in person.
“Two to three days,” he replies.
True to his word, two and a half days later, he has all the information I need about Brian.
“What are you waiting for?” asks Rose.
“I don’t think I have the courage to open the email,” I say. It’s the first time in my life that I don’t want to be right. At all. The e-mail contains a PDF file and a couple of photos. I start with those.
All of them are of Brian. The first is of when he was little, still in primary school. Then middle school. Immediately followed by his high school graduation, with only his mother alongside him. Next are him at college as a student and one more when he was teaching at Dartmouth. The following is one from his wedding with his now ex-wife. Judging by her wedding dress, it must have been a very expensive ceremony. Then there is a couple with Daniel. The last ones are from work: at Reeds.
Rose rests her head on my shoulder. “Nothing useful so far,” she comments.
On the contrary, I want to say, but hold my tongue. The PDF file is next, and it starts with his name. I suspected that from the moment I left his house two days ago. When he broke up with me, he went to work with his father, a man who had his own business. Brian never bothered to say that he is Robert Reeds.
“He doesn’t look much like his father,” Rose says as she has now pieced it together as well. “But I mean, hiding that he’s so rich, a billionaire for crying out loud, that’s crazy.” She turns to look at me. “Come on, silver linings, Carol. Can you imagine if it was the opposite?”
“The opposite would have been just as bad,” I say. “It’s just another lie. Another betrayal. He was lying to me all this time. He had me work for him and he wasn’t doing anyone a favor. He was trying to cover his ass.”
“You said someone was trying to set him up,” Rose points out in an attempt to stop my negative thoughts spiraling out of control.
