Chapter 4 Chapter 04

I knew the police couldn't fake the photos, so instead of sitting there in disbelief, I forced myself to focus on the question that mattered.

“What actually killed her?”

“The stab wounds to her chest, evidently,” Leonardo said.

“I didn't stab her. I didn't use any knife. You don't understand. My main goal was to confront her and probably scare her, that's all.”

I explained everything as calmly as I could, especially now that I was beginning to realize I hadn't actually killed Elise.

“The knife had your fingerprints all over it,” he said. “There were no other fingerprints but yours, Mrs. Garcia.”

“It has to be a mistake. I promise you, I didn't do it.”

“All right, then walk me through what happened. Tell me about the affair and everything that led up to yesterday.”

“Okay. It started about two months ago.”

I told him about the first text that had appeared on my husband's phone, the one from a woman who had sent him nude photos. There had been no face in the pictures, so I hadn't confronted him about it immediately. I had been with the kids, and I didn't want to accuse him of something without knowing the truth.

Then flowers started arriving at our house for him.

I confronted him about those, but he told me they were from a business partner.

After that, his behavior became strange. I noticed how distant he had become, how he was no longer intimate with me, how he always came home almost three hours later than he used to. Eventually, I started snooping through his phone, trying to figure out what was going on.

Then, yesterday, I followed him.

I told Leonardo everything that happened after that, from paying the receptionist with my diamond bracelet to finding Elise in Apartment 804. I told him about our argument, the struggle over her phone, the moment she fell, and how I found her unresponsive.

I told him about calling Roman and everything I had done afterward to clean the crime scene.

“But I swear on my children's lives, I didn't mean for any of that to happen,” I said. “And I definitely didn't stab her.”

“Okay, so you left your husband with her already dead, but with only a head wound?”

I didn't like the way he made it sound.

“No. My husband would never do anything like that.”

I shook my head immediately.

“Why would he call you then if he did it?”

“So we don't suspect him.”

“No, he didn't do it.” I stood up, already feeling frustrated. “Actually, if you're not going to arrest me, I'd like to leave.”

“Mrs. Garcia, we're still investigating the case. You said you didn't stab her, so now we have to find out what happened. Perhaps when you were watching that online video, someone came in and stabbed her.”

“That should be it.”

My heart jumped at the possibility.

“It has to be it.”

“Thank you for your cooperation. Since you're still the main suspect, we're asking that you don't leave town until you're cleared. Otherwise, we'll be forced to hold you until the investigation is complete.”

“I understand.”

I did.

After thanking him, he walked me out, and soon I was back in the car. I immediately asked the driver to take me straight to Garcia Global Fund, where Roman was.

He needed to hear about this new information.

The driver hesitated.

“Mr. Garcia asked me to take you straight home from here.”

“I know, but I'm not going home.”

He looked at me through the rearview mirror.

“I need to see my husband.”

“Mrs. Garcia—”

“I am still the boss between us, aren't I?”

He didn't argue after that.

He took me to Garcia Global Fund.

When I arrived, I stepped inside, and although the employees recognized me, they still refused to let me see my husband. They claimed he was in a meeting.

Maybe it was the way I looked.

I was wearing a floral skirt with a matching blouse, something that wasn't exactly ideal for the office, especially at a finance company like this.

“It's either you let me see my husband, or I'll have him fire you.”

“I'm sorry, Mrs. Garcia, but these are your husband's direct orders.”

“Don't be sorry. Just put him through on the phone. Is it because I haven't come here in almost a year?”

She seemed to forget that I was still a shareholder here.

“Mrs. Garcia—”

“Hey!”

Roman suddenly appeared from the elevator, his voice echoing through the lobby.

“What are you doing?”

“Mr. Garcia, your wife—”

“Wanted to see me, and you weren't letting her through?”

“Because you specifically asked us not to.”

“Oh, I did?”

He looked at the receptionist for a moment.

“Then you should know I've changed my mind. For that, you're fired.”

He immediately turned toward me and pulled me into his arms.

“Are you all right?”

The employee knew better than to argue. Everyone here knew Roman was ruthless and rarely gave second chances. Within seconds, someone else stepped forward to replace her while another employee began helping her pack her things.

“Listen, honey. I just have one more meeting,” Roman said, looking down at me. “Go wait for me in the office. Once I'm done, I'll come get you, and we'll go home early, okay?”

He placed both hands on my cheeks.

I nodded.

He planted a soft kiss on my forehead before asking one of the employees to take me to his office. Then he headed in the opposite direction toward the conference room.

“Do you need me to bring you anything, Mrs. Garcia?” the employee asked once we reached his office.

I shook my head.

“All right. Just press the button if you need me.”

“Thank you.”

I gave her a polite smile and watched her leave.

The moment the door closed, I sighed and walked toward the couch. I curled up there, hugging my knees as I tried once again to piece together everything Detective Leonardo had told me.

Was I really so lost in my own panic that someone could have sneaked into that apartment and stabbed Elise without me hearing anything?

Because there was no way.

I suddenly realized I didn't have my phone with me. The police had taken it for forensic tests, which meant I had nothing to distract myself with.

Then my eyes landed on Roman's computer.

I knew his passwords.

I got up and walked toward the desk. His screensaver showed a photo of the two of us on our wedding day, dressed in our wedding attire.

I stared at it for almost a minute before typing in the password.

Wrong password.

I frowned and tried again.

Still wrong.

That was odd.

We had always used the same passwords, even for our phones. It was always the date we found out I was pregnant with the twins.

“Why would he change the password?”

I stared at the screen, but I didn't attempt it a third time. If I entered it incorrectly again, the computer would lock.

Instead, I sat down in his chair and remembered something.

Roman always kept his passwords written in his little phone book.

I opened his desk drawer.

And that's when I saw it.

A photo of Elise.

My fingers trembled as I pulled out the file. Her photo was only a small square pasted near the top, with her name written underneath.

It was strange.

Roman wasn't in HR, and Elise didn't even work for the company.

Why did he have a file on her?

I opened it carefully.

“Elise Davis,” I read aloud.

Then I saw the next line.

“Subject Seven. 16 August 2024.”

My blood ran cold.

August 16th was yesterday. The exact day Elise had died.

I stared at the file, unable to make sense of what I was looking at.

Why would Roman have this?

Why would he have a file on Elise?

And why was she Subject Seven?