Chương 8
A few seconds later, she kicked.
I laughed softly.
"You're already making me worry."
The words sounded strange because they were the kind of thing I would have said to Roman if things were different.
If I were still home.
If I were still pretending.
I got dressed and walked into the kitchen.
Lena was already there.
She was standing barefoot in front of the coffee machine, wearing a sweatshirt from a college she had never attended.
I had asked her about it once.
She told me it was from a thrift store because she liked the color.
That was Lena.
She bought things because they were useful, not because they proved anything.
Roman had always bought things because people noticed.
"You slept," she said.
It was not a question.
"Some."
"Better than yesterday."
I poured myself water.
"I think I'm tired of being afraid."
Lena looked at me.
"That doesn't mean you're not."
I nodded.
"I know."
She smiled slightly.
"You're going to hate how often that sentence applies."
I almost smiled.
Almost.
Then my phone rang.
Evelyn.
I answered immediately.
"Good morning."
Her voice was serious.
"Did Roman contact you today?"
I looked at the screen.
"No."
"Good."
The way she said it made my stomach tighten.
"What happened?"
"There was activity on one of your accounts."
I stopped moving.
"What kind of activity?"
"Before I answer, I need to know something."
"What?"
"Did you authorize any transfer yesterday?"
"No."
A pause.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
Evelyn exhaled quietly.
"Then we have a problem."
The rest of the morning became a blur of phone calls.
Banks.
Passwords.
Verification questions.
Things I had never thought about because Roman had always handled them.
That sentence embarrassed me more than I expected.
Roman handled it.
Roman managed it.
Roman knew.
Those phrases sounded normal when I was married.
Now they sounded like warnings.
Evelyn sat across from me at the kitchen table.
She had printed documents spread in front of her.
"Your personal account had a linked authorization."
I frowned.
"Linked to what?"
"A business account."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
"That's what we need to determine."
"But how?"
Evelyn looked at the papers.
"Because someone set it up."
I felt a strange anger rise.
Not loud.
Not explosive.
Just steady.
"He had access."
"Possibly."
"No."
I looked at her.
"He did."
Evelyn did not argue.
She simply said, "Then we prove it."
That was the difference between us.
I wanted certainty.
She wanted evidence.
By noon, my phone had another message from Roman.
I ignored it.
Five minutes later, another arrived.
Then another.
Finally, he called.
I watched the screen light up.
Lena looked at me.
"Do you want to answer?"
I thought about it.
Then I picked up.
"Hello."
There was silence.
He was not expecting me to answer.
"I need to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Savannah."
His voice softened.
The old voice.
The one he used when he wanted me to feel like we were on the same side.
"I know you're upset."
I closed my eyes.
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't start by explaining my feelings."
Another silence.
"I made mistakes."
The admission surprised me.
Roman Carter rarely admitted anything.
"I should have handled things differently."
I waited.
"That's all?"
"What do you want me to say?"
I looked at the papers on the table.
The documents.
The evidence.
The pieces of a life I thought I understood.
"I don't know anymore."
His voice changed.
"Are you with someone?"
The question came so suddenly that I almost missed it.
"Someone?"
"An attorney."
I said nothing.
That was enough.
"Who did you talk to?"
The concern disappeared.
The control returned.
"Why does that matter?"
"Because this is becoming bigger than it needs to be."
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"You mean because other people are seeing it?"
"That's not what I mean."
"It is."
"Savannah."
"No."
I stood up.
"You don't get to decide when this becomes serious."
"I am trying to protect you."
"From what?"
The line went quiet.
I waited.
Finally, he said, "From making choices you can't undo."
The sentence stayed with me.
Not because it scared me.
Because it confirmed something.
He still believed I was acting.
Not deciding.
Acting.
Like a child.
Like someone who would eventually calm down and return to normal.
"What happens if I don't come home?"
His answer was immediate.
"Why would you ask that?"
"Because I want to know."
A long pause.
Then his voice lowered.
"You don't know what you're dealing with."
I felt cold.
"Is that a threat?"
"No."
But he answered too quickly.
"No, Savannah."
I looked at Lena.
She was watching me.
"Then what is it?"
Roman did not answer.
That silence was becoming his favorite language.
"I need time," he said.
I almost laughed.
"Time for what?"
"To fix this."
"You can't fix something you still refuse to admit happened."
The line went silent again.
Then he said something I did not expect.
"Claire is not what you think."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Then tell me what she is."
He hesitated.
A real hesitation.
Not the controlled pauses he used during interviews.
A human one.
"I can't."
The answer bothered me more than a lie.
"Why?"
"Because it's complicated."
I looked at the documents.
The payments.
The missing information.
The warning from Rachel.
"Everything with you is complicated."
He did not respond.
I ended the call.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Lena said quietly, "You heard it too."
I looked at her.
"He knows something."
I nodded.
"Yes."
The question was no longer whether Roman had secrets.
The question was how many.
That afternoon, I returned to the estate.
Not to go home.
To collect my things.
Evelyn insisted on coming.
Margaret met us at the gate.
The security guard looked uncomfortable.
That was new.
May you like
Before, people at the estate acted like Roman's presence made them invisible.
Now they looked like they were waiting to see which direction power would move.
