Chương 4
David always knew exactly what to say.
He always had an answer.
He always had a reason.
And somehow, every conversation ended with me explaining myself while he remained untouched.
A phone rang.
Everyone looked around.
It was mine.
The screen showed an unknown number.
Nobody moved.
Then Sarah whispered.
“Don't answer that.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
She looked at David.
“Because I think we need to know who is calling before he knows we are listening.”
The phone kept ringing.
David watched it.
My father watched me.
Sarah watched David.
And for the first time that night, nobody knew what to do.
The phone stopped ringing.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then the screen lit up again.
Same number.
No name.
No message.
Just a silent demand sitting in my hand.
David looked away first.
It was such a small thing that I almost missed it.
But after everything that had happened, every small thing felt different.
Every movement had weight.
“Answer it,” my father said.
David turned back.
“Richard, I don't think that's a good idea.”
My father's eyes narrowed.
It was the first time all night that he looked at David with suspicion instead of disappointment.
“Why?”
David opened his mouth.
Closed it.
That hesitation did more damage than any accusation could have.
Sarah stepped closer.
“Put it on speaker.”
I looked at the phone.
My thumb hovered over the green button.
A part of me wanted to throw it away.
I wanted five minutes where nobody was asking me to make another decision.
I wanted to go back to the morning.
Back to my apartment.
Back to the version of myself who believed the biggest problem in my day was whether my veil would arrive on time.
Instead, I answered.
“Hello?”
There was silence.
Then a woman's voice.
“Maya Carter?”
I froze.
“Yes.”
The voice sounded older.
Careful.
Like someone who had practiced these words before saying them.
“My name is Elaine Porter.”
Nobody reacted.
The name meant nothing to me.
“I don't know if you know who I am.”
“I don't.”
A pause.
“I worked for David Hale two years ago.”
David's face changed.
Not much.
But enough.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Worked where?”
“At Hale Capital.”
The name of his investment firm.
My stomach turned.
“What do you want?”
The woman breathed out slowly.
“I need to know if you are safe.”
The question was simple.
Too simple.
It frightened me more than a threat would have.
“I am.”
I looked at Sarah.
Then at David.
I wasn't sure if that was true.
Elaine continued.
“I saw the news alerts.”
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What news alerts?”
“The wedding.”
I glanced toward the building.
“They already posted about this?”
David looked uncomfortable.
That was new.
“People were filming,” Elaine said.
“Someone uploaded a video of the cake.”
I closed my eyes for a second.
Of course they did.
My humiliation had already become entertainment.
“I need you to listen carefully,” Elaine said.
“I cannot stay on this phone long.”
“Why?”
“Because if David knows I contacted you, he will know I have the files.”
Sarah's expression changed.
She mouthed one word.
Files.
My heart started beating faster.
“What files?”
Nobody answered.
Not Sarah.
Not David.
Only Elaine.
“Records from when I worked for him.”
David stepped forward.
“Maya, hang up.”
The command in his voice made me pull the phone away from my ear.
It was the first time he had sounded like the man from the cake table.
Not the charming man everyone loved.
The man who expected obedience.
My father noticed.
“So you do know her.”
David ignored him.
“Maya, this woman is unstable.”
Elaine heard him.
There was a long pause.
Then she laughed quietly.
“That hasn't changed.”
The words made David go still.
“What?”
“I was wondering if you would use that line again.”
The silence that followed felt different.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
My father looked between them.
“David.”
He didn't answer.
I looked at the phone.
“Elaine, tell me what is happening.”
Her voice softened.
“I don't know how much Sarah found.”
“I don't know either.”
“Then I need you to know one thing.”
“What?”
“Do not go anywhere alone with him.”
The loading dock seemed to tilt.
David shook his head.
“Maya, this is exactly what I was talking about.”
But he sounded less certain now.
Elaine continued.
“Two years ago, I found evidence that David was using private information from clients to pressure them.”
David's face hardened.
“That is a lie.”
Elaine ignored him.
“He called it risk management.”
The phrase felt familiar.
I had heard him say it before.
Not about me.
About other people.
About business.
About relationships.
Everything with David had a strategy.
A reason.
A plan.
“What kind of private information?” I asked.
“Financial records.”
My hand went cold.
“Like mine?”
“Yes.”
The word was barely audible.
My father looked at me.
I hated the pity in his eyes.
Not because he meant harm.
Because I had spent years trying to prove I could handle my own life.
And now I was standing in front of my family as evidence that maybe I couldn't.
“What did he do with it?” I asked.
Elaine hesitated.
That scared me.
“Elaine.”
“He used information to make people dependent on him.”
David laughed.
A sharp, angry sound.
“This is insane.”
Elaine's voice remained calm.
“He didn't need people to love him.”
She paused.
“He needed them to believe they needed him.”
Nobody spoke.
Even David.
Because that sentence landed somewhere deeper than the others.
The phone connection crackled.
“I have to go,” Elaine said.
“No.”
My voice came out desperate.
“I need more.”
“I know.”
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because if he knows where I am, I lose the only thing protecting me.”
I looked at Sarah.
The flash drive was still in her hand.
“What is on those files?”
May you like
Elaine took a breath.
“Proof that David has been building profiles on people close to him.”
