Chapter 3 - THE EMPTY SAFE
Nora did not remember walking back into Daniel’s office.
She only remembered Marcus breathing heavily through the phone.
“What do you mean someone opened my safe?”
“I came in after your message.”
“You went to the office?”
“I wasn’t going to ignore a message that said ‘if anything happens to me.’”
Nora closed her eyes.
Of course Marcus had gone.
He had worked beside her for eleven years.
He had helped load pallets when the company still operated from a rented warehouse without air conditioning.
Loyalty was the reason Nora trusted him.
Tonight loyalty had placed him in danger.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Is anyone else there?”
“Security.”
“What happened?”
“The alarm on your executive suite went off at eleven fifty-eight.”
Nora checked the clock.
Twelve thirty-four.
That was approximately ten minutes after police had arrived at her house.
Someone had moved quickly.
Marcus continued.
“I got here six minutes later.”
“Was the door forced?”
“No.”
Nora felt colder.
“How did they get in?”
“Access credential.”
“Whose?”
Marcus hesitated.
Nora knew the answer before he said it.
“Yours.”
Daniel looked at her.
Edgar was still in the living room with police.
Kristina was being questioned separately.
Nora lowered her voice.
“My badge is in my purse.”
“I know.”
“Then somebody cloned it.”
“Looks like it.”
“What was taken?”
Marcus became quiet.
“Marcus.”
“I’m still checking.”
“My emergency file?”
“Gone.”
Nora gripped the phone.
The emergency file contained bank contacts.
Insurance details.
Corporate succession instructions.
Passwords sealed inside tamper-proof envelopes.
Her office safe held duplicate estate-planning documents.
It also contained sensitive records regarding acquisitions.
“What else?”
“Three folders.”
“Which folders?”
“The Nevada acquisition.”
Nora frowned.
“Why would anyone want that?”
“I don’t know.”
“What else?”
“The original Finch Consulting loan documents.”
Nora’s eyes narrowed.
Daniel noticed.
“What?”
he whispered.
Nora raised a finger.
Finch Consulting.
Edgar’s failed company.
Five years earlier, Edgar had borrowed $1.8 million from Nora.
Not the company.
Nora personally.
He claimed he needed capital to rescue a struggling management consultancy.
Nora later learned the company had been more insolvent than Edgar admitted.
She had eventually closed the debt internally and written it off after their accountant said repayment was unlikely.
But the original documents remained.
Why steal them?
Marcus spoke again.
“One more thing.”
Nora waited.
“Your old fertility clinic file.”
Nora stared at the wall.
“What?”
“You kept a sealed medical records copy in the safe.”
She remembered.
The clinic had sent duplicate files after a records migration.
Nora had planned to move them to secure storage.
She never did.
“Why would anyone take those?”
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
Nora looked through the glass office doors at Edgar.
He sat near the fireplace.
Head bowed.
Hands clasped.
She thought of Kristina’s obsession with fertility.
Of Heather’s child.
Of Edgar’s affair.
Something did not fit.
“Marcus, do not touch anything.”
“I already called police.”
“Good.”
“Are you safe?”
“For now.”
“Should I come there?”
“No.”
“But—”
“Marcus.”
He stopped.
“You have a wife and two kids.”
Silence.
“Go home when the police release you.”
“I’m not leaving you alone in this.”
“You aren’t.”
Nora looked at Daniel.
“I have Daniel.”
Marcus sighed.
“Call me if anything changes.”
“I will.”
She ended the call.
Daniel immediately asked.
“Why would somebody want Edgar’s loan records?”
“I don’t know.”
“Were they damaging?”
“Not that I remember.”
“Did he actually use the money for the company?”
Nora thought back.
She had wired funds into the Finch Consulting corporate account.
She had never traced every transaction afterward.
Edgar handled it.
At the time she believed married people did not audit each other.
That belief now felt childish.
Daniel opened his laptop.
“We need financial forensics.”
“Tonight?”
“Starting tonight.”
Nora looked at him.
He was already typing.
“Who?”
“Elaine Porter.”
Nora knew the name.
Former federal forensic accountant.
Expensive.
Discreet.
Brilliant.
Daniel sent the message.
Then he looked at Nora.
“The stolen fertility file bothers me more.”
“Why?”
“Because murder for money makes sense.”
Nora flinched slightly at the directness.
Daniel did not apologize.
“Stealing fertility records does not help someone access money.”
Nora understood.
“So there’s another motive.”
“Or another secret.”
A police officer entered.
“Mrs. Preston, Sergeant Alvarez needs you.”
Nora returned to the living room.
Kristina was seated at the dining table now.
Her hands were cuffed.
Edgar stood ten feet away.
He looked at the cuffs.
“What happened?”
Nora asked.
Alvarez answered.
“Mrs. Finch is being detained while we investigate attempted aggravated assault and related offenses.”
Kristina laughed.
“Attempted assault?”
The officer beside her said nothing.
Kristina looked toward Nora.
“You should tell them the truth.”
Nora stared.
“What truth?”
“That I was removing the snake.”
Edgar looked up.
Alvarez remained expressionless.
Kristina continued.
“I found it in the bedroom.”
Nora almost admired the speed of the invention.
“So you found a rattlesnake.”
“Yes.”
“And instead of calling wildlife control, you put on gloves.”
“I panicked.”
“You found a wooden snake-handling stick?”
“It was in the garage.”
Nora shook her head.
“No, it wasn’t.”
Kristina’s eyes narrowed.
Nora continued.
“I’ve never owned a snake-handling stick.”
Kristina shifted.
“I thought it was a broom handle.”
“It has a metal hook.”
“I don’t know.”
“And then you somehow put the snake under my fitted sheet while trying to remove it?”
Kristina looked at Alvarez.
“This is harassment.”
Nora stepped closer.
“What about the bag?”
“I don’t know anything about a bag.”
“The hallway camera shows you carrying it into my bedroom.”
Kristina froze.
Nora had not previously told her exactly what the camera showed.
Alvarez watched carefully.
Kristina recovered.
“I carry laundry bags.”
“A black cloth snake bag?”
“It could have been anything.”
“Then why was matching fabric behind my headboard?”
Kristina looked toward Edgar.
“Help me.”
He did not move.
That seemed to frighten her.
“Edgar.”
Still nothing.
Kristina’s voice sharpened.
“I said help me.”
Edgar looked at his mother.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Tell them Nora hates me.”
Nora stared.
Edgar gave a humorless laugh.
“You put a snake in her bed.”
Kristina’s eyes widened.
“Edgar.”
“You did.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know enough.”
Nora watched him.
Was this self-preservation?
Probably.
But the crack between mother and son was useful.
Kristina saw it too.
Her face changed.
“You ungrateful little coward.”
Edgar stiffened.
“I covered for you.”
The room went silent.
Alvarez leaned forward.
“Covered for her when?”
Edgar realized the trap.
Kristina smiled slowly.
Nora felt dread.
“When?”
Alvarez repeated.
Edgar rubbed his mouth.
“I meant generally.”
Kristina laughed.
“No, you didn’t.”
Edgar glared at her.
“Stop.”
She leaned back.
“You want to save yourself now?”
“Mom.”
“After everything?”
Alvarez stepped closer.
“What did he cover for?”
Kristina stared at her son.
Nora recognized the look.
It was leverage.
Kristina possessed information.
And Edgar knew it.
Kristina spoke softly.
“Ask him about Sedona.”
Edgar’s face went white.
Nora frowned.
Sedona.
They had visited Sedona eighteen months earlier.
A weekend trip.
Anniversary.
Nora remembered a strange incident.
She had become violently ill after dinner.
Vomiting.
Dizziness.
Weakness.
The hotel doctor blamed food poisoning.
Edgar had been strangely calm.
Kristina had been on that trip.
Nora’s heart began pounding.
“What happened in Sedona?”
Edgar shook his head.
“Nothing.”
Kristina smiled.
“Tell her.”
“Shut up.”
“Tell your wife.”
Edgar turned away.
Nora walked toward him.
“What happened in Sedona?”
“Nothing happened.”
“I got sick.”
“You ate bad shellfish.”
“I don’t eat shellfish.”
Edgar froze.
Nora had remembered that detail only now.
She was allergic to shellfish.
She never ordered it.
The doctor had never specifically said shellfish.
He had said foodborne illness.
Why had Edgar said shellfish?
Nora’s skin prickled.
Kristina laughed softly.
“Oops.”
Edgar spun toward her.
“You’re insane.”
“You were the one who poured the wine.”
Nora stopped breathing.
Alvarez’s eyes narrowed.
“What was in the wine?”
Kristina shrugged.
“Ask Edgar.”
Edgar stepped toward his mother.
An officer blocked him.
“What did you put in her drink?”
Edgar demanded.
Kristina smiled.
“So you admit there was something in it?”
Edgar’s face changed.
Nora felt nauseated.
“This happened before.”
Nobody answered.
Nora looked at Kristina.
“You tried before.”
Kristina shook her head.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
She turned to Edgar.
“And you knew.”
“No.”
“You knew something.”
“I knew she gave you something to help you sleep.”
Nora stared.
“What?”
Edgar looked trapped.
“She said you were exhausted.”
“So you let your mother put something in my wine?”
“I thought it was herbal.”
“What was it?”
“I don’t know.”
Nora’s voice dropped.
“Did you ask?”
Edgar said nothing.
“Did you ever ask?”
“No.”
“After I spent ten hours vomiting?”
“I thought you were sick.”
“You just said you knew she put something in my wine.”
Edgar covered his face.
“I didn’t think it caused that.”
Nora wanted to hit him.
She had never hit anyone in her adult life.
But for one blinding second, she wanted to feel her hand connect with his face.
She stepped back instead.
Daniel moved beside her.
“Do not give him the satisfaction.”
His voice was quiet enough that only Nora heard.
Alvarez immediately requested details about the Sedona trip.
Dates.
Hotel.
Restaurant.
Doctor.
Nora provided everything she remembered.
Kristina stopped talking.
Edgar requested a lawyer.
The moment he did, Alvarez ended questioning him.
That told Nora something too.
Edgar finally understood how much danger he was in.
Kristina was escorted toward the door.
As she passed Nora, she stopped.
The officer tried to move her.
Kristina resisted.
Then she leaned close enough for Nora to smell her perfume.
“You think Heather stole your husband.”
Nora stared at her.
Kristina smiled.
“She didn’t.”
The officer pulled her forward.
Kristina twisted around.
“Ask Heather who chose her.”
Nora’s stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?”
Kristina laughed.
Then the door closed behind her.
Daniel looked at Nora.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Nora did not know.
Edgar did.
She could see it in his face.
“Who chose Heather?”
Nora asked.
Edgar shook his head.
“I’m done talking.”
“Who chose her?”
“My lawyer will contact you.”
Nora stepped closer.
“You were sleeping with someone your mother chose?”
Edgar grabbed his coat.
“Nora.”
“Was Heather your affair or your mother’s project?”
“Stop.”
“Did Kristina introduce you?”
Edgar opened the door.
Nora’s voice followed him.
“Did she pick the woman she wanted to replace me?”
Edgar stopped on the threshold.
For a moment Nora thought he might answer.
Instead he said something worse.
“You really don’t understand how long this has been going on.”
Then he walked outside.
Daniel immediately stepped beside Nora.
“We need to get you out of here.”
Nora nodded.
She was exhausted.
But one question would not leave her.
How long?
Ten years of marriage?
Two years of affair?
Five years of fertility treatment?
Eighteen months since Sedona?
Daniel drove Nora to a hotel in Scottsdale.
The reservation was under a corporate alias.
Two private security contractors met them in the lobby.
Nora normally would have considered that excessive.
Tonight she wanted three more.
At 2:41 a.m., she entered a suite on the twelfth floor.
Daniel remained long enough to change her insurance beneficiary temporarily to a charitable trust pending full estate restructuring.
They revoked Edgar’s powers of attorney.
They notified Nora’s financial institutions of potential fraud.
They froze several joint credit facilities.
Daniel left at 3:23.
Nora finally sat alone.
The room was silent.
She removed her diamond wedding ring.
For several minutes she stared at it.
Ten years reduced to a small circle of platinum.
She placed it on the table.
Then her phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
Nora hesitated.
A message appeared.
This is Heather.
Nora stopped breathing.
A second message followed.
Please don’t block me.
Then another.
Edgar doesn’t know I’m contacting you.
Nora stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
His mother is lying to both of us.
Nora felt a strange calm.
She typed.
About what?
Heather’s response came immediately.
Everything.
Nora waited.
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Returned.
Then Heather sent a photograph.
It showed a baby girl sitting on a blanket.
Ava.
Dark hair.
Round cheeks.
Gray-green eyes.
Nora felt something twist painfully inside her.
Then she noticed the object beside Ava.
A medical folder.
On the folder was a familiar logo.
The fertility clinic Nora had used for four years.
Her heart stopped.
Heather sent one final message.
May you like
You need to know where Ava came from.
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