Chapter 3 - A House With Too Many Windows
Noah offered to take me to a hotel.
I almost accepted.
Then I imagined sitting alone in a strange room, with Lily sleeping beside me and someone outside possibly knowing the location.
My friend in Chicago had offered her guest room, but I couldn't risk leading Ryan's people to her apartment.
I had already sent her a brief message saying we'd arrived safely and that I would explain more soon.
Noah must have seen the uncertainty on my face.
"I have a guest apartment in a building with controlled access," he said.
"You can stay there tonight.
Tomorrow, we can help you find somewhere else."
"I can't afford anything expensive."
"You won't be charged."
"I don't want charity."
"Then consider it an emergency arrangement."
I studied him.
"Why are you doing this?"
He glanced at Lily.
"Because someone threatened a mother and a baby at an airport.
And because my company may be connected."
It was a good answer.
Perhaps too good.
I was learning that wealthy men could make almost anything sound reasonable.
Still, I had no safer plan.
The apartment occupied part of a renovated building near the Chicago River.
It wasn't the kind of place I'd ever imagined entering.
The lobby had marble floors, soft lighting, and a security desk that seemed to know Noah before he spoke.
An elevator took us to a private residential floor.
Inside, the apartment was warm and surprisingly ordinary.
There were books on the shelves.
A gray sofa.
A dining table.
A kitchen with copper pans hanging above the island.
The windows, however, were enormous.
Chicago glittered below us.
I immediately felt exposed.
Noah noticed.
"The glass is treated for privacy from outside," he said.
"I can also close the shades."
"Please."
He pressed a button.
The city disappeared behind dark panels.
I exhaled.
For the first time since landing, my shoulders relaxed.
A woman named Rosa appeared from the kitchen.
She was in her late fifties, with silver-streaked hair and kind eyes.
"Mr. Whitman said you might need something for the baby."
I blinked.
"Something?"
She opened a cabinet.
Diapers.
Wipes.
Baby food.
A sealed package of infant formula.
I stared.
"How did you know what size?"
"Daniel asked what was printed on your diaper bag."
The thoughtfulness nearly undid me.
Rosa smiled.
"I also have a daughter.
She's grown now, but I remember those nights."
I thanked her.
She showed me a guest bedroom with a portable crib.
After checking it was properly assembled and clear of blankets and pillows, I placed Lily inside.
My daughter turned onto her side and sighed.
She had no idea our lives had changed again.
I sat on the edge of the bed until my breathing steadied.
Then someone knocked.
"Emily?"
Noah.
"Come in."
He stopped in the doorway.
"I wanted to make sure you're comfortable."
I laughed quietly.
"Your apartment has more bathrooms than my last place had bedrooms."
"Is that good?"
"I'm still deciding."
He smiled.
For a second, he looked like the man on the airplane again.
The one who'd made a paper animal that looked nothing like a rabbit.
Then his expression grew serious.
"Sofia will be here in the morning."
"Your lawyer?"
"Yes."
"Am I in trouble?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
He took a moment before answering.
"I'm sure you've done nothing wrong by telling us what you remember.
But I can't yet tell you how complicated this may become."
I appreciated that he didn't promise everything would be fine.
Ryan used to promise that.
Everything was always going to be fine, right up until the moment it wasn't.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Why were those people photographing you on the plane?"
He leaned against the doorframe.
"There's been a story circulating about my company.
Some reporters believe I'm about to be removed as chairman."
"Are you?"
"No."
"Then why would they think that?"
"Because someone wants them to."
I looked toward the sleeping baby.
"The same someone stealing money?"
"Possibly."
"Does that happen a lot in your world?"
"People trying to take control of companies?"
"People smiling at you while planning to ruin you."
He was quiet.
"More often than I'd like."
I thought of Ryan.
Of all the dinners when he'd kissed my forehead before leaving.
Of all the promises he'd made while quietly transferring money where I couldn't reach it.
"Then maybe we have something in common."
Noah didn't smile.
Instead, he asked, "What happened the night you saw the spreadsheet?"
I looked down.
"I was doing laundry.
Ryan had left his laptop open on the dining table.
A notification appeared.
I wasn't trying to snoop.
I just wanted to close the screen so Lily couldn't reach the keyboard."
"What was the notification?"
"An overdue payment approval."
"Do you remember the amount?"
"Six hundred and eighty thousand dollars."
He went perfectly still.
I continued.
"When I clicked it, the spreadsheet was already open.
Several payments had the same description.
Strategic advisory services.
But the invoice dates didn't match the reporting periods."
"What did you do?"
"I took a photograph."
Noah straightened.
"Of the screen?"
"Yes."
"Do you still have it?"
"I don't know.
Ryan made me delete it."
His expression sharpened.
"Made you?"
"He caught me looking.
He grabbed my wrist.
Then he said I'd misunderstood something confidential.
He watched while I deleted the picture."
I looked toward Lily.
"The next morning, he apologized.
He brought me flowers."
I hated how foolish that sounded.
But Noah didn't interrupt.
"Three days later, he locked me out."
Noah rubbed a hand across his jaw.
"Emily, do you remember whether the photograph backed up anywhere?"
"Ryan controlled our family cloud account."
"Was there another account?"
I started to say no.
Then I remembered my old laptop.
The one I'd used before marriage.
I'd turned on automatic photo synchronization years ago.
I had stopped using the laptop when Lily was born, but it still existed.
And it wasn't in Austin.
It was in a storage locker belonging to my mother.
My mother had died eighteen months earlier.
I'd left several boxes with her sister in Milwaukee.
"My aunt," I whispered.
Noah looked at me.
"What about her?"
"I think I know where the original photograph might be."
He waited.
I looked up.
"It's on a laptop Ryan doesn't know about."
At that exact moment, my new phone rang.
The number was blocked.
I didn't answer.
A voicemail appeared seconds later.
I pressed play.
Ryan's voice filled the room.
"Emily, sweetheart, I know you're frightened.
You're confused, and you've made a terrible mistake."
My stomach turned.
Then he said something that made the blood drain from my face.
"I know you're with Noah Whitman."
May you like
A pause.
"And if he doesn't return what belongs to me, neither of you will see Lily again."
