I'm not normal people.
I've seen too many men use financial manipulation as a weapon. Watched wives and girlfriends get trapped in arrangements that look legitimate on paper but are anything but. Giuseppe taught us early: follow the money. It never lies.
The surgery was real. Lily's medical records confirm a congenital heart defect, corrected at eighteen months. The hospital received payment—but not the full amount. Not even close.
Twenty thousand to the hospital.
One hundred thousand borrowed.
Where did the other eighty go?
I grab my phone and text Liam.
Need deep dive on Jack Walker's financials. Employment history, gambling, debts, the works. Also check if loan was taken out in her name without her knowledge or consent.
Three dots appear almost immediately. Liam doesn't sleep much either.
On it. Something specific trigger this?
Payment pattern doesn't match loan structure. She's paying him, not the creditor.
Noted. Will have preliminary by morning.
I set the phone down and stare at Kristen's picture. The one from her driver's license, where she's attempting a smile.
I might not know her long but I know she flinches at loud noises. Makes herself small in rooms. Checks exits when she enters a space.
I know those signs.
My jaw tightens. If Jack Walker is what I think he is?—
The thought cuts off. I'm getting ahead of myself. Making assumptions based on incomplete data. That's sloppy. That's how people get killed.
But I can't shake the feeling.
I close the laptop and move to the window. The grounds are dark except for the security lights tracing the perimeter. Somewhere out there, Liam's men patrol in patterns designed to look random but aren't. The compound is a fortress. Safe.
Kristen lives in that apartment with the broken elevator and the locks that wouldn't stop a determined child. Lily sleeps in a room with thin walls and thinner windows.
Not your problem, I tell myself. She's an employee. Temporary. Two months and she's gone.
But my brain won't stop calculating. The money she pays Jack. The debt she carries. The fear she tries to hide under that bright smile she gave Lily at dinner.
Something's wrong.
And I'm going to find out what.
I text Liam again.
Also need to know if Walker has any connections we should worry about. Criminal, financial, or otherwise.
His response comes faster this time.
Already on the list. You want surveillance on him?
I hesitate. That's a line. Watching her husband crosses from background check into something more personal. Something that suggests I care beyond professional curiosity.
Not yet. Just the financials for now.
