Each woman telling me some variation of the same thing.I didn’t lose them. I wouldn’t have sold them. My husband was so angry. He couldn’t have gotten inside, but… I just know it was him.
“I don’t know how he could have gotten in,”Rachel Ellicott told me.“I changed the codes for my security system as soon as he moved out. And I have an excellent system. Parisi Protective Services installed it.”
Nico’s father’s company.
And in all four instances, his company was the one who installed the security system.
Coincidence? Possibly.
But what are the odds?
If Elio Parisi had been a good man, I might not have been as suspicious. But knowing who he is, what he’s willing to do…
He could bypass the security system to let a bitter ex-husband in.
He could set the camera footage on a loop to hide the intruder’s tracks.
If someone offered him money to help get revenge, would he do it?
I think so.
While I sit on the bed, reeling, I remember the last part—why I came to visit Nico to start with. I’d gotten off the phone with the fourth woman, feeling sick to my stomach. I knew Nico had his own company, but I didn’t know if it was connected with his father’s. It would have made sense, the two companies being linked—Parisi Protective Services taking care of the residential side of things, while Nico’s Fox & Falcon handled the corporate side.
What if they’re working together?I asked myself.What if Nico knows what’s going on? What if I discover there’s more to this connection than just four cases? What if I find out it’s a bigger conspiracy, and Nico’s right in the middle of it?
That’s why I came here that night. I wanted to ask Nico face to face. I didn’t want to believe he’d be involved in something like that. I wanted to ask him about it before I went to the police.
But I never got to ask him, because I was attacked. If not for that alarm in my purse, I might have been killed.
Heart pounding, breathing hard, I close my laptop with a hard clunk.
CouldNico have been involved?
No.
The denial is as quick as the question. No, he wouldn’t.
I know it as well as I know myself. Nico would never be a part of that.Ever. And in my heart, I knew it before. That’s why I came. Because I couldn’t believe, even then, even after the years of resentment, that Nico would do such a thing. I had to ask to be sure, but even then, I knew.
But his father? Yes. I thinkhewould do it.
My head is still spinning, so I don’t realize Nico’s back until he walks into the room. When he says my name, it startles me so badly I actually yelp with fear.
“Shit,” he grits out as he rushes to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean?—”
Clapping my hand over my thundering heart, I reply, “It’s fine. I’m fine. You just surprised me.”
But it’s not fine, is it? Not when I have to tell Nico what I think his father did.
Will he believe me? Or will this be too much for him to take?
Will he ship me off to one of his employees until?—
“Sofia.” Nico sags onto the bed, leaving several empty feet between us. His tone is different from what I’m used to. It’s heavier. Sadder.
I scan his body, searching for injuries. But there’s no blood. No bruises. His clothes are slightly rumpled, but clean. “Are you okay?” I ask. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
He shakes his head. “No. I’m fine.”
