Chapter 5: The Suitcase

I walked to the hidden safe inside my closet.

Behind jewelry I never loved and handbags I never cared about sat a black carry-on suitcase I had packed three months earlier.

Passports.

Contracts.

Bank records.

Two encrypted phones.

I changed into jeans, a black sweater, and sneakers.

No diamonds.

Nothing that belonged to Mrs. Whitmore.

By 4:00 a.m., I was driving toward Los Angeles International Airport while the city still slept beneath ribbons of streetlight and fog.

On one encrypted phone, I texted my attorney.

“Proceed with the plan.”

Her reply came immediately.

“Already in motion.”

By 8:00 a.m., Ethan woke inside the penthouse suite with a pounding headache.

Vanessa was still curled beside him, smiling in her sleep.

He reached for his phone.

Then froze. Continue Reading ⬇️