Chapter 4 - The Woman in Crimson
Firefighters controlled the blaze quickly.
Only one office had burned.
The hotel manager’s office.
Nothing else.
That made Claire even more certain the fire had been deliberate.
At 9:17 p.m., detectives arrived.
Julian immediately began constructing his version of events.
Claire watched from across the lobby.
He spoke softly.
He appeared cooperative.
He expressed concern for his “estranged wife.”
He claimed his reported death had been an administrative misunderstanding involving foreign authorities.
Claire almost admired the audacity.
Vanessa stood beside her with her arms crossed.
“I believed him.”
Claire looked at her.
Vanessa stared at Julian.
“He told me his wife died three years ago.”
Claire felt something tighten in her chest.
“Three years?”
“He said you disappeared during a boating accident near Corsica.”
Claire swallowed.
“He told me he had no idea where you were.”
Vanessa looked at Claire.
“He showed me a death declaration.”
“I’m very much alive.”
“I can see that.”
For the first time, there was something almost human in Vanessa’s voice.
Claire studied her.
“You didn’t know?”
“No.”
Claire wanted to believe her.
But trusting Julian’s new fiancée felt impossible.
Vanessa took a slow breath.
“My father met Julian two years ago.”
Claire frowned.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Six months ago, I was still living with him.”
Vanessa’s face changed.
Neither woman spoke for several seconds.
The timeline did not fit.
Unless Julian had been living two lives long before his supposed death.
Vanessa slowly removed her diamond engagement ring.
She stared at it.
Then she closed her fingers around it.
“What was he doing six months ago?”
Claire almost laughed from disbelief.
“He was my husband.”
Vanessa’s jaw tightened.
“He told me he was in Singapore negotiating a property acquisition.”
Claire remembered those trips.
Every second Thursday.
Two or three nights.
Expensive suits packed into black luggage.
Business calls he took outside.
The smell of unfamiliar perfume once clinging to his collar.
She had ignored it.
She had wanted peace more than truth.
“I think he was with you.”
Vanessa looked sick.
Across the lobby, Julian finished speaking with the detective.
Then he walked toward them.
“Vanessa, can we talk privately?”
She stared at him.
“No.”
His expression remained controlled.
“This situation is being deliberately manipulated.”
Claire laughed.
Julian turned.
“What’s funny?”
“You still think you’re the smartest person in the room.”
Julian stepped closer.
“And you still don’t understand what you’re involved in.”
Claire’s anger disappeared.
The warning sounded genuine.
Vanessa heard it too.
“What does that mean?”
Julian looked from one woman to the other.
Then he spoke almost gently.
“It means the contents of that drive do not belong to me.”
Claire’s mouth went dry.
May you like
Julian continued.
“And if the people they belong to discover Claire has it, I will be the least dangerous problem she has tonight.”
