Chapter 2

My daughter Bella Hale was home.

Her face darkened the second she saw the ledgers in my hands. "Mom, you're looking at these again."

She walked over and crouched beside me. Her voice ached with sympathy. "Did Dad go see them again? Is he out celebrating with his bastard son?"

Bella knew about Ryan. Leo had told her himself.

One night, after throwing back too many drinks, he grabbed Bella's hand. He slurred that he had made a mistake on the outside, but this family would always be his top priority. He said she needed to understand him.

Bella was only fifteen at the time.

"Mom, what are you even waiting for? Can't we just leave him?" Bella said, her voice trembling.

I closed the ledger and looked down at my daughter. Her eyes were rimmed with red.

"Bella, today is the day," I told her quietly. "We don't have to wait anymore."

She froze. Her lips parted slightly, but before she could speak, a violent pounding erupted at the front door.

It sounded like they were trying to take the door off its hinges.

I stood up. Bella immediately stepped in front of me, glaring warily toward the entryway.

I walked over and pulled the door open.

I knew the man standing on the porch.

It was Iris's younger brother, Jason Shaw. He was a local thug who ran a shady contracting gig using Leo's connections. He was always stirring up trouble.

Right now, he was blocking the doorway, flanked by two heavily tattooed musclemen.

"Hey, Ada. My sister sent me over to have a little chat," Jason said.

He stepped right over the threshold. A cigarette dangled from his lips. His eyes swept disrespectfully around my home.

"You'd better watch your mouth during tomorrow's background check." He walked right up to me, stopping mere inches from my face.

He slowly blew a plume of smoke. "If you breathe a single word out of line, we won't be so nice."

One of the goons behind him cracked his knuckles loudly.

Bella clenched her fists. I reached out and gently squeezed her arm to keep her back.

I didn't even look at Jason. I just raised my hand and pointed to the corner of the living room ceiling.

A discreet black dome rested against the paint.

"This house has a smart security system that records 24/7 audio and video," I said evenly. "Every single word you just threatened me with is already in the cloud."

Jason's face dropped. He whipped his head around to stare at the camera. His Adam's apple bobbed nervously.

"Who the hell are you trying to scare?!" he barked. He tried to mask his panic with aggression, reaching out to grab my collar.

"Jason! What the hell are you doing here?" Leo's voice rang out from the hallway.

He hurried into the living room. His face cycled through sheer panic as he took in the scene.

He didn't look at Jason. He glared straight at me.

"Ada! What are you pulling now? Can't you just behave for one single day?" he hissed.

The veins throbbed visibly at his temples.

Then, he spun around and plastered a sickeningly sweet smile on his face for Jason. "It's really no big deal, buddy. You didn't have to come all this way. Don't worry, Ada knows exactly what to do."

Jason sneered. "I'm not trying to disrespect you, man. But my sister said if this gets screwed up, she's coming for your head."

Leo's smile froze for a second, but he forced himself to nod.

Once Jason and his goons left, Leo grabbed my arm.

He yanked me into the corner and lowered his voice. "Just nod your head and say a few nice words. Is that really so hard? Do you have to make this ugly for everyone?"

I looked right at him. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and hit play.

An audio recording started playing. It wasn't particularly loud. But the living room was so quiet that every single syllable was crystal clear.

It was Leo's voice. "Don't worry, baby. As soon as Ryan's security clearance goes through, I'm divorcing that old hag. She's practically a zombie anyway. I tell her to jump, and she asks how high."

It was that same gentle, fawning tone he always used to sweet-talk Iris.

The air felt sucked out of the room.

Leo went ghostly pale. Beside me, Bella bit her lip. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

I locked my phone. "Am I making a scene now?"

I locked my phone. "Am I making a scene now?"

Right on cue, the doorbell rang. Two sharp, polite chimes.

I checked the peephole. Two men in crisp white shirts stood on the porch. They clutched manila folders with deadpan expressions.

The background investigators were here.

It was like Leo had been slapped awake. He took a deep breath, plastered on a flawless fake smile, and practically sprinted to yank the door open.

"Gentlemen, good afternoon. Please, come right in," he said, all politeness and charm.

The lead agent was a man in his forties named Davis Law. He sat down and flipped open his folder with bureaucratic efficiency.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hale, we are here regarding Ryan's federal security clearance. We just need to ask a few routine questions," Davis said, his tone professional and no-nonsense.

Leo scrambled to hand them coffee and nodded eagerly. "Of course. Whatever you need."

"Could you describe your marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Hale? Would you say it is harmonious?"

"Oh, absolutely. Extremely harmonious!" Leo jumped in. His voice dripped with desperate enthusiasm. "My wife is a homemaker.

"She has a wonderful temper. We haven't had a single fight in twenty years."

Davis nodded and scribbled on his form. "And Mr. Vance, do you have any questionable habits outside of work? Gambling, perhaps? Any inappropriate social connections?"

"No, absolutely not." Leo sat up perfectly straight. "I am a simple man. I just go to work and come home to my family."

Davis shifted his gaze from Leo to me. "Mrs. Hale, would you agree with that?"

Leo shot me a glare sharp enough to kill.

I picked up my coffee mug and blew on it gently. The dark liquid rippled.

I did not say a word.