Chapter 2: Four Words in the Dark
PART 2 ⬇️
I stood up slowly.
Marco was already on his phone, but I held up one hand and he stopped.
I looked at Lily.
"Who wrote that sentence on the back of the photo?"
"Grandma did," she said.
"Before she got sick."
My chest tightened.
"When did she pass?"
Lily thought about it the way small children do, counting something invisible.
"Before I was born."
I turned the photograph over one more time.
The handwriting was careful.
Deliberate.
Someone who knew exactly what she was leaving behind.
I folded it gently and handed it back to Lily.
Then my phone buzzed.
I glanced at the screen.
It was Richard Moretti.
My uncle.
The only other person in the company authorized to approve terminations from the chairman's office.
I let it ring.
Marco watched me do it.
"Dominic—"
"Get the car," I said quietly.
"We're going to Brooklyn."
Marco went still.
"Tonight?"
"Right now."
I looked down at Lily.
She was watching me with those careful eyes, still holding the rabbit tight.
"Can you take me home?" she asked.
"Yes," I said.
Then my phone buzzed again.
Same number.
This time a text came through.
May you like
Four words.
**Leave it alone, Dominic.**
