The Friend Who Introduced Us
Chapter 05 - The Friend Who Introduced Us
Mark came to my house at ten that morning.
He did not ring the bell.
He used the key I had given him years earlier, walked into my kitchen, and stopped when he saw my face.
“Change the locks,” I said.
He exhaled.
“Daniel—”
“What did you know?”
Lily was upstairs with our housekeeper, Mrs. Alvarez. I had waited until she could not hear us.
Mark set his phone on the counter.
“Not enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
He rubbed both hands over his face.
“I knew Vanessa had changed her name.”
My stomach dropped.
“When?”
“Before I introduced you.”
I stared at him.
He rushed on.
“Her father told me it was because of a stalking situation. He said there had been threats. I believed him.”
“You believed Conrad Hale?”
“He was a client.”
“And she was his daughter.”
“Yes.”
“And I was your friend.”
Mark looked away.
That was the answer.
I had met Vanessa at a hospital fundraiser. Mark had arranged our seats. She had been warm with Lily, patient with my grief, elegant without seeming showy. For two years, she never pushed me to move faster than I was ready.
Or so I had thought.
“Did you know about Noah?”
“No.”
“Did you know the name Rachel Blake?”
Mark hesitated.
That hesitation ended something between us.
“Say it.”
“I saw it once.”
“Where?”
“In a background report.”
My hands clenched.
“You ran a background report on the woman you were introducing to me?”
“Conrad’s firm was entering a major joint venture with ours. We ran checks on everyone.”
“And Rachel Blake appeared?”
“As an alias.”
“What else?”
“Sealed family-court references. Nothing I could access legally.”
“And you never told me.”
“Conrad said it was related to an abusive former partner. Vanessa confirmed it.”
I laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“You let me bring her into Lily’s life.”
Mark’s face changed.
“I thought I was protecting her privacy.”
“No. You were protecting a deal.”
He did not deny it.
Then his phone lit up.
A message appeared on the screen.
From Conrad.
DO NOT DISCUSS FAIRVIEW.
Mark grabbed the phone too late.
I had already read it.
I looked at him.
“What happened at Fairview?”
May you like
Mark went completely still.
And I knew the lie was older than my relationship with Vanessa.
