Page 11 of Hacker Salvation

“Sidney, right?”

She nodded.

“I don’t need his money. I didn’t need a place to live. We’re friends. And this was convenient. Why would I do anything to jeopardize my career?” I covered my face with both hands. “How could I do anything to hurt my best friend?” I shook my head.

“Pedro,” the girl whispered. “He’s Italian. He came for a business meeting, and they hit it off.”

I blinked a few times. “Okay, so he still sees the same man.” I winked at Sidney. “Any chance you have a picture of him?” I didn’t have one on me to give to John and Neal.

“Was he really reconsidering the wedding?” Sidney asked.

Deciding honesty was the best policy, I nodded. “Yes. But not for the reasons everyone thinks. He wanted to marry his lover instead. But the issues with his family held him back. I would do anything to make Nate happy. It’s not like I had men lining up at my door to make me their wife.” I leaned in. “Did you know he changed his will last week?”

“Yes. He admitted getting it done fast. Marta helped get everything done.” Sidney sighed. “There’s a picture of Pedro under your picture in the office.”

“Thank you, Sidney.” I grabbed a pen and Post-it from her desk and wrote down my number. “I’m apprehensive about Nate. If you hear or see anything, let me know.”

Sidney looked at the pink sticky I handed her. “You really think he’s okay?”

“Yes.” The word came out before I had time to think about it. Was Nate hurt? Probably. But everything told me he was still alive.

John pulled the double wood doors to Nate’s office open. We wandered inside the office, and John made a beeline for the desk. He found the frame with the picture. He pulled it open, and sure enough, there was a second picture behind mine. He flipped it over and found an address on the back. “This whole thing is coming with us,” he announced.

I shrugged, not understanding why we needed everything.

Security would let Nate’s family know I was in his office. I wouldn’t be surprised if Richard, Nate’s dad, burst in at any second. In the meantime, I worked on the wall safe. I opened it on the first try since I knew the combination by heart. It was the same one for all of Nate’s safes. Inside, I found a copy of the will. I scanned the document. As promised, I was the one who stood to inherit everything upon Nate’s death. In addition, there was one stack of hundred-dollar bills wrapped with a white-and-yellow band. Across the front the in yellow lettering, it read “ten thousand dollars.” I frowned.

“What’s wrong?” John asked, looking at the money.

Most people probably thought that finding ten grand was pretty good, but I knew better. “He usually kept one hundred grand or more on hand in the safe.” I went to the door and leaned out to speak with Sidney. I asked if anyone else had been there before us.

She shook her head. “No one besides Nate and Pedro were ever in the office.”

I was shocked to hear Pedro had been there.

I put the stack of money into my purse just as Mr. Fisher rounded the corner, followed closely by Nate’s sister. Mr. Fisher had short black hair, which was speckled with gray. He was always dressed in the most expensive suit, and he walked with power and authority. In all the years I’d known Nate, I had only seen his dad out of a suit a handful of times.

“What are you doing here, Annabella? You are not welcome,” Mr. Fisher said coldly.

John shifted to my side as I spoke. “Well, I’m looking for signs of where my fiancé could be. And if something did happen to him, I have every right to be here.”

He barked out a laugh. “My son went off and got himself killed this time, and you are the prime suspect. No matter what that will says, you won’t get anything. Because you will be behind bars.”

“Dad, Nate probably just went off on one of his trips. He’s stressed about the upcoming wedding. Annabella will be your daughter in a matter of weeks.”

Mr. Fisher’s jaw clenched, and a bead of sweat trickled down his face. “If he would’ve done like I told him and grown up, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.” Before I could ask what he was talking about, the man turned on his heel and left.

Marta walked up and wrapped her arms around me. I pulled back after a moment. Marta sat in one of the guest chairs, and I took the one next to her. John leaned against the back wall. I didn’t know how one man could look so sexy just leaning against the wall. Marta cleared her throat, and John smirked, probably because he knew I was staring.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “Do you know where Nate is? He can’t be dead.”

Marta leaned back in the chair. She had long blond hair and was dressed in a black suit with a crisp white shirt. Upon closer inspection, I found that her eyes were red and bloodshot. “I tried calling you last night, but your phone is going to voice mail.”

John walked over and snagged two bottles of water from Nate’s bar. Then he handed one to Marta and one to me. I would’ve rather had a sip of his expensive scotch.

“My phone is at the house, which is a crime scene,” I explained. “You have to give me something. Deep down, I don’t think he’s dead. Something is going on, and he wouldn’t tell me what. Lately, it seemed he was hiding more and more secrets from me. We used to tell each other everything.”

Marta looked back toward the door. “Things are going on at the firm. Nate didn’t want you tied up in it. Let’s just say Dad started doing business with the wrong crowd. Nate was working to clean it up.”

---