I Buried Him for Five Years, Then He Came Back with Another Woman Chapter 07

I Buried Him for Five Years, Then He Came Back with Another Woman Chapter 07

Adrian’s hand clenched around the phone.

The coat slipped from the housekeeper’s hands and fell to the floor.

Tessa descended the stairs with one hand on the railing, pale and delicate.

“What happened, Adrian?”

The caller continued.

“The explosion occurred in offshore shipping lane three. The boat has already sunk.”

“The Coast Guard recovered a black duffel bag with half the cash burned.”

“They also found pieces of Ms. Hale’s coat.”

Adrian swallowed hard.

“What about Wesley?”

The caller paused.

“There is no record of Wesley boarding the boat.”

Adrian’s face turned frighteningly dark.

“What do you mean, no record?”

“The treatment center said Wesley was never transported to the dock tonight.”

Only the rain could be heard in the foyer.

Tessa’s fingers slowly tightened around the railing.

Adrian looked up at her.

“Why wasn’t Wesley on the boat?”

Tessa froze, and her eyes immediately filled with tears.

“I don’t know.”

“Didn’t you arrange it, Adrian?”

Adrian said nothing.

He called the treatment center’s director.

The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

He called again and found it switched off.

He turned toward the door.

Tessa hurried after him.

“Where are you going?”

Adrian did not turn around.

“The docks.”

Her voice trembled.

“But I just lost our baby. I’m afraid to stay here alone.”

Adrian paused.

In the past, those words always made him return to her.

This time, he only gave the housekeeper a cold order.

“Take care of Ms. Lane.”

Then he strode into the rain.

The car sped away from the house as the windshield wipers thrashed.

Adrian sat in the back seat with the veins raised along his hand.

His assistant passed him photographs from the Coast Guard.

Charred pieces of hull.

A severed railing.

Black fabric floating on the water.

And a warped silver hair clip.

Maren had worn that clip often.

She had worn it at his memorial service five years earlier, when she remained beside his photograph for

seven days.

He had watched her once from the shadows.

She had been thin as paper, yet her eyes had remained stubbornly dry.

Mr. Whitcomb had said,

“Maren can endure this.”

“With her here, the Caldwell family won’t fall.”

Adrian closed his eyes.

The image of her at the press conference suddenly returned.

An egg had struck her shoulder.

She had not moved.

She had only looked into the camera and said she had nothing else to add.

She had always argued.

She had never admitted defeat.

Yet that day, she had been as still as dead water.

His assistant spoke carefully.

“The media already has the story.”

“People online are saying Ms. Hale fled out of guilt and died when her boat exploded.”

Adrian opened his eyes.

“Who released that story?”

The assistant lowered his head.

“We’re investigating.”

By the time the car reached the docks, the wind was driving the rain sideways.

White searchlights swept across the water.

Reid stood beyond the police line, soaked through.

Adrian got out and punched him in the face.

Reid stumbled back two steps.

He did not fight back.

Adrian grabbed his collar.

“I ordered you to watch her board that boat.”

“Where is she?”

Blood marked Reid’s lip, and his voice was hoarse.

“She boarded.”

“I saw her myself.”

“She was alone, carrying the ticket and that black bag.”

Adrian’s eyes reddened.

“Where was Wesley?”

Reid remained silent.

Adrian hit him again.

“I asked you where Wesley was!”