Chapter 8 - The Truth Adrian Hid
For three days, nobody found Adrian.
I didn't know whether to fear his return or fear that he was dead.
Both feelings made me angry.
Even missing, he controlled the emotional temperature of my life.
On the fourth morning, Detective Harris called.
"We found him."
I stood so fast my chair fell backward.
"Alive?"
"Yes."
My knees weakened.
"Where?"
"Hospital."
Adrian had walked into an emergency room at two in the morning with a concussion, a broken wrist, and dehydration.
He claimed Daniel's men had held him.
Police weren't sure whether to believe that part.
Neither was I.
"Can I see him?"
The question escaped before I decided whether I wanted to.
"Not yet."
I sat down.
"Is he under arrest?"
"He's in custody."
Those words brought relief.
Then grief.
Then shame for grieving.
Eleven years didn't disappear because the truth became ugly.
I could hate what Adrian had done and still remember him holding our newborn son.
Human hearts are inconvenient that way.
Later that afternoon, Adrian asked to speak with me.
Leah advised against going alone.
So I didn't.
She came with me.
Two officers stood outside the hospital room.
Adrian looked smaller in the bed.
His left wrist was casted.
Purple bruising darkened his cheek.
When he saw me, his eyes filled with tears.
"Vanessa."
I remained near the door.
"Why did you ask for me?"
He looked at Leah.
"Privately."
"No."
"Please."
"No."
He stared at me for a long moment.
Then nodded.
"I deserve that."
I said nothing.
He took a breath.
"Daniel wasn't the beginning."
Leah opened her notebook.
"Then who was?"
Adrian looked at me.
"My uncle Raymond."
I frowned.
Adrian's Uncle Ray had died years ago.
"He taught me how to use identities."
My stomach turned.
"When?"
"College."
"You've been doing this that long?"
"Small things at first."
"There are no small versions of identity theft."
"I know."
"Do you?"
He looked down.
"Daniel turned it into a business."
"How?"
"I met him through a client. He knew how to create shell companies, move money, buy property, erase trails."
"And you brought him names."
Adrian nodded.
"People who trusted me."
I felt sick.
"Why my house?"
"We needed clean collateral."
I almost laughed.
Clean.
My grandmother's home reduced to collateral.
"Why me?"
His face crumpled.
"I thought because we were married, I'd fix it before you ever knew."
"You thought marriage gave you permission?"
"No."
"That's exactly what you thought."
He looked away.
Leah asked, "Why did you send the women money requests?"
Adrian swallowed.
"Tiana wasn't planned."
She wasn't there, but hearing him reduce her life to a category made me furious.
"What does that mean?"
"I met her at a charity event. I liked her."
"And then?"
"Daniel said people around me were useful."
I stared.
"Useful."
"He noticed she had excellent credit."
My hands curled.
"And Brianna?"
"Same."
I felt cold.
"You researched women you slept with."
"I didn't start relationships for that reason."
"But you used them for that reason."
"Yes."
I looked toward the window.
For months, I had wondered if Adrian loved them more.
That question suddenly seemed almost childish.
Love wasn't what Adrian had been doing.
He had been consuming people.
"You told Tiana I was controlling."
"I know."
"You told me she was unstable."
"I know."
"You told Brianna we had an open marriage."
"I know."
"Why?"
His voice cracked.
"So nobody compared notes."
There it was.
The strategy.
Keep everyone separated.
Keep everyone ashamed.
Keep everyone suspicious of someone else.
"Marcus?"
"He helped with paperwork."
"Did he know?"
"Some."
"Enough to break into Tiana's house?"
Adrian nodded.
"I told him she had documents that could destroy us."
"And Daniel?"
Adrian's expression changed.
"Daniel ordered the attack."
Leah frowned.
"Attack on you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I wanted out."
I laughed bitterly.
"When? After you got caught?"
He looked ashamed.
"Yes."
At least he didn't pretend.
"I told him I would cooperate."
"Before or after you knew police had the storage unit?"
"After."
Of course.
Courage arriving only after escape disappeared.
Adrian looked at me.
"I gave Marcus the files."
"The flash drive?"
"Yes. I told him if anything happened, get it to you."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the only person Daniel couldn't buy."
I stared at him.
"You bought me for years with lies."
His face fell.
I almost regretted saying it.
Almost.
He reached toward me.
I stepped back.
His hand dropped.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"I loved you."
"No."
"I did."
"You loved being trusted by me."
He started crying.
Maybe those tears were real.
I didn't care anymore.
"You don't get to define what you did as love just because you felt something."
Adrian closed his eyes.
That was the first time I saw him stop arguing.
Leah asked about the password.
"Zoe's birthday."
He nodded.
"What does it unlock?"
"A second partition on the drive."
"What is there?"
"Everything."
"Define everything."
"Account maps. Client names. Daniel's partners. Copies of messages."
"Enough to convict Mercer?"
"Yes."
"And you?"
Adrian looked at me.
"Yes."
My chest tightened.
He had just admitted the evidence would destroy him too.
"Why tell us?"
He looked exhausted.
"Because I'm done pretending I can escape consequences."
It was the first responsible sentence I'd heard from him in months.
It didn't erase anything.
But I heard it.
Before we left, Adrian said my name.
I stopped.
"I signed divorce papers."
I turned.
"Already?"
"My attorney brought them."
"You have an attorney?"
"Public defender."
The irony almost made me smile.
"What are you asking from me?"
"Nothing."
He swallowed.
"I waived any claim to the house."
Leah raised an eyebrow.
"The deed still needs to be invalidated."
"I gave a sworn statement admitting it was forged."
My throat tightened.
"Why?"
Adrian looked at me.
"Because that house was never mine."
I left before I cried.
Outside, Tiana was waiting in the hallway.
She had come to give a statement.
"How was he?"
"Broken."
"Good."
Then she looked guilty.
"Sorry."
"Don't be."
She studied my face.
"Do you still love him?"
I answered honestly.
"I love the man I thought he was."
Tiana nodded.
"That's probably worse."
"Yeah."
Leah's phone rang.
She stepped away.
When she returned, she looked stunned.
"What?"
"They unlocked the drive."
My heart pounded.
"And?"
"Daniel Mercer isn't the top of the network."
I stared at her.
"Who is?"
She looked at Tiana.
Then at me.
"Raymond Cole."
May you like
Adrian's uncle.
The man Adrian said was dead.
