Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Red Dress Returns
The police took the box, the card, and the security footage of the courier. I watched the evidence disappear into labeled bags and wished my hands would stop trembling. Evelyn sat beside me in the sunroom, a blanket across her knees.
“I hate that kindness brought trouble to your door,” she said.
“Kindness didn't do this,” I answered. “Someone's cruelty did.”
That evening Cassandra arrived at the front gate in a cream-colored coat, looking nothing like the woman in red satin. She asked to speak with Lorenzo and claimed she had information about the threats. Marco did not let her inside until the police had been informed and Lorenzo agreed to meet in the front sitting room with Naomi present.
I wasn't supposed to be there. But Cassandra specifically asked for me.
“I didn't send the messages,” she said, looking directly at me. “Victor did.”
“Do you have proof?” Naomi asked.
Cassandra placed her phone on the table. The screen showed an exchange in which Victor bragged that a frightened employee could be persuaded to lie about the dinner. The messages were ugly and specific. They were also only screenshots, and Naomi insisted on preserving the original device for verification.
“Why tell us now?” Lorenzo asked.
Cassandra swallowed. “Because he's threatening me too.”
For one moment, I saw a woman whose carefully controlled life had begun to collapse. Then she turned to Evelyn and said, “You have to understand, I was humiliated.”
Evelyn's eyes hardened. “You were embarrassed. I was humiliated. There is a difference.”
Cassandra looked away. She apologized to Evelyn and then to me. Her words were awkward, but at least this time she named what she'd done. I did not forgive her on the spot. An apology wasn't a command requiring an immediate answer.
Victor, Cassandra explained, believed Lorenzo had documents that could expose an old financial scheme. He wanted them destroyed. When Cassandra's engagement ended, he blamed me for the lost access to the house.
Lorenzo listened without interrupting. Then he said, “You should give this to the detectives.”
“I thought you'd protect me.”
“I'll help you get protection if you're in danger,” he said. “I won't hide evidence.”
Cassandra stood, angry and frightened. “You used to do anything for me.”
“No,” he answered quietly. “I used to overlook things I should have seen.”
After she left, I went to the kitchen and cried where nobody could see. Lorenzo found me there, not to demand an explanation but to put a glass of water on the counter.
“You can take paid leave,” he said. “You don't have to stay in the middle of this.”
I stared at the glass. “I want to stay for Evelyn. But I need to know I can leave whenever I choose.”
May you like
“You can,” he said. “Without losing your job or your pay.”
For the first time since the dinner, I believed him. Then Naomi called: the warehouse ledger might still exist, and someone had just broken into the storage facility where it was last seen.
