Chapter 3 - The Best Man's Shadow
Nora stared at the glowing two-inch LCD screen on the back of her Nikon. Even zoomed in at two hundred percent, Julian Vance’s features were unmistakable: the sharp, aristocratic jawline, the distinct silver crest at his temple, and the cold, unblinking grey eyes that had once offered toasts to ""lifelong loyalty"" at her wedding reception in Newport.
Footsteps pounded on the wooden floorboards outside the editing room. Nora dropped beneath the desk, slipping the high-speed SD card from the primary slot and jamming it deep inside the inner lining of her boot. She replaced it with a blank spare from her drawer, her hands moving with mechanical precision despite the adrenaline roaring in her ears.
Dominic burst through the doorway, his weapon lowered, chest heaving. The sleeve of his jacket was torn, smeared with soot and brick dust.
""Elise is out,"" Dominic breathed, leaning against the doorframe to scan the hallway behind him. ""I saw them clear the alley. The shooter pulled back.""
""The shooter didn't pull back because he was scared of you, Dominic,"" Nora said, rising slowly from behind the desk, holding the camera loosely in her hand. ""He pulled back because he knows he can finish this anywhere he wants. Isn't that right, Julian?""
Dominic froze. His entire posture locked up, the air leaving his lungs in a sharp hiss. ""What did you say?""
Nora turned the camera around, holding up the screen. Dominic stepped forward, his eyes locking onto the frozen image of his best friend reflected in the vintage mirror. The color that had barely begun to return to Dominic’s face vanished completely.
""Julian,"" he whispered, sounding genuinely horrified. ""It was Julian.""
""Don't play dumb with me!"" Nora snapped, her composure finally fracturing into incandescent rage. She stepped forward, jabbing a finger against his chest. ""You brought this into my life! You brought your pregnant little girlfriend into my studio! You had Julian Vance—the man who gave the toast at our rehearsal dinner—hunting you down like an animal! How long, Dominic? How long have you been sleeping with her? How long have you been lying to my face?""
Dominic closed his eyes, his head dropping. ""Elise was Julian’s assistant, Nora.""
The room went dead silent. The faint wail of distant sirens began to echo from Commonwealth Avenue, but inside the ruined office, time seemed to stop entirely.
""What?"" Nora asked, the word hollow.
""Three years ago, Julian got us involved in an offshore holding syndicate,"" Dominic said, his voice dropping to an urgent, broken whisper. ""I thought it was luxury resort developments in the Caribbean. It wasn't. It was an international money-laundering network for sanctioned cartels and human trafficking rings. By the time I found the real ledgers, Julian had already tied my signature to the offshore accounts. He told me if I ever went to the federal authorities, he would make sure you took the fall alongside me. He set up dummy shell companies in your studio’s name, Nora.""
Nora felt the floor tilt beneath her feet. ""You let him use my business?""
""I didn't let him! He did it behind my back!"" Dominic pleaded, stepping closer, reaching out to touch her arm before pulling his hand back as if he didn't have the right. ""Elise found the encrypted secondary drives in Julian’s private safe six months ago. She was terrified. She came to me because she knew I was trying to get out. We worked together to copy the files. And then..."" He swallowed hard, looking toward the shattered window. ""One night in New York, after a safehouse drop... it happened. I made the biggest mistake of my life. But I swear to God, Nora, I never loved her. I was trying to protect her until the baby was born and we could hand the evidence to the FBI.""
""You got her pregnant, Dominic!"" Nora shouted, tears of pure fury finally spilling over her eyelashes. ""You gave her the baby you told me we could never have! You told me it was too dangerous!""
""Because it WAS dangerous!"" Dominic yelled back, his voice cracking with agony. ""Look at this room, Nora! Look at the glass on the floor! Look at the bullet holes in the wall! This is the life I live every single second of every day! I couldn't bear the thought of Julian touching you! I couldn't bear the thought of burying you! Elise was already in the blast radius. You were the only pure, clean thing left in my miserable existence!""
""Don't you dare call me pure like I'm some fragile doll you kept in a box!"" Nora snarled, grabbing her coat from the back of the chair. ""You didn't protect me, Dominic. You kept me in the dark so you wouldn't have to face what you really are. A liar. A cheat. And a coward.""
Before Dominic could respond, the low hum of Nora’s studio landline buzzed. The red light blinked incessantly.
May you like
Dominic moved forward, hitting the speakerphone button with the tip of his gun barrel.
""Dominic? Nora?"" Julian Vance’s smooth, cultured voice drifted out of the small speaker, perfectly calm, entirely devoid of shame. ""I must say, Nora, your composition has always been magnificent. But I suggest you both look out the front bay window. The city is full of spectators today.""
