Chapter 4 - The Envelope at Naomi's Office.
Naomi's accounting office occupied the second floor of a converted brick warehouse across town.
By the time Vincent and Lena arrived, two patrol cars were already parked beside the loading dock.
The front door showed fresh scratches around the lock, but nothing had been taken.
Naomi stood inside with a paper cup clutched between both hands.
She was in her early forties, precise in everything from her dark bob to the labels on the filing cabinets behind her.
That night, precision had given way to fear.
"I should have called you sooner," she told Lena.
Lena shook her head.
"I should have noticed my phone wasn't mine anymore."
Naomi glanced at Vincent.
"He told me you were traveling."
"Who did?"
"Derek."
Naomi led them into a conference room and locked the door.
The brown envelope sat in the middle of the table.
Lena recognized Derek's handwriting immediately.
"When did he give you this?"
"Eight months ago."
"Why would he leave something for me with you?"
Naomi looked uncomfortable.
"He said if there was ever a dispute over the business accounts, you would need documentation showing you had agreed to everything."
Lena stared at her.
"But I didn't agree."
"I know that now."
Vincent pulled on a pair of thin gloves from his pocket and slid the envelope toward Lena.
"Your name is on it, so you decide."
Lena broke the seal.
Inside were copies of bank transfers, a handwritten letter, and a flash drive.
The letter was short.
Lena read the first line aloud.
"If you're reading this, Vincent has convinced you to turn against me."
Her mouth went dry.
The second paragraph described Vincent as dangerous, controlling, and obsessed with breaking them apart.
The third claimed Lena had voluntarily moved her savings into Derek's company to protect it from creditors.
There was one problem.
Lena had never had creditors.
"He wrote a defense before anyone accused him," Naomi said quietly.
Vincent remained silent.
Lena turned the page over.
At the bottom was a list of dates.
One matched the night she had fallen on the kitchen tile after Derek grabbed the phone from her hand.
Another matched the week he changed the locks while she was visiting her mother.
A third matched a dinner when Derek spent forty minutes telling their friends that Lena had become forgetful.
Beside each date was a short note.
Emotional episode.
Confused about finances.
Unreliable recollection.
Lena felt the air leave her lungs.
"He was building a story about me."
Naomi nodded.
"That's what I think."
Vincent pointed to the flash drive.
"Can we open it here?"
Naomi inserted it into a computer that was not connected to her firm's network.
The drive contained seven folders.
Six were labeled with dates.
The seventh was labeled LENA - FINAL.
Naomi clicked it.
A single audio file appeared.
The timestamp was from three nights earlier.
Lena's pulse jumped.
"I wasn't with Derek three nights ago."
Naomi pressed play.
Derek's voice filled the small room.
"Once she signs the new lease, everything becomes easier."
A second man's voice answered.
"And if she doesn't sign?"
Derek laughed softly.
"Then we use the old version."
The recording stopped.
Lena looked at Vincent.
"What old version?"
Before he could answer, Naomi's office phone rang.
She stared at the display.
The caller ID showed Lena's number.
May you like
Lena slowly lifted her own phone from her pocket.
It was dark and silent in her hand.
