CHAPTER 5 — The Detective Who Never Forgot
CHAPTER 5 — The Detective Who Never Forgot
Olivia knew she couldn't go to the local police.
Not yet.
If Ethan truly belonged to an organized criminal network, she had no idea who could be trusted.
Instead, she searched for someone from her past.
Detective Marcus Reed.
Ten years earlier, Marcus had investigated the hit-and-run that killed Olivia's father.
The case had gone cold, but Marcus had never stopped checking on her mother every Christmas.
He was one of the few people Olivia believed was genuinely honest.
She drove a rental car to Metro Police Headquarters just after sunrise.
Marcus looked up from his desk.
For several seconds he simply stared.
"Olivia?"
She forced a weak smile.
"I know I look terrible."
"What happened?"
"I got married yesterday."
Marcus blinked.
"And today?"
"I need you to pretend I never got married."
He immediately closed his office door.
"Sit down."
For the next hour, Olivia told him everything.
The hidden conversation.
The forged documents.
The insurance policy.
The mountain overlook.
The mysterious voice on the phone.
Marcus didn't interrupt once.
When she finished, he slowly leaned back.
"This is bigger than fraud."
"I know."
He examined the copied files.
His expression hardened.
"These aren't amateur forgeries."
"You recognize them?"
He nodded.
"I've seen paperwork like this before."
Olivia felt her stomach tighten.
"When?"
Marcus stood and walked to an old filing cabinet.
After several minutes he returned carrying a dusty case file.
Across the front was written:
PARKER INVESTIGATIONS
Olivia froze.
"Ethan?"
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
He opened the folder.
A black-and-white photograph slid across the desk.
An older man.
Sharp jaw.
Cold eyes.
Standing beside a younger version of Ethan.
"This," Marcus said quietly, "is Richard Parker."
"Ethan's father?"
Marcus nodded.
"For twenty-five years we've suspected Richard Parker of running one of the largest financial fraud operations in the Southeast."
Olivia's pulse quickened.
"But every witness disappeared."
"Every accountant vanished."
"Every partner suddenly refused to testify."
Marcus looked directly into her eyes.
"And every major asset..."
"...was transferred into the name of someone else."
Olivia suddenly understood.
She wasn't the first.
She was simply the latest.
Marcus opened another page.
There were photographs of smiling women.
Six of them.
Different ages.
Different cities.
Each standing beside Ethan.
"Were these...?"
Marcus nodded grimly.
"Engagement photos."
Olivia's blood ran cold.
"How many wives has he had?"
Marcus's answer came like a hammer.
"As far as we can prove?"
He turned another page.
"You're number seven."
Olivia couldn't breathe.
Every woman before her had vanished within two years of marrying Ethan Parker.
There were no bodies.
No convictions.
No arrests.
Only closed bank accounts...
transferred fortunes...
and seven wedding albums.
Marcus looked at her with deadly seriousness.
"Olivia..."
May you like
"If Ethan knows you're alive..."
"Then you're the first wife who's ever escaped."
