Six months before he met Celeste.

“She knew,” he said.

Naomi did not answer immediately.

They were in her office with copies supplied by investigators.

The original documents remained in evidence.

“She appears to have gathered information,” Naomi said carefully.

“She targeted me.”

“That is one interpretation.”

“What other interpretation is there?”

“We prove facts first.”

Adrian hated her caution.

Then he remembered why he needed it.

“What do we know?”

Naomi pointed.

“We know someone compiled a profile about you. We know it was stored among Celeste’s documents. We know the document references Jonah’s trust.”

“Before she met me.”

“Yes.”

“Where would she get that information?”

“Some details were public or discoverable. Your wife’s obituary mentioned Jonah and Poppy. Your father-in-law’s estate filings may have been public. Property ownership can be researched. Employment information was online.”

“And the trust?”

“Possibly inferred from probate documents. Possibly obtained another way.”

Adrian rubbed his face.

Celeste had first approached him at a community fundraiser.

She had spilled sparkling water near his table.

They had laughed.

She had recognized Claire from across the room.

At the time, Adrian thought it was coincidence.

Now he wondered whether any of it had been accidental.

The profile included notes.

Father works long hours.

Sister Claire involved.

Children’s mother deceased.

Home equity strong.

The words were clinical.

Adrian felt like an acquisition target.

Naomi turned the page.

A handwritten note:

Trust likely restricted. Need reimbursement path.

Adrian stood.

“I need air.”

Outside, he called Claire.

When he told her, she swore.

Then went quiet.

“I never liked how fast she knew everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“After your second date, she asked me whether Evelyn’s father had ‘planned well’ for the children.”

Adrian’s stomach tightened.

“You never told me.”

“I thought she meant life insurance.”

“What else?”

Claire hesitated.

“She asked whether the house belonged to you outright.”

“When?”

“Before you were engaged.”

Adrian leaned against his car.

“How did I miss this?”

“You were grieving.”

“That’s not an excuse.”

“No. But it’s a reason.”

He looked across the parking lot.

“I wanted someone to make the house feel normal.”

Claire’s voice softened.

“I know.”

“She did.”

“For a while.”

That evening Jonah asked to go home.

Adrian hesitated.

The children had been away nearly a week.

Celeste had been served with a temporary protective arrangement preventing unsupervised contact with Jonah pending investigation, and she had moved to a hotel.

Adrian brought the children back.

The dining room looked exactly the same.

Three chairs.

Three plates stored in the cabinet.

The camera still high in the corner.

Jonah stopped in the doorway.

Adrian noticed.

“We can eat somewhere else.”

Jonah shook his head.

“No.”

Poppy ran to her chair.

Milo was staying temporarily with Celeste’s mother under a separate family arrangement.

His empty seat changed the room.

Jonah sat.

Adrian cooked too much food.

Chicken.

Rice.

Vegetables.

The same meal.

He almost regretted it.

Then Jonah said, “Can I have a lot?”

Adrian smiled.

“As much as you want.”

Jonah filled his plate.

Halfway through dinner, he stopped.

Adrian’s stomach tightened.

“What’s wrong?”

Jonah stared at the food.

“Can I save it?”

“For later?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

Jonah looked up.

“You won’t throw it away?”

“No.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Adrian found a container.

Jonah put the remaining chicken inside himself.

Then Poppy pointed at the camera.

“Camera fixed?”

Adrian looked up.

“No.”

“Why?”

He considered replacing it.

Then decided not yet.

“Because we don’t need it tonight.”

Poppy accepted that answer.

Jonah did not.

He stared at the black device.

Then said quietly, “Maybe keep it.”

“Why?”

Jonah looked at his father.

“So people tell the truth.”

Adrian’s chest tightened.

He wanted to tell Jonah that cameras should not be necessary for truth.

But after everything they had found, the words would have sounded hollow.

His phone rang.

Naomi.

“Adrian, the investigators found evidence of another account.”

“How much?”

“We don’t know.”

“Whose name?”

Naomi paused.

“Poppy’s.”