The man who ordered my murder was holding my hand beneath the fluorescent lights of the police precinct. Every time a detective looked away, my husband squeezed my fractured fingers and smiled as if he were keeping me alive.
Blood had dried behind my left ear. Six stitches crossed my scalp beneath a hospital bandage, and each breath scraped against my bruised ribs. My left eye had swollen nearly shut.
Across the desk, Detective Mara Quinn watched us with the stillness of someone listening to a lie before it was spoken.
“It was a burglary,” my husband, Adrian, said softly. “Wrong place, wrong time. Evelyn is confused.”
He leaned close, pretending to kiss my temple. His thumb dug into the purple bruise under my ribs.
“Tell them it was random,” he whispered, “or I’ll finish the job on your sister tonight.
”
Pain burst white behind my eyes.
I did not flinch.
For eleven years, Adrian had mistaken my quietness for obedience. He had mocked my work in digital forensics, calling it “computer housekeeping,” while spending money that did not exist and taking meetings he thought I never noticed. After the attack, he had stood over my hospital bed and rehearsed my statement for me.
Two masked men. Forced entry. Jewelry missing.
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