Chapter 2

But the case was cold, and I had no leads.

That evening, I got a text from Scarlett.

"Working late tonight. Won't be home till late."

If she'd actually come home, she would've known I wasn't there.

Chances were she was with Liam—otherwise she'd know I'd been at the office all day.

A minute later, I heard the elevator ding. I quickly shut off my office lights.

It had to be Scarlett and Liam. I wanted to see what those two were doing at the office so late.

Their voices filtered through the door.

"Babe, I had my guy check. David gets out in three days, and the story about me moving into the mansion is already blowing up online. When he gets out, he'll definitely go there for payback. He'll be so blinded by rage, he'll mistake Alex for me."

"Then the cops will take David down for murder, and I'll never have to worry about him again. And we won't have to hide from Alex anymore."

"Too bad Alex isn't taking the bait—he won't accept the gift."

"Liam, don't stress. I'll fix it."

"Good. He was totally jealous today. You not coming home tonight—he didn't suspect a thing, right?"

Scarlett laughed. "Suspect? That man's been my doormat for years. If my parents hadn't forced me to marry him, I wouldn't give him the time of day. I could cheat on him with the entire football team and he'd still beg me to stay."

"Perfect. Can you imagine his face if he knew his best friend and wife have been hooking up for three years? Fucking priceless."

"Babe, the office is empty tonight. Hotels are too risky—how about we... here?"

Scarlett giggled. "You're such a pervert..."

Then came the sound of heavy breathing.

That bitch! All those years I'd loved her—wasted!

Scarlett and I met in high school. I first saw her getting jumped by some thugs. I fought them off, took a beating, and saved her.

After that, I always had her back. I even turned down better colleges to go to the same one as her.

Once we were together, I catered to her every need. When her parents got sick, I scraped together money and handled everything.

She was scared of having kids, so I never pressured her.

But I never thought she'd always seen me as beneath her—and was helping someone murder me.

A few minutes later, they went into the next office.

I was burning with rage, but now wasn't the time to expose them. I needed evidence to take Liam down for good.

I snuck out of the office.

One thing bugged me: even if you're framed, would you really kill someone right after getting out? What did Liam do to David?