“No,” Evelyn said. “He won’t.”

She was right. Twenty minutes later, police arrived at Victoria’s house — not for an arrest, not yet; Evelyn was too careful for that. First the protective-order filing, then the medical documentation, the investigator at the hotel, the security footage.

By noon the first proof came in: a still from the hotel corridor showing Chloe in her torn dress, running barefoot past the service elevator, blood on her mouth.

Behind her, at the end of the hall, stood Lewis. He wasn’t chasing her. He was watching her run, hands in his pockets.

Robert stared at the image a long time. “That’s the face of a man who thought he’d already won.”

Part 3 — The Price of the Past

Evelyn’s investigator found Mia before lunch. She’d been afraid to speak — hotel management had warned her not to get involved — but when she saw a photo of Chloe’s injuries, she cried.