Harper dropped the remote and looked at Amelia weird. “Why don’t you just ask Louie? Cavendish Entertainment is one of the show’s backers, right?”
Amelia had already tried that on the ride back to the hospital. But bringing it up had royally pissed off Louie.
“I fucking tried,” Louie had ranted in the car. “Went off on them, but they said Nathan’s people made it crystal clear–plus my dickhead brother’s stirring up shit behind the scenes!”
“This is such bullshit!”
Louie had punched the steering wheel. “That asshole even told Grandpa I’m keeping some sugar baby! Said I’d drag Cavendish into a war with Harrison Group over pussy, so now Grandpa’s tearing me a new one.”
Long story short: Louie’s older brother was sabotaging everything. Louie had to work in shadows or move fast, otherwise his brother would find ways to screw him over.
After dropping Amelia off, Louie had promised her this was temporary. Cavendish Entertainment was still his turf–the others couldn’t reach that far. He’d figure out how to fix everything; just needed time.
So when Amelia learned someone might have actual footage, she wanted it immediately.
She filled Harper in, who started texting her contact right away.
Time flew. Before she knew it, the next day had arrived.
The post–storm air still smelled like wet grass and earth–fresh and clean. The rain had stopped, and Harper had brought breakfast before rushing to
work.
When another knock came at the hospital door, Amelia expected Harper with good news about the video. Instead, she saw cops.
Detective Cindy Lewis and a male partner–probably her colleague.
“Sorry to bother you,” Cindy said.
Amelia started sitting up, but they gestured for her to stay put.
“We’ve made some headway since your statement, so we wanted to circle back,” Cindy explained.
Amelia nodded cooperatively.
“We found the black sedan that nailed you–stolen vehicle. Driver was completely geared up, masked, the works. Surveillance only caught a disguised figure, no face shots.”
Cindy continued: “Whoever this was knew how to stay invisible. Zero traces, avoided cameras like a ghost.”
“Total professional.” She paused, expression dead serious. “We’re looking at possible contract killer.”
“Think hard–who have you pissed off lately?”
Contract killer? Amelia stared at Cindy’s grim face, mind spinning.
In all these years, this was the first straight–up assassination attempt. The timing was too specific–definitely tied to recent shit.
First thought: her divorce from Nathan. If that was the trigger, two main suspects jumped out: Nathan, or Vivian.
Then there was all the media buzz. Vivian’s death countdown had been plastered everywhere, which meant people were digging into Nathan’s wife’s
past.
17:03
Mr. Harrison, Wake Up Your Wife’s Gone
14.89
Chapter 36
Her Visconti heiress background would’ve been easy to find. Nathan had protected her and her mom back in the day, but with all the coverage pushing the Nathan Vivian love story, people might think he’d stopped giving a shit about her.
Plus Nathan’s business enemies. When Harrison Group pivoted industries, Nathan had handled it personally and made a shit ton of enemies.
Just off the top of her head, there was that procurement director Nathan had axed almost a year ago for mysterious reasons. They’d barely been newlyweds when that whole clusterfuck went down.
She’d met that director–Yondu Luke–once when he was leaving. His expression had been… telling. Mocking? Contemptuous?
He’d thrown Nathan this parting shot: “So this is your wife, Nathan?”
Weird fucking comment. Their marriage wasn’t secret. She’d been with Nathan seven years, worked at Harrison Group after college. As procurement director, Yondu definitely knew who she was.
She’d always sensed there was more to that story, but whenever she’d asked Nathan, he’d completely shut down.
Amelia shared everything with the cops, hoping they could crack this thing fast.
After gathering intel, the officers prepared to bounce. As they were leaving, Cindy mentioned: “Oh yeah, your car’s fixed. Pick it up when you’re feeling better.”
“Thanks,” Amelia said.
Once the cops left, Cindy and her partner headed back to the precinct. The team huddled to analyze the case.
Officers scribbled notes next to mugshots: Nathan Harrison, Vivian Hope, Yondu Luke, and others.
“All potential suspects. Start bringing them in?” an officer asked. “Maybe question the husband about the crash first?”
Cindy remembered Nathan ignoring her calls from Amelia’s phone that day. “These people are all connected. We need to be smart about this.”
The officer who’d helped transport Amelia nodded. “Guy’s wife gets mowed down, she’s in the ER, and he’s playing house with his side piece, dodging calls. Pretty fucking suspicious.”
Another officer slid over a file. “Fresh intel. Nathan Harrison and Amelia Visconti are mid–divorce–in the cooling–off period right now.”
Everyone exchanged looks. They’d worked plenty of cases where husbands tried to off wives for their mistresses. Sometimes the mistress was in on it,
After deliberation, the supervisor made the call: “Standard protocol means we interview Nathan Harrison. Could be other enemies targeting her.”
“Complex web of relationships, spotty evidence chain. We need finesse.” He looked at Cindy. “You’re lead on this–timing, venue, evidence gathering, witness interviews. Your show.”
Cindy stood sharp. “Roger that.”
Meanwhile, Nathan was at the hospital. Grandpa Harrison had gotten so worked up yesterday they’d admitted him.
Nathan had tried visiting multiple times, but Grandma kept booting him out. He’d just heard she was crashed at a nearby hotel, exhausted from caregiving duties, so he’d seized the chance.
Opening the room door, Nathan saw grandpa laid out in the hospital bed. The did man was still unconscious.
A nurse was repositioning him to wash his back, but even all that movement didn’t wake him. Obviously things were bad.
For some reason, Amella’s face flashed through Nathan’s mind. He remembered how she’d handled Grandpa’s care during his illness.
Watching the nurse struggle with the old man’s dead weight–nearly dropping him—Nathan quickly stepped in to help.
He was heavy as hell. Nathan pictured Amelia’s skinny frame again. She’d never once complained about any of this to him.
17:03
Mr. Harrison, Wake Up Your Wife’s Gone
