Chapter 9: The Witness Who Had Been Silent For Three Years
My phone continued ringing.
Andre’s name stayed on the screen.
A name that used to make me smile.
A name that used to make me feel safe.
Now it felt like a warning.
Claire watched me carefully.
“Don’t answer.””
I looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because right now, he doesn’t want a conversation.””
“How do you know?””
Her eyes dropped.
“Because I’ve seen him when he thinks he’s losing control.””
The words made my stomach tighten.
I declined the call.
Immediately, another one came through.
Then another.
Andre wasn’t stopping.
I turned the phone face down.
“I need to know who the witness is.””
Claire nodded.
“I know.””
“Then tell me.””
She looked around the park.
The morning crowd moved around us.
People walking dogs.
Parents pushing strollers.
Children laughing.
A normal day.
A strange thing about fear was that the world never stopped for it.
Your life could be falling apart, and strangers would still order coffee.
“I can’t tell you here,” Claire said.
“Why not?””
“Because the witness is scared.””
I looked at her.
“Of Andre?””
Claire didn’t answer.
She didn’t have to.
We drove separately.
Claire insisted.
“No one follows both cars,” she explained.
The fact that she had thought about that terrified me.
Because it meant she had been living with this fear for a long time.
She led me to a small apartment building on the edge of town.
Nothing special.
Nothing suspicious.
Just an old building with faded paint and quiet hallways.
We walked upstairs.
Third floor.
Apartment 3B.
Claire knocked twice.
Then waited.
A few seconds passed.
Then the door opened.
An older man stood there.
I recognized him immediately.
Not because I had met him.
Because I had seen his picture.
On Ethan’s social media.
“You’re Simone.””
His voice was tired.
I looked at Claire.
“You know me?””
He nodded.
“Ethan talked about you.””
That sentence hurt.
Because Ethan had known me more than I realized.
“I’m David.””
I stepped inside.
The apartment was small.
Clean.
The kind of place where someone lived quietly.
Where someone tried not to be noticed.
David closed the door behind us.
“You shouldn’t be here.””
My heart sank.
“Why?””
“Because if Andre knows you found me, everything changes.””
Claire crossed her arms.
“Everything already changed.””
David looked at her.
“You should have stayed hidden.””
“And let him keep doing this?””
David looked away.
That told me everything.
They weren’t just afraid of Andre.
They were afraid of what he was capable of.
I sat down.
“Tell me what happened.””
David remained standing.
For a moment, he looked at me like he was deciding whether I could handle the truth.
Then he said:
“Ethan wasn’t planning to leave the company.””
I frowned.
“Then what?””
“He was planning to expose Andre.””
I nodded slowly.
“I know.””
“No.””
David shook his head.
“You don’t know everything.””
The room became silent.
“He wasn’t only exposing financial crimes.””
I looked at him.
“What else?””
David took a breath.
“Ethan found proof that Andre had been using company money to pay people who kept quiet.””
My skin went cold.
“People who kept quiet about what?””
David looked at me.
“About him.””
The answer was vague.
Too vague.
“What does that mean?””
David looked toward Claire.
Then back at me.
“It means Ethan discovered Andre had a pattern.””
My heart started racing.
A pattern.
The word echoed.
The bruises.
The women.
The lies.
The control.
“Ethan was investigating him.””
“Why?””
“Because he found out Andre wasn’t just hiding money.””
David opened a drawer.
He pulled out a small notebook.
Old.
Worn.
He placed it on the table.
“This belonged to Ethan.””
I touched the cover.
“Why are you giving this to me?””
“Because Ethan wanted you to have it.””
My fingers froze.
“He knew he might die?””
David’s expression changed.
“He knew Andre was dangerous.””
I opened the notebook.
The first pages were business notes.
Numbers.
Dates.
Names.
Then I reached a page with only one sentence.
*Simone deserves the truth.*
My throat tightened.
I turned the page.
More writing.
*Andre is not becoming someone new. He is showing who he always was.*
I stopped.
Because that sentence hurt more than anything else.
Because I had spent years believing something changed.
That there was a before and after.
A good man who became bad.
But Ethan believed something different.
Maybe the person I loved was never the person I thought he was.
The next page had a list.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Then one name stood out.
Rachel.
I looked up.
“Why is Rachel on here?””
David sighed.
“Because Rachel wasn’t the first.””
My face went numb.
“What?””
Claire looked at me sadly.
“She wasn’t the first woman Andre had a relationship with.””
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Of course there was more.
“How many?””
Nobody answered.
That was enough.
My phone buzzed.
Everyone looked at it.
I didn’t want to check.
But I did.
One message.
From Andre.
*I know where you are.*
The room went silent.
Claire stood immediately.
“Turn it off.””
I stared at the message.
My hands shook.
“How?””
David walked toward the window.
“Because he’s been watching.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
David moved the curtain slightly.
“Before Ethan died, he said Andre always knew where people were.””
My breathing became shallow.
I looked at Claire.
“You knew?””
She looked guilty.
“I suspected.””
“Suspected?””
I stood.
“You let me walk around thinking I was safe?””
“I didn’t know if he was tracking you.””
My voice broke.
“You didn’t know?””
Anger rose inside me.
Not fear.
Anger.
Everyone had been making decisions about my life.
Andre.
My mother.
Detective Hale.
Claire.
Everyone.
Nobody asked me.
Nobody told me.
Everyone was protecting me while leaving me in the dark.
“I’m done being the last person to know.””
Nobody spoke.
Because they knew I was right.
We left through the back exit.
Claire stayed close.
David locked his door behind us.
As we walked to the car, I noticed something.
A black sedan parked across the street.
My heart stopped.
“Claire.””
She followed my eyes.
Her face changed.
“Get down.””
“What?””
“Now.””
We moved behind a parked car.
The sedan door opened.
A man stepped out.
Not Andre.
Someone else.
He looked around.
Searching.
Claire whispered:
“That’s one of his men.””
My stomach dropped.
“His men?””
She nodded.
“He hired people to watch Ethan.””
“And now they’re watching me.””
“Yes.””
The man crossed the street.
Closer.
I could hear my heartbeat.
Claire grabbed my arm.
“Simone.””
I looked at her.
“There’s something else you need to know.””
“What?””
Her eyes filled with fear.
“Ethan didn’t just leave evidence.””
She swallowed.
“He left a recording.””
I stared at her.
“Of what?””
“Of the night he died.””
The world seemed to stop.
“Where is it?””
Claire looked toward the approaching man.
“Hidden somewhere only you would think to look.””
“Where?””
She opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, her phone rang.
She looked down.
Her face went pale.
“What?””
I whispered:
“What is it?””
She turned the screen toward me.
A message.
From Andre.
*Tell Simone to stop searching.*
My blood ran cold.
Then another message appeared.
*Or I’ll tell her the truth about what she did three years ago.*
I stared at the words.
“What I did?””
Claire looked at me.
And for the first time since we met, she looked afraid of me.
Not for me.
Of me.
“Simone…”
My voice barely worked.
“What is he talking about?””
Claire didn’t answer.
The approaching footsteps got closer.
Then she whispered:
“Because you were there that night too.””
I felt the world disappear beneath my feet.
“I wasn’t.””
Claire looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“You don’t remember.””
The footsteps stopped.
Someone was standing behind us.
And then a familiar voice spoke.
“Actually, Simone…”
My entire body froze.
May you like
Andre.
“I think it’s time you remembered.””
