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I opened the wine and drank it down quickly. Though I wanted another, I knew that wasn’t the answer. Nothing ever was. Maybe Sylvie was right. Maybe I was better off pretending that nothing bad had ever happened.

I don’t really remember leaving the couch or walking over to my tall dresser against the wall. This had been my mother’s. The whole bedroom set was. It had been her grandmother’s before that. A Waterfall set from the 1940s.

I opened the top drawer and felt beneath the flower-patterned drawer liner. My fingers closed around the small plastic baggie. I carefully pulled it out, keeping my eyes closed, as if that could protect me.

I opened the baggie and pulled out the folded red silk ribbon. It was in two pieces now. I had cut it off my wrist. I should have thrown it away. Burned it. But something always stopped me.

Yes, I could still feel strong hands closing around my throat. But I could also still feel the ribbon as he tightened it around my wrist and told me his very first lie. I’d been so careful, so patient. It wouldn’t be much longer before everyone knew the truth. Then he would finally get everything he deserved.

SIX

MINA

Lock’s office was an entire suite on the third floor. I slid on my sunglasses as I got out of the car. The first week of April and we’d hit seventy degrees. I could finally smell spring in the air after one of the more dreary, cold winters on record.

Lock’s cell phone rang. He took my hand as I stepped up to the curb. As we approached the glass doors, Lock slipped his phone back in his pocket, frowning.

“Can you head up without me? I’ve got a small fire to put out with one of the vendors. I need to head over to the theatre. Fifteen minutes. Tops.”

Meeting Eli without Lock could make it seem like I thought I was in charge. Eli would bristle at that. I saw the hurt looks he gave Lock when he felt usurped. “Sure,” I found myself saying. Lock leaned in for a kiss.

“The event planner the caterer sent over is Anne Bowling. Her car’s already here. Hopefully, Eli hasn’t made any decisions without us.”

“I think we can trust him,” I said. Lock waved as he trotted back to the car. It was quicker for him to drive around to the opposite end of the building.

I walked into the lobby with its three-story ceiling and ornate chandelier. The room’s central feature was an art wall containing pieces from his family’s collection. Most prominent was Lock’s favorite. One of only three pieces known from the artist’s earliest works before he settled into his more well-known impressionist style. It had been a rare find, thought lost for over a century. Lock found it by chance in a private collection and paid a small fortune for it. I walked up to it and ran my fingers over the acrylic label beneath.

Alain Duvayre

(1841-1899)

Frères Célestes (1869)

Oil on Canvas

It depicted two fish chained together, swirling in a sea of stars. Pisces. Lock and Bennett. The celestial brothers. Lock’s tattoo was based on it. For me, it held such sadness, but it was a striking piece. Though he’d envisioned this place, my father-in-law didn’t live to see final construction. He died of a heart attack seventeen years ago, when Lock was twenty-one and a senior in college. Lock never had the chance to strike out on his own. He’d been forced to take over the family business immediately.

I hit the elevator button. I saw my reflection in the gold metal double doors. I had what my father had always called Resting Mina Face. But only I knew why today. I couldn’t get Roy’s phone call out of my mind. What did he have to tell me on Monday? Why had he mentioned Lock? Forcing a smile, I took a cleansing breath before stepping onto the third floor.

Being a Sunday, the reception area was empty. Lock, Eli, the event planner, and I were the only ones here. My heels sank into the plush blue carpeting as I made my way down the hall to Lock’s corner office.

The floor was quiet. I turned the knob and walked in. I expected to see Eli and Ms. Bowling in the waiting area. Lock’s office door was wide open, but the room was empty. I heard something crash to the floor in the office beside me. One of Lock’s assistants used it, but he was gone for the weekend.

The door wasn’t locked and I walked in. I saw Eli’s bare buttocks, his pants hanging loose around his waist and a pair of female legs wrapped around him.

“Oh!” I shouted with pure shock.

Eli hurriedly pulled up his pants. I turned abruptly and raced to Lock’s office on the other side of the floor.

I went to the tall windows and looked out at the lake. My heartbeat filled my head.

“Mina!” Eli’s abrupt tone made me jump. I wanted to rewind the last thirty seconds and pretend it had never happened.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as if I’d done something wrong.

I squared my shoulders and turned to face him. Eli’s face was flushed. He tried to smooth his dark hair back. His deep-set eyes flashed with anger.

“We’re supposed to go over the catering menu,” I said. “Lock’s about ten minutes behind me.”