“Daniel is gone,” she whispered.

I froze. “What do you mean, gone?”

“The feds came back for him an hour ago,” Vanessa said, her voice cracking with terror. “They didn’t wait for the indictment. They arrested him at his mother’s house.”

I looked at Robert.

He saw the expression on my face and stepped closer.

“And Patricia?” I asked.

“She’s gone too,” Vanessa said. “She took her car and left. She wouldn’t even open the door for me.”

Before I could ask anything else, the line went dead.

I lowered the phone, my heart pounding once more.

“What is it?” Robert asked.

“Daniel has been arrested,” I said. “And Patricia has disappeared.”

Just then, the elevator doors at the end of the hall opened with a soft chime.

A woman stepped out.

She was wearing a dark coat, her hair disheveled, her eyes red and wild.

It was Patricia.

Patricia stopped ten feet away from us, clutching a leather handbag to her chest like a shield.

Her expensive wool coat was damp from the rain, and her signature pearl necklace was crooked.