Chapter 8 - The Door She Could Lock Herself
At nine the next morning, Chloe sat in a conference room with two financial-crimes investigators, Nadine, and a paper cup of coffee she did not touch. She had volunteered to speak. Nadine had reviewed the records with her first, and Chloe would not answer questions about Dominic's operations that she could not substantiate.
"Who had your password?" an investigator asked.
"Nobody with my permission. Nicky's office set up the account and the recovery email. I don't know who retained administrative access."
"Were you paid for the ninety-six-thousand-dollar transaction?"
"No. You have my bank statements. I resigned before it occurred."
She slid forward her resignation email, the acknowledgment from Dominic, and the log showing she had not been at Laura. Rosa confirmed Chloe had been at the church serving dinner during the disputed authorization. The investigators copied the material and explained that they would seek original system records rather than rely on screenshots alone.
When the meeting ended, Nadine touched Chloe's shoulder. "You did what you could. Now let the evidence do its job."
"Will they arrest someone?"
"I can't promise that. What you've given them is useful. The rest has to be established."
The call from the real child-protection agency came that afternoon. An anonymous report claimed Chloe left Sam alone overnight and exposed him to organized crime. Unlike the fake note under her door, this was a genuine inquiry. Chloe nearly threw up when she heard the caller identify herself.
Nadine helped her respond promptly. Chloe showed the worker Sam's school records, his authorized pickup list, the names of adults who had cared for him, and the new housing agreement. The worker spoke privately with Sam in an age-appropriate way. He told her his sister sometimes worked too much, that Rosa made excellent soup, and that a stranger had once tried to collect him at school. He also said Chloe always came back.
Afterward, the worker said there was no immediate safety issue requiring removal, though the inquiry would remain open while records were reviewed. Chloe thanked her, then cried in the building's stairwell where Sam couldn't see.
"I hate that he had to answer those questions," she told Nadine.
"You gave him accurate information and didn't coach him," Nadine said. "That's important."
Two days later, Chloe signed a lease for a modest two-bedroom apartment above a hardware store, arranged through a local housing nonprofit. She paid the security deposit with legitimate wages from the church. The place had crooked floors and a window that overlooked a brick wall, but the lease carried her name and no one else's.
Sam ran from room to room. "We can put the filter on the kitchen shelf."
"The shelf is yours."
"Can Rosa visit?"
"Only if she brings those biscuits."
Rosa came the following Saturday with biscuits, two lamps, and Miles' wife, who knew how to fix a sticking cabinet. They made a day of it. Chloe discovered that she could accept help without surrendering control if the people offering it respected the word no.
She returned to Laura once more to collect the green notebook she'd left in the office safe. Nadine had requested that personal items be retrieved with a witness present. Paulie met them in the public foyer. Nicky was not supposed to be there.
He was waiting near the service elevator, his jacket unbuttoned and his expression furious.
"You proud of yourself?" he asked Chloe. "The investigators are asking about people who don't even know you."
"Then they can answer for their own work."
Nicky stepped toward her. Paulie moved between them. Nicky shoved Paulie's shoulder and tried to reach around him for Chloe's handbag. The sudden movement sent her backward against a chair. Dominic came through the office door, caught Nicky by the jacket, and pulled him away.
"Leave her alone," Dominic said.
Nicky swung at him. Dominic struck once in response, a hard, controlled blow that knocked Nicky against the wall. Paulie separated them immediately. No one chased Nicky, and Dominic did not hit him again.
Chloe stood very still. The sound of the punch reminded her of the alley. She wasn't grateful to have witnessed another one.
"Call the police," she said.
Dominic looked at her. "Chloe—"
"He tried to grab my bag. He attacked Paulie. You hit him. We tell them all of it."
Dominic drew a breath and nodded. Paulie called. When officers arrived, Chloe gave her account without editing out Dominic's blow. Nicky was taken for questioning after the officers reviewed the statements and building security footage. Dominic remained to answer questions about his own conduct.
Rosa sat with Chloe outside while Nadine retrieved the notebook under the officer's supervision.
"You okay?" Rosa asked.
"I'm angry that every time I get a little space, somebody thinks they can take it away with their hands."
"You didn't give them the last word."
"I don't want a story where someone throws a punch and that fixes everything," Chloe said. "I want to know that the next woman can get her things out of that office without needing a bodyguard."
"Then let's make sure the employees' committee asks for safe procedures before anyone reopens the place," Rosa replied. "A written policy. A way to report threats that doesn't go through the boss's nephew."
For the first time since the confrontation, Chloe could picture a useful consequence. She added the proposal to her notebook beside the wage questions.
Chloe took the notebook, thanked Nadine, and went home. She locked her own front door and turned the key twice because she wanted to, not because she was waiting for a man to decide where she was safe.
At eight that night, Dominic called. He did not ask her to praise him for intervening. He said he'd given a full statement and had been advised to preserve the footage.
"I found something else," he added. "My uncle's lawyer sent me a proposed settlement. I give up control of Laura and keep quiet about the missing funds, and he'll clear your name in the payroll system."
"He can't trade away something he never had the right to take."
"I know."
"Don't sign it. Give it to Caroline and the investigators."
"Already done."
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Then Dominic told her the part that made her sit down. Salvatore had attached a list of supposed witnesses who would support his version. At the bottom was the name of the man who had threatened Chloe in the alley.
Beside it, under STATUS, someone had typed: MISSING.
