He had asked whether she liked the dress Sabine chose for her. Whether she wanted flowers in her hair. Whether she was excited about the ceremony. He had mistaken polite answers for comfort because he wanted them to be comfort.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Elodie blinked. “For what?”
“For not seeing that you were scared.”
She looked at the floor. “I didn’t want to ruin it.”
“You cannot ruin my life by telling me the truth.”
She raised her eyes.
Cassian swallowed. “And no one gets to make you disappear so they can fit into it.”
The cream envelope was still in his hand.
He did not open it until Mara arrived.
By then, the police had separated Sabine and Adrian. Their phones had been secured. The pilot had confirmed he had received instructions to fly to Zurich with three passengers and wait for further orders. The booking had been arranged through a company Adrian controlled.
Mara entered the office, took one look at Elodie, and lowered her voice.
“Do you want me to read the letter first?”
Cassian shook his head.
He broke the seal.
The paper inside was only three pages.
His wife had written it nine days before her death.
She explained that Adrian had advised the charitable foundation her family funded and had been given limited access to a trust established for Elodie. Sabine had worked with him. During a routine review, Cassian’s wife discovered requests to redirect trust expenses through companies she did not recognize. When she challenged them, Adrian insisted the changes were administrative. Sabine backed him.
She refused to sign.
Then she started keeping copies.
The photograph had been taken at the last meeting where both of them were present. She had written their names on the back because she wanted Cassian to know exactly who they were if they ever reappeared.
There was no accusation about her death.
No hidden murder.
No melodramatic final suspicion.
Only a wife who had found something wrong and was trying to leave her husband enough information to protect their daughter if she ran out of time.
The final paragraph was shorter.
Cassian read it twice.
Elodie watched him.
“What does it say?”
His voice broke before he could stop it.
