Celeste explained that she had invested in Julian’s import business, then advanced additional money after he claimed to have secured a buyer for the cottage. She said she had believed Morgan was fully aware of the arrangement. Morgan didn’t know whether to trust her, but she recorded the details in writing after the call and passed them to the investigator.
“What happens if the sale doesn’t happen?” Morgan asked before Celeste hung up.
“He said he’d find another way to make you cooperate.”
There it was again: the assumption that Morgan’s no was merely a temporary inconvenience.
Later that day, Julian finally left a voicemail that sounded like the man she had once loved.
“Mo, please. I’m scared. I got in too deep. I thought I could fix it. I didn’t mean for things to go this far. Come home and we’ll talk.”
Morgan played it twice. On the third time, she noticed what he hadn’t said. He hadn’t asked whether she was safe. He hadn’t apologized for the necklace. He hadn’t said what he had done.
