In the shadowy underworld of organized crime, two individuals stand poised on opposite sides of the law, each concealing their true identity behind a veil of secrets. Frost is a fierce and determined woman driven by a desire for justice and vengeanc...
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FIRE
I stare at the information in front of me. For days, I've been spinning my wheels, trying to figure out how Katherine got tangled up in this mess—how Frost is involved, who killed Aiden, and if it all happened while I was away in Paris for a reason.
None of it is adding up. Katherine has no clear ties to the mafia. No sign that Frost even knew she existed before this. And yet, the moment I left for Paris, everything started falling apart. Aiden ended up dead, Katherine was attacked, and I was hundreds of miles away, conveniently occupied.
Was sending me to Paris part of their plan?
I need to know if I was played. If someone orchestrated my trip to keep me out of the way.
The more I think about it, the more it gnaws at me. March 18. The day I was called away for an urgent meeting with Augustin Baudelaire in Paris. The timing is too perfect. Was it a coincidence, or did someone push me out of the picture deliberately?
There's only one way to find out.
I pick up my phone and dial Bella Rossi, Augustin's personal assistant. She answers after the second ring, her voice professional, as always.
"Mr. Romano," she greets me. "What can I do for you?"
"Ms. Rossi," I say, my voice sharp. "I need to know why that meeting with Augustin was set up on March 18. Who requested it?"
There's a brief pause on the other end, and I can hear the clicking of her keyboard as she pulls up the information.
"It was a request from your side," she says carefully. "You asked for the meeting to be scheduled as soon as possible."
I sit up straighter, my mind racing. "What do you mean, from my side?"
"Through email," she continues. "The request came in through your direct email address, Mr. Romano. You asked for the meeting to be arranged urgently, and I cleared Mr. Baudelaire's schedule to accommodate it."
A cold, sinking feeling settles in my gut. I never sent that email. Someone used my name, my credentials, to set this up. They wanted me out of the country.
"Send me the details of that email," I order, my voice low, controlled. "I want to see exactly when it was sent."
Bella's voice is hesitant, but she agrees. "Of course. I'll forward it to you right away."
I end the call and sit there, piecing it all together. Someone deliberately sent me to Paris, using my own identity, while everything unraveled back here. They knew pulling me away would leave Aiden vulnerable. It would leave Katherine exposed.
But why? What's the connection? Who had the power to manipulate me like that?
My phone buzzes, and the email from Bella comes through. I open it, scanning the contents. The email requesting the meeting with Augustin was sent on March 15, three days before I left for Paris. Everything looks perfect—just like I'd written it. Except I didn't.
