Liam reached for it with numb fingers. The paper was damp, but the writing was still clear.
The money was never stolen.
His chest tightened.
He unfolded the note further.
I was trying to save you from the person you keep protecting. Ask Gwen why she needed me quiet.
Liam stared at the words until they blurred.
The sirens arrived seven minutes later.
By then, the whole building was awake.
Paramedics rushed through the courtyard with a stretcher. One of them pushed Liam back when he tried to follow.
“Sir, step away.”
“She’s my wife.”
“Then tell us what happened.”
Liam opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because the truth was too ugly to say.
He had locked her out.
He had left her there.
And now she was on the ground beneath their balcony, half-frozen, with her wedding ring removed from her finger and a note accusing his sister.
The police arrived with the ambulance.
A young officer asked him the same question.
“What happened here?”
Liam looked up at the balcony again. The sliding glass door was open. The curtains moved in the wind. Inside the apartment, a wet trail crossed the floor.
Someone had come inside.