Chapter 6 - The House With Two Coffee Mugs
Elias prepared the guest room, though Claire had slept there hundreds of times before.
Her mother, Marianne, had died five years earlier. Claire’s childhood photographs still lined the hallway, and two coffee mugs remained beside the kitchen sink because Elias had never adjusted to making breakfast for one.
That evening, Claire sat at the table while Elias cooked soup.
“I should have left months ago,” she said.
Elias continued cutting vegetables.
“You left today.”
“I kept making excuses.”
“You survived the situation until you were ready to leave it.”
Claire stared at the table.
“He never acted like this at first.”
“They rarely do.”
“He remembered everything about me. My favorite food. My work schedule. The names of my friends.”
“That can look like attention,” Elias said. “Until it becomes surveillance.”
Claire’s eyes filled with tears.
“I thought I was smart.”
“You are.”
“Then how did this happen?”
“Intelligence doesn’t make someone immune to manipulation.”
After dinner, Elias placed a notebook in front of her.
“Write down everything you remember. Dates, messages, witnesses and financial records. You don’t need to finish tonight.”
Claire opened the notebook.
May you like
On the first page, she wrote:
The first time Ryan frightened me, I apologized to him.
