“Caretaker?” I laughed bitterly.
She was a homewrecker in heels, not a damn nurse. The front doorbell rang again. For a second, I thought it might be Vega, but when I peeked through the peephole, it wasn’t him.
It was Neil Vega—the man I hadn’t seen for years.
My heart hammered so hard I thought Liam might hear it upstairs. I opened the door on trembling feet. Neil stood in the porch light, coat drenched from the rain, face pale and firm. He looked brittle—like a storm about to break.
“Arianne.”
I wanted to shut the door. Bolt it. Pretend he’d never shown up. But something clicked—fear, curiosity, the need for answers. I let him in but he stayed in the threshold.
“What brings you here, detective?”
He cleared his throat. “I didn’t want you to find out this way.”
“Find out what?” I said, voice as cold as the rain.
Neil’s eyes flicked to the kitchen counter, to the custody papers splayed out like a betrayal. Then back to me. “About the photo… I took it. I sent it,” he said, his voice turning octave.
My hands shook. “Why?”
He exhaled, muscles tense. “Because Zach was spiraling. I wanted to wake you up. Show you who he really was, before he could drag you and your son into the wreck. My agency had been tracking some of his associates during his PR fallout; I noticed things. I didn’t mean to pry in your private life, but your husband had been under our investigation for months.”
My forehead scrunched. “What do you mean by investigation?”
“Embezzlement, sort of corruption in his business,” Neil shrugged.
This—custody filing, betrayal, feeling like a stranger in my own life—made me want to scream. Instead I found my voice icy calm. “Your idea of saving me was sending evidence… to myself?
Neil met my gaze. “I wanted to help you, Arianne,” he said, voice firm but gentle.
“Why, Neil? Do I look like a charity case to you?”
“I didn’t say you are… But I know you need my help, that’s why I’m here.”
I pulled out a heavy, frustrated breath. “I appreciate your help, but my lawyer will handle the legal matters prior to my case.”
Neil gazed at me—with longing. We were silent for a second, just looking at each other like the first time we met. After a long beat, he exhaled a deep breath and gently held my hand.