Tit For Tat Chapter 22
Adrian didn’t come looking for me until two weeks after he’d seen the investigation report.
He didn’t come into the building.
He just stood outside Hart Real Estate.
Winter was setting in, and a cold wind swept down the street. He wore a dark overcoat and was thinner than before, with dark shadows under his eyes.
When I stepped out of the main doors after work, he finally walked toward me.
He held two documents.
“Sloane left Boston.”
I stopped.
“Her father sent her to their Midwest branch to start over from the bottom. The Cole family also revoked all of her family’s visitor access.”
I said nothing.
He handed me the first document.
“The screenshots from Red Maple Medical Center three years ago—she was the one who sent them to the Bennetts.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I thought the Bennetts were heartless, that Noah was a coward, and that I had finally gotten my chance.”
His voice grew rough.
“I always thought of that night in the rain as our beginning.”
“But Sloane shoved you from one side, I caught you on the other, and then we both dressed up our choices as your good fortune.”
I looked at him.
The streetlight cast long shadows across his face.
The man who had once been all confidence and swagger now just looked exhausted.
I didn’t comfort him.
“At least now you know.”
His eyes reddened.
“You already knew?”
“A few days before you did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why would I?” I asked in return.
He froze.
“She’s your childhood friend, using access you approved, in your company’s investigation.”
“She hurt me more than once.”
“Why should I still be the one handing you the answer key so you can feel better about your mistakes?”
Adrian looked as if he’d been struck.
After a long moment, he handed me the second document.
It was the final forensic report from the engagement website provider.