She promised to keep digging. I told her to be careful. She laughed and, stealing my name, said careful was her middle name.
Her middle name is Rose.
Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well after we hung up. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Elena Lazareva’s face from that old photo. The elegant updo. The pale skin. The complete lack of smile.
The more I think about it, the more I start to feel like that remote look in her eyes wasn’t just someone who disliked camera-wielding paparazzi and public appearances. It was a woman who was trapped in a life she feared.
… Or maybe in a marriage she feared.
But that’s getting ridiculous and I know it. I’m completely inventing scenarios with no basis in reality. It’s just that Lukas seems like a man who’s capable of terrible things. I keep flashin
