POV: Rosalind
I met Theo at a hotel bar during lunch hours, choosing a place where no one looked twice at couples.
The kind of establishment where business travelers stopped for afternoon drinks. Anonymous. Forgettable. Perfect for conversations that couldn't happen anywhere with cameras that might be reviewed later.
Theo was already seated in a corner booth with sightlines to both entrances. He stood when I approached, kissed me once—brief, grounding—then gestured for me to sit beside him. Close enough that our conversation wouldn't carry.
"Tell me about Daniel's behavior," he said immediately. "Physical facts. Not your interpretation. Just what he's done."
I thought back. "He's been sleeping downstairs. Fully dressed. Shoes on. Like he's waiting for something."
"What else?"
"He left his wedding ring on the kitchen counter yesterday. Just set it down and walked out."
Theo's jaw tightened. "When's the meeting?"
"He didn't say exactly. Just 'soon.'"
"Has he been moving money? Changing passwords?"
"I don't know. He doesn't discuss that."
"Has he given you instructions about what to do if he doesn't come home?"
"Yes. Drive to the coastal town. Use the exit plan."
Theo's hand found mine under the table. Squeezed once. "That's exit psychology. Asset separation. He's preparing for outcomes he cannot control."
"What does that mean?"
"It means Daniel knows the meeting could go badly. That he might not walk away from it. That he might need you and Luca protected from consequences." Theo's voice was quiet. Clinical. "The wedding ring—that's significant. He's disconnecting from identity markers. From things that tie him to you legally."
My stomach tightened. "He thinks he might be arrested?"
"Or killed." Theo said it matter-of-factly. "Men who prepare exit strategies for their families while walking into dangerous meetings are calculating outcomes that include their own elimination."
I pulled my hand back. "Have you ever killed someone?"
The question came out before I could stop it. Direct. Blunt.
Theo didn't flinch. Just looked at me with those dark eyes and said, "Yes."
No elaboration. No justification. Just fact.
"When?" I asked.
"That's not relevant to your situation."
"Why?"
"Because Daniel is not that kind of man." Theo's voice was firm. "Whatever he's built, whatever compromises he's made—he's never crossed that line. He facilitates. He enables. But he doesn't pull triggers himself."
"How do you know?"
"Because men who kill have tells. Patterns. A comfort with violence that shows in how they move, how they calculate risk." Theo leaned closer. "Daniel's afraid. Genuinely afraid. Men who've killed don't fear death the same way. Daniel hasn't crossed that threshold. Which means he's walking into a meeting with people who have."
The words settled over me like ice water.
"What do I do?" I asked quietly.
"You accept that proximity now equals vulnerability. That being Daniel's wife, living in his house, running a business he's connected to—all of that makes you accessible." Theo's hand moved to my thigh. "Your winery has become a known constant. They've identified it. Marked it. That makes it dangerous."
"So I close it?"
"No. Closing it signals panic. Signals you know something's coming." His thumb traced circles. "But you stop making it your only location. You vary your routine. And you stop sleeping at home every night."
"Where am I supposed to sleep?"
Theo pulled a folded paper from his jacket. Pressed it into my hand under the table. "Three locations. Addresses. Keys are taped under mailboxes at each one. Only one of them is real. The other two are decoys."
I held the paper without unfolding it. "How do I know which is real?"
"You don't. Not until you need to." His eyes held mine. "If someone's tracking you, they'll check all three. But only one will have supplies, a working phone line, and an exit strategy. The others will waste their time while you disappear."
"This feels excessive."
"It feels excessive until it's necessary. And by the time it's necessary, it's too late to prepare." He squeezed my thigh. "Tomorrow night, you don't go home. You go to one of these addresses. You test the key. You familiarize yourself with the space. Then you rotate between them until Daniel's meeting is over."
"What about Luca?"
"Luca has his own contingencies." Theo leaned back. "Your job is to stay unpredictable. To make yourself a moving target. That's how you survive when people are watching for patterns."
I unfolded the paper enough to see three addresses. Different neighborhoods. No names. Just street numbers.
"How long?" I asked.
"Until Daniel comes home. Or until I tell you it's safe." He pulled his hand back. "And Rosalind? If the meeting happens and Daniel doesn't contact you within twelve hours, you don't go looking. You don't call his associates. You just activate the exit plan and you go."
"I can't just abandon him."
"You're not abandoning him. You're surviving him." Theo's voice was gentle but firm. "That's what he wants. That's why he left the ring. He's preparing you to continue without him. Don't dishonor that by getting yourself killed trying to save him."
I folded the paper. Slipped it into my pocket.
"I have to go," I said.
"I know." Theo kissed me once more. Quick. "Stop sleeping at home every night. Starting tomorrow. Promise me."
"I promise."
"Say it properly."
"I will stop sleeping at home every night. Starting tomorrow."
"Good." He stood. Dropped cash on the table. "Text me when you've checked the first location. Just the word 'safe.' Nothing else."
Then he was gone, and I sat there with three addresses in my pocket and the understanding that my life had split into two versions: the one where Daniel came home, and the one where he didn't.
And I needed to be prepared for both.