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Most sane people would take more time before making an important decision. This had been my method—scan the horizon to gauge for any unexpected pitfalls before making the nextstep. So why did I agree to her proposal so quickly? The abrupt decision perplexed me.

For some damn reason, I knew without a doubt that I had to help her.What the fuck was wrong with me? I couldn’t go back on my word now. I had to weather the storm no matter what came my way.

When she spent time with my family, talking to my sister and my mother, I knew there was no turning back. I was a man of my word, and I expected the same of others. This society had become a place where money talked loudest and people’s words meant nothing. I knew if I wanted to establish myself amongst these people, I needed wealth. For a while, I assumed wealth and success could fill the void in me. But that never happened because my heart died with my family.

But a tiny spark lit up inside me today. It warmed my chest to see Vanessa catching on to our plan easily. The way she inserted her creative storyline into how we met added to her mystery.

Vanessa Lam was more than an artist. Who was she? Perhaps that was the reason that intrigued me.

I walked over to my mini-bar and poured myself two fingers of whiskey, swirling it in my glass. I brought it over to my desk, sat down, and sipped, letting the liquid roll around my mouth before swallowing. The heat traveled down my throat as I savored the flavor of oak, sherry, and vanilla. The earthy, smoky, and woody aromas calmed me.

The calm allowed me to organize myself easily. With my marriage to Vanessa, I needed to shift some things around to accommodate this schedule change. My mother used to say I worked a lot and needed a hobby—a distraction. Vanessa was that distraction, though I knew my mother hadmeant something else.

I turned on my computer and opened a folder with several files I’d collected over the years. My mother and sister didn’tknow vengeance still occupied my mind. I still remembered my childhood home becoming a pile of ashes. Like the decorative flag with the smiling sun that had burned away, the joy and warmth of my family had diminished to nothing in a single day. I remembered walking by that property years later, even though another family had moved into the newly built home, and wondering what life would’ve been like if my mother, father, and sister hadn’t been murdered. They were innocent people. Amelia had been so excited to go on her field trip to the zoo. Their deaths occurred because of me—because high school bullies had taken their hatred out on my family.

How could I let that pain go? Ashton, Bobby, and Harry had been responsible. Even though they’d only been teenagers back then, these boys were ruthless. It was odd how they all disappeared after my family’s murders. Their parents said they went to a boarding school overseas.

My research on them showed they’d attended private schools in Paris, but they’d remained out of the limelight for many years until I recently located Bobby and Harry.

I stared at their photos on my computer screen as I did many times a week. I’d found some photos of them as men, but there weren’t many. Their families had sold their businesses and moved away from Providence. The Lindors lived in Miami now. The Cooneys settled in Texas, and the Sullivans moved to Los Angeles.

It had been a long time since I had a restful sleep. Whenever I closed my eyes, I saw my burned home and remembered the pain from that traumatic day. The only thing that could give me a restful sleep was the deaths of those who killed my family. A debt must be collected, and I wasn’t going to wait for karma to collect. Two down and one to go.

Despite my desire to find these assholes, I didn’t want to worry my family. I told them I was expanding my business,which wasn’t a lie. The less they knew, the safer they’d be. Besides owning a successful museum, I’d also invested in vacation rentals worldwide and a company that developed mobile apps for children’s entertainment and education called Fresh Perspective.

Inspired by Forrest’s holistic approach, I created Healthy Horizon. This innovative farm cultivated herbs and vegetables using cutting-edge machines that emitted light and sound frequencies to stimulate optimal growth in the plants. Orion’s company created these machines, for which I received a discount. The crystal-infused water was used for irrigation, which assisted in the steady growth of healthy plants. Healthy Horizon was both an indoor and outdoor farm.

My greenhouse didn’t need pesticides, growth-induced hormones, or any of the chemicals that large companies used in their recipe for rapid growth. This was the new way of farming. Every family could have a small greenhouse in their yard, allowing them to be self-sufficient. We’d be rolling out the HH-Pods in the next few months for homeowners to start their indoor farming. Returning to the basics of the natural world was something that interested me. I didn’t like what the world had become, and I wished for a simpler way to live.

My phone rang, and I picked up the call.

“Hey, how’s Nessa?” Orion asked.

“She’s at home resting now,” I said.

“Did you watch the recordings I sent you yet?”

“Not yet. I just got home.”

“Let me catch you up. A man delivered the package,” Orion said. “He’s a homeless man. Someone gave him a hundred bucks to deliver the package. Before the police took the package, I swiped the fingerprints. My team is working on it now. We’ll get the DNA soon too.”

I released a sigh. “You work fast.”

“You’ve been off the past few weeks, so I assume you have a lot on your plate. I know what that feels like.”

I said nothing for a moment.

“Is there something going on with you and Nessa?” he asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“Elena seems to think something’s going on.”

Amused, I asked, “What did she say?”

“Nothing, really. It’s just how she said it. ‘They make a good couple, don’t you think?’”

“We’re getting married soon.”