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Chapter Twenty-Four

DAHLIA

Katherine will be fine. She just needs a little time to get over it. The look in Oliver’s eyes when I plunged the knife into his chest was priceless.

Christine. His whore’s name was Christine. A twenty-eight-year-old woman with long auburn hair, green eyes, and a stick for a body. She works at the Chicago office, but that’s not where they met. They met at his firm when she came to New York to train.

He boarded a plane to Chicago every other week, but not for business as his wife thought. He flew there to see her . And when she was in New York, they would meet at the luxurious Mandarin Oriental and spend a few precious hours together in a private room.

Oliver was careful—very careful. He even bought Kat the same perfume Christine wore. He was responsible for paying all the bills, so it was easy to hide them. The hotel stays, flowers, jewelry, and expensive dinners—all charged to his credit card. He didn’t have to worry because he received all his statements online to an email account Kat didn’t know about .

Shady son-of-a-bitch.

When I first discovered his affair, I was surprised. And it doesn’t take much to surprise me. The affair had been going on for months. Why did I hesitate to punish him for his wrongdoings? Why didn't I act when I first saw him with that woman? Because Kat needed him. She had been struggling with the recent murders.

Poor Oliver. All he had to do was stay faithful to Kat, and he would still be alive. But he couldn’t manage one simple task and paid the ultimate price.