“You thought?”
“The file is password protected.”
“Then how do you know what it is?”
“We recovered the filename from the system.”
He turned the paper toward me.
I read it.
ELENA_WALKER_FINAL
My mouth went dry.
“That’s my name.”
“Yes.”
“Why would she have a file on me?”
“We don’t know.”
“When was it created?”
“Seven months ago.”
I stared at him.
Seven months.
Before the separation.
Before the photographs of Ethan and Rebecca.
Before I called Marisol.
Before I booked a flight to Houston.
“You didn’t know me seven months ago.”
“No.”
“Claire didn’t know me.”
“I don’t
know.”
I looked at Daniel.
“What’s the password?”
“We haven’t broken it.”
“Can you?”
“Probably.”
Adrian immediately added, “Not without authorization.”
I appreciated that he said it before I had to.
“Whose authorization?”
“The file was created under Claire’s employee credentials on company equipment. Legal is reviewing access.”
I stared at the printed filename.
My entire life reduced to capital letters and an underscore.
“What if she made it because of Ethan?”
“That is possible.”
“What if she was investigating him?”
“Also possible.”
“Or me.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Adrian.
“What happened seven months ago?”
He thought.
“At my company?”
“In your life.”
He stared at me.
Then something changed in his face.
“Caroline’s medical records.”
“What about them?”
