Chapter 9

Years of experience gave Tristan a flicker of confidence. He was sure this was just Riley's new trick. She'd pulled every trick in the book to make him come back to her. He thought she'd executed it so convincingly that even the news looked real. As he thought about it, he steered the car into the villa neighborhood. He thought he was about to see Riley. But the moment he reached the door, he realized the keypad lock had been changed. He tried several codes, like their wedding anniversary, Riley's birthday, and the day the company was founded. But every one of them was wrong. Then, the lock chimed, and a message sounded. "Maximum number of attempts exceeded. Access locked for 30 minutes." The wind swept through the courtyard, pressing his shirt to his back. It was cool enough to make him shiver. He'd never imagined that this door would one day shut him out. He pulled out his phone and scrolled to the contact saved as "Honey". He called, but no one answered. A patrol car from