Nadine held a glass, half filled with wine in her hand. She sipped occasionally from it while watching the guards below as they patrolled the property. The stress of the shooting had gotten to her, and the presence of the guards heaped on it each day. Dimitri tried to convince her to take a break, but she didn't feel like leaving Denise with all the work at the restaurant. What she had done, was get her family on the first flight out of town after they stayed a few days in their home. They both agreed it would be safe for them away from town and back to their island.

He was in the final weeks of his mayorship. He hoped that as soon as he stepped down, all of the chaos in their life would stop because he wanted it to all be because of his office. If it was something else, there was no telling when it would end. No telling when they would get back to their normal lives. He could back to teaching his classes at the university and moving around without guards.

Nadine pulled up straight when he brushed his knuckle over her hip, straightening to rest back against him. "Morning."

"Morning," he whispered back. She brushed her face with her free hand and he encircled her waist with his, looking over the balcony at the lawn. "Did you sleep alright?"

"You want me to lie?"

"Guess that means no." He took the wine from her and threw it all into his mouth before walking back into the room. He set it down on the table, leaning back against the bed and propping himself back on the headboard. They had a few minutes before they went to see the detective. Probably to hear more about how he had nothing concrete to tell them.

Dominic didn't want to be too harsh on the man, but the whole situation was making him sour. It was riling up the town as well, they were at the centre of the news all around. The shooting, the threatening notes, all of it. People were once again making up their theories as to what happened and why. All of it was grating against his patience.

"I am not going to work."

He opened his eyes and looked at Nadine. She was barefoot, leaning against the glass door with her arms folded underneath her breast. She didn't look tired, but she sounded it. Her voice was low and slow.

"I called Denise early in the morning. I think it would be best to stay home for a while."

Dominic swung his leg down, spreading his leg so Nadine could step between them. "I know you want to oversee the expansion personally and I am sure you would be able to control all of it from home. At least for now."

"Imagine it. Me and you stuck in this house together." She clutched his hair in her hands, yanking his head back. "We would drive each other insane."

He laughed in agreement, kissing her when she leaned over. Under the circumstances they were facing, he knew that something could spark an argument between them, being couped up in the house never did much good. Much less under situations like theirs. He didn't expect them to break out into a fight at any moment, but it wasn't too unrealistic given their circumstance. It was at times like these that underlining issues might rear their heads.

There was a knock and they pulled apart to listen. "Sir, the detective is here. I took him to the study as you asked."

Dominic took Nadine's hand and they walked together to the study. The detective was seated, a cup of hot tea in his hand as he hunched over the table. He stood at the sound of the door closing, shaking their hands in greeting before taking his seat. Nadine stood behind Dominic when he sat, opting not to take a chair because she might want to walk off the frustration the meeting was sure to cause.

Denis had stripped off his jacket before they entered, it was sitting on the frame of the chair, his notepad sticking out of it. It drew Dominic's attention. As they sat, he wondered the things the man wrote, not only about their case but about them. Was he making connections? Would he share them or keep them until some dots are connected?

"From the police report of your shooting, we found the person that delivered the letter to your office. He pretty much had the same threat as the man who delivered the envelope to the island. Only this time, his wasn't over a period of days. He was threatened and ordered at one go."

"Yes." Nadine shrugged. "We are aware."

"I know you have probably been through this with the police and your security, but is there someone, anyone you can think of that would try to harm you? Any one of you because at this point, I am not sure if this is purely about you, Mr. Marseille."

"Why?"

"Think about it." He reached for the notebook. Nadine squeezed Dominic's shoulder. "You are stepping out in a matter of days. Whoever this is had years to make their statement against your office and it's happening just as you are about to leave? The chances of that being the case are less and less the more things turn out. This...person, whoever they might be, has not tried to demand anything. Not asked you to use your influence for anything, the window for you to have that power is closing with each day."

"But? There is a 'but' isn't there?"

Denis nodded at Dominic. "Yes, there is. If it has nothing to do with your office, but with you personally, then the window for demands is never going to close. That also leaves the question of if the target is you, your wife, or both of you. I am tempted to look in your direction, Mrs Marseille, as it started with a letter to your family but it could as well be you Mr Marseille, seeing as you were shot."

"If it's about the shooting then it couldn't be about Dominic." Nadine moved from behind the chair to stand by his side. "They could have killed him if he was not wearing a vest."

"From what I gathered your husband never wears one when he goes out for public speaking, meeting at the rest. Then the threat came through and as a precaution, he was made to wear the vest. The shooter, if it had been me, would most likely have gone for the head if he wanted to kill you there on the spot. There was no chance of protecting that shot unless you wore a helmet out."

"I am confused."

The notebook was gently placed on the table, but it looked menacing paired with the seriousness of Denis' following tone. "Why send a note of a threat? Why warn someone that you'd be attacking, even on a funny note? The person might have had the idea that you wouldn't wear a vest, at least not to that funeral. I think whoever it was wanted that thing on you so he could take the shot and still have you come out alive at the end. A note would have ramped up your security, increasing chances of being caught, it was a dangerous gamble on the person's part but it got you to wear the vest."

Dominic licked the bottom of his lips, using a hand to massage the tense muscle at the back of his neck. In his forty-four years, he had never faced anything like this. Tasha's death had rocked him, the death of his children crashed through his world but, this. The thought of someone out there with an unknown motive haunting his family was beyond terrifying. His heart raced in his chest.

"Now," Denis continued, his eyes carrying sympathy as he noticed their obvious distress. "This doesn't rule out that it could have nothing to do with you."

"Now, I am really confused."

"For all you know, it could be against your families and you are just the unlucky ones." Nadine reached forward, bracing herself against the table. "I know it sounds like I am rattling off possibilities to you instead of solutions but without a specific clue pointing to the target that is as much as I can bring to the table."

"W-why." Nadine cocked her head and gave a breathy laugh, her fingers tapping against the mahogany surface rhythmically. "Why do you think it might be towards our parents."

"This whole ordeal began with the letter to your palace. Aside from you getting a call before the message's delivery date, the wheels started turning when the letter was received. Aside from the pain of confirmation, I am not sure how much more your parents could have suffered from the news. You, on the other hand, your death or the threat of your death would cause your family a severe amount of pain."

"Aside from your theories, what else do you have for us?" Dominic sat back, propping his chin on his hand.

"Whatever game is being played; you guys seem to be the main focus. I think, you will be hearing from them soon and hopefully the next person they use would be the slip that leads us to them, or at least points us to another clue."

"Unless the next person is someone with a bomb strapped to their chest."

"That's morbid," Dominic muttered.

"Maybe, maybe not." Denis sighed. The detective looked equally as frustrated with the situation as they were, and Dominic could understand why that was. He had pressure from all sides to figure it out, while they waited for his reports. To have nothing to submit was stressful for any man.

"I suppose your plan isn't to sit and twiddle our thumbs."

"Unfortunately, the solution is nowhere in sight at the moment. More letters would come, at least of that I am certain. The next reach would pull us closer, the next even closer. From what I can tell, this man or woman is very smart. The people he reaches out to are in places with little to no security coverage so they can't be easily identified. The people they stalk have never seen them; all they know is the threatening menacing figure. I think at some point, they are going to reveal their game. The only worry is that the reveal of the game plan..."

Denis took in a shaky breath and Dominic nodded, "Could be one of us."

Denis took his leave shortly after that, a maid escorting him to the door while Nadine finally took a seat. Dominic stood from his chair to join her on the sofa, helping her to slide out of her flats so she could lift her legs to the couch. She was quiet, her head buried in her palm. There were times like these where he looked at his wife and she would seem so small. Of course, she was smaller than he was but at moments like this, he was reminded so keenly of how fragile she could be.

"If I find this person, I am capable of strangling them to death!"

Or anger, Dominic smiled. His wife could get very, very angry.

"For that to happen I think we have to solve this first."

"Ah!" she flew up, the only description he had for how she moved. Steadily, she paced back and forth the length of the sofa and he watched her in silence. Allowing her to get everything she had in her out. "It's our life that they wish to use to play chess? Really? First, I was thankful when my family discovered I was alive. I didn't like the way it happened but it was the push I needed to face them. Now, they want to strip us of our lives without giving us a reason.

"They messed with my family on both ends and there is still more? How will this end? What exactly have we done to deserve to play in this sick game?"

"I would tell you to calm down but you are standing too close to the reading lamp."

"Why aren't you angrier? You were shot!"

"Oh, I am angry." He confirmed honestly, shrugging his shoulder as he leaned back. "More than you can comprehend but I know one thing and that's anger might cloud my judgement and cause me to suspect people I shouldn't. Our relationship riled many people who faded away with time, and me taking the mayorship offended many people who faded away with time. If I get angry, I might draw on that and pick the wrong suspect, giving whoever it is the ability to hide behind them until their sick agenda is carried out."

Nadine stopped her pacing, folding her arms and walking back to the couch. "If there are so many reasons, how do we single out what to follow?"

"I am leaving the Mayor's office in three days. If anything happens after that, I think it might be safe to assume that whoever it is doesn't want anything the mayoral office can provide."

"What if this is against me?"

"As Denis said," he took her hand and kissed it. "With the next letter comes our next clue. The more we eliminate..."

"The more we know who to corner."

"Together."

She kissed him gently, tracing the bottom of his lips with her fingers. "Together."