Chapter 3 - Following Her Secret Evening Journey
The afternoon sun dipped below the Providence skyline, casting long, bruised shadows across the stone courtyard of the Stanford estate.
Corbin watched from his office window as Lianna collected her worn canvas coat and walked down the long driveway toward the public bus stop.
Impulse overrode his corporate caution; he grabbed his car keys, hurried to the garage, and slid behind the wheel of his unassuming sedan.
He kept two car lengths back, trailing the public bus as it wound through the working-class neighborhoods on the industrial outskirts of the city.
Lianna stepped off the bus near a fading, mustard-colored apartment complex with peeling paint and flickering exterior security lights.
She clutched her small lunch bag tightly against her chest as she hurried up the concrete steps toward apartment 4B.
Corbin parked his sedan beneath a broken streetlamp, killing the headlights while keeping his eyes fixed on the dim window of her second-floor unit.
Through the thin sheer curtains, he saw her silhouette bending over a small crib, gently lifting a baby into her arms.
The sight struck Corbin with an unexpected wave of heavy emotion, reminding him of how fragile human life really was outside the boardroom.
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He turned off the engine, planning to wait a few more minutes before heading back to his silent, empty mansion across town.
Then the rumble of a sleek, expensive European luxury car suddenly broke the quiet hum of the neighborhood.
