Chapter 4 - Adrian Finds Naomi Packing Quietly
Naomi was not finishing service.
She was packing.
One gray uniform.
Two shirts.
A photograph.
A worn leather notebook.
Everything she owned in the Sterling estate fit inside one duffel bag.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
“You’re leaving.”
“Yes.”
“Because Whitaker recognized you?”
Naomi zipped the bag.
“Because attention creates problems.”
“For whom?”
She looked at him.
“Everyone.”
Adrian had hired Naomi eleven months earlier after his mother’s longtime
housekeeper recommended her.
She had perfect references.
Never complained.
Never discussed her past.
She also knew emergency medicine better than most civilians.
Once, when Adrian cut his hand badly, Naomi closed the wound with a
pressure dressing before the ambulance arrived.
He had assumed she took a first-aid course.
Now he asked:
“Were you military?”
Naomi closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Captain?”
“Once.”
“What happened?”
May you like
Her answer was almost a whisper.
“I reported something I wasn’t supposed to find.”
