I didn't sleep much that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same message.
Ask her about the promise.
And then Evelyn's voice came back to me.
I knew your name before we ever met.
I had spent most of the night trying to find a reasonable explanation.
Maybe she had seen my name on a company document.
Maybe someone had mentioned me.
Maybe it was connected to work.
There had to be a simple answer.
At least, that's what I told myself.
But if there was a simple answer, why had Evelyn looked afraid?
That was the part I couldn't explain.
I arrived at the office at 7:50 the next morning.
The building was unusually quiet.
I took the elevator to Evelyn's floor.
Her assistant wasn't at her desk yet.
I knocked on Evelyn's door.
"Come in."
I opened it.
Evelyn was already there.
She was standing beside the window with a cup of coffee in her hand.
She turned when I entered.
"You came early."
"You told me eight."
"I know."
I closed the door behind me.
Neither of us spoke for a moment.
Then I looked at her.
"Start with the easiest question."
She frowned slightly.
"Which is?"
"How did you know my name?"
Evelyn put the coffee down.
"I knew about you before you joined this project."
I stared at her.
"How?"
"You were recommended for the position."
"By whom?"
She hesitated.
"Someone I trusted."
"Who?"
"Ethan Cole."
I recognized the name.
Ethan had been one of the senior executives who had left the company two years earlier.
"But Ethan left before I joined."
"Yes."
"Then how did he know me?"
Evelyn walked back to her desk.
"He didn't know you personally."
"Then what did he know?"
She opened a drawer and took out a thin folder.
She placed it on the desk.
I looked at it.
My name was written on the front.
Lucas Hart.
I looked at Evelyn.
"You kept a file on me?"
"Not exactly."
"Then what is it?"
She pushed the folder toward me.
"Open it."
I did.
The first page was a copy of my employment application.
The second was my résumé.
The third was a recommendation letter.
I read the first few lines.
Then I stopped.
The letter was signed by Ethan Cole.
I looked up.
"This is normal."
"I know."
"Then what's the problem?"
Evelyn sat down.
"The date."
I looked at the letter again.
It was dated almost six months before I had applied for the position.
My stomach tightened.
"That's impossible."
"I thought so too."
I turned another page.
There was an email printed beneath it.
The subject line was simple.
Lucas Hart
The email was from Ethan.
I read it twice.
Evelyn,
If Lucas Hart ever applies for a position here, I want you to meet him personally.
Don't ask questions about why. Just meet him.
You'll understand when the time comes.
I looked at Evelyn.
"You got this before I applied?"
"Yes."
"How long before?"
"Five months."
I stared at her.
"Five months?"
She nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't understand it myself."
"And you still hired me."
"I didn't hire you."
I frowned.
"What?"
"You were hired by the recruitment committee."
"Then why did you meet me?"
"Because Ethan asked me to."
I sat down.
My mind was racing.
"Did Ethan ever explain why?"
"No."
"Did you ask him?"
"Several times."
"And?"
"He always changed the subject."
I looked down at the folder.
There was something else inside.
A photograph.
I pulled it out.
It showed Ethan standing beside another man.
I didn't recognize the other man.
But Evelyn did.
I could tell by the way her expression changed.
"Who is that?"
She took the photograph from my hand.
"I don't know."
"You recognized him."
She looked at me.
"I've seen him before."
"Where?"
"At one of the company's private events."
"Who is he?"
"I don't know."
I stood.
"Evelyn, this is getting ridiculous."
"I know."
"You knew my name before I joined the company. Ethan apparently knew I was going to apply months before I did. Someone is sending you warnings. And now there's a photograph of a man you can't identify."
"I didn't say I couldn't identify him."
I stopped.
She looked at me.
"I said I don't know who he is."
"That's different."
"Yes."
"Then what do you know?"
She was quiet.
Finally, she said,
"He was the reason Ethan left."
I stared at her.
"What?"
"Ethan didn't leave because of the acquisition."
"That's what the company told everyone."
"I know."
"Then why did he leave?"
Evelyn looked toward the window.
"Because he discovered something."
"What?"
She didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
"What did he discover?"
She looked at me.
"I don't know."
I let out a frustrated breath.
"You keep saying you don't know."
"Because sometimes I don't."
"Then what do you know?"
She looked down at the folder.
"I know Ethan was afraid."
That stopped me.
"Afraid of that man?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"I never got the chance to ask him."
"What happened?"
Evelyn was silent for a few seconds.
Then she said,
"He disappeared."
I frowned.
"What do you mean disappeared?"
"He left the company."
"I know that."
"No, Lucas."
Her voice became quieter.
"He left the company and never contacted anyone again."
I didn't know what to say.
Evelyn opened another drawer.
She took out a small envelope.
She placed it on the desk.
"This arrived three days before he left."
I looked at the envelope.
There was no sender.
Only one name.
Evelyn Sheldon.
"Did you open it?"
"Yes."
"What was inside?"
She looked at me.
"That photograph."
My eyes moved to the photograph.
"The one with the man?"
She nodded.
"And Ethan?"
"No."
I looked at her.
"What did he write?"
Evelyn reached into the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
She hesitated before giving it to me.
I unfolded it.
There was only one sentence.
If Lucas Hart ever comes here, don't let him trust anyone.
I read it again.
Then I looked at Evelyn.
"Why would Ethan write my name?"
"I don't know."
"Did you know about me before this letter?"
"No."
"Then how did he know my name?"
"I don't know."
I looked at her.
"You keep saying that."
"Because that's the truth."
I put the paper down.
"Then what is the promise?"
Evelyn went completely still.
For the first time since I entered her office, she didn't look away.
She looked directly at me.
"Ethan made me promise something."
"What?"
"That if you ever came here, I would keep you away from the people who were looking for you."
I stared at her.
"Looking for me?"
She nodded.
"But I didn't know any of these people."
"I know."
"Then why would they be looking for me?"
Evelyn's voice dropped.
"That's what I've been trying to find out."
I stepped back.
"So all this time..."
She waited.
"You weren't protecting the company."
"No."
"You were protecting me."
"Yes."
"From who?"
Evelyn looked at the photograph on her desk.
Then she said,
"That's the question Ethan never got the chance to answer."
My phone suddenly vibrated.
I pulled it from my pocket.
Unknown number.
One message.
I opened it.
There was no text.
Just a photograph.
My heart stopped.
It was a picture of me entering Evelyn's office that morning.
Taken from somewhere across the street.
I looked at Evelyn.
She had seen it too.
Neither of us spoke.
Then another message appeared.
This time, there were only six words.
You should have kept him away, Evelyn.
Evelyn stood immediately.
"Lucas, lock the door."
I turned toward it.
"Why?"
She looked at me.
"Because now they know you're here."