Chapter 272: Are we thinking the same thing

Shawn studied the first photograph and shook his head. “No,” he said quietly.

Daniel and Henry exchanged a brief look, a silent conversation passing between them in that single second.

Daniel then reached for another file and slid a second photograph across the desk. “And him?” he asked, his gaze fixed on Shawn, watching closely for any change in expression.

Shawn stiffened the moment he saw it. “Yes,” he said. “That’s the man I saw Kira talking to.”

The words left both Daniel and Henry visibly stunned.

“But why are you asking me this?” Shawn added, confusion creeping into his voice as he glanced between them.

Daniel’s expression darkened at once. For a brief moment, Shawn worried he had overstepped. Then a hand settled on his shoulder, gripping it lightly but firmly.

“That’s because Kira is dead,” Daniel said calmly. “And we believe she didn’t run away on her own. She was likely held somewhere before she was killed.”

Shawn’s entire body went rigid. The news of Kira’s death hit him like a blow, but what shocked him more was something else entirely.

Daniel knew.

Did Anna tell him everything about the investigation?

It seemed unlikely, and yet there was no way Daniel was unaware of what his wife had been uncovering behind the scenes. He might have appeared ignorant at times, but only because he chose not to interfere.

Watching him now, calmly connecting fragments and tracing patterns, Shawn couldn’t help but wonder what kind of man Daniel truly was.

“Tell me everything you saw,” Daniel said, his voice steady. “Every word, precise. Leave nothing out.”

Shawn felt a chill race down his spine as Daniel’s gaze locked onto him, sharp and unrelenting. Still, he didn’t falter. He told him everything, from the smallest detail to the moments he himself had almost dismissed.

When he was done, Daniel didn’t allow the conversation to stretch any longer than necessary. Shawn was dismissed with a brief nod, though not before being given a specific task to complete.

The door had barely closed behind him when Henry stepped closer to the desk. “Boss,” he asked quietly, “are we thinking the same thing?”

Daniel leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled, his expression unreadable. The calm around him felt deceptive, almost eerie. Even Henry sensed the drop in temperature, as if the room itself had gone cold.

Daniel did not answer immediately.

But whatever conclusion was forming in his mind was leading somewhere dark.

***

Later that evening, after Anna returned home, the first thing she did was check on Mariam. The older woman tried to hide her grief behind routine and composure, but Anna could see through it easily. Mariam was still in shock, hollowed out by the loss of her niece.

Anna stayed with her for a while, offering quiet comfort and gentle reassurances, until Mariam finally settled. Only then did Anna retreat to her room and step into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Her mind, however, refused to rest. It drifted back to the unfinished conversation with Kathrine, to the things her sister had hinted at but never completely said. Kathrine had chosen silence, and Anna had chosen not to push.

There was already too much weighing on her shoulders. Forcing Kathrine to talk about things she clearly was not ready to confront would have only pushed her away.

Still, one conclusion had settled firmly in Anna’s mind. Kathrine knew something about Daniel.

And whatever it was, she was not ready to share it yet.

Letting out a long breath, Anna slipped out of her clothes and stepped beneath the shower, allowing the warm water to cascade over her skin. The steam rose slowly, wrapping around her as if trying to calm what her mind refused to settle.

She placed her hands against the tiled wall and lowered her head, focusing on steadying her breathing. Her body still carried the faint reminders of last night, a lingering soreness that made her acutely aware of herself, though she refused to let it distract her.

So much had happened in a single day. Conversations left unfinished. Worries she could not name. Yet through it all, the moments she had shared with Daniel were the one thing that kept her grounded, her mood inexplicably lighter despite everything.

“Are we going to do it again tonight?” she murmured to herself.

The thought alone made her heart race, and her eyes fluttered open.

Daniel had warned her clearly last night. He had made his intentions known. It was she who had chosen to push them aside.

Now, surrounded by silence and the steady rhythm of water and her own heartbeat, all that restraint seemed distant. All she could feel, all she could want, was him.

“Goodness, am I turning into a pervert?” Anna breathed, shaking her head as if that might chase the thoughts away.

She didn’t want to go down that path, especially when she knew exactly how it would end, with her completely undone and barely able to think straight. Yet the more she tried to push the thoughts aside, the louder they became.

“No. No. You need to stop being horny, Anna,” she scolded herself softly, closing her eyes and focusing on the water instead.

She barely had time to regroup before a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind.

“Thinking about me, wifey?”

Anna’s eyes flew open. For a split second, she was convinced she was hallucinating.

“Am I hearing his voice now?” she whispered to herself, afraid to turn around and confirm it.

Then she felt him press closer, very much real, and she let out a soft, startled gasp.

This was not happening. This could not be happening. When did he even come?

Before her thoughts could catch up, Daniel brushed a kiss against the curve of her neck, slow and deliberate.

Anna froze, her breath caught somewhere between protest and surrender. Her body betrayed her instantly, responding before her mind could form a single sensible argument.

“Daniel,” she whispered, her voice barely steady, as his presence alone sent heat rushing through her.

Whatever resolve she had been building dissolved under the warmth of his touch, leaving her painfully aware of one truth she could no longer deny.

Anna had barely registered the sudden intrusion when something firm pressed against her from behind, and her eyes flew open as realization dawned.

“Don’t deny it, wifey. I know you were talking about me,” Daniel murmured into her ear, his voice low and intimate. His warm breath brushed her skin, sending a shiver through her and stealing the air from her lungs.

Daniel had returned home shortly after Anna disappeared into the bathroom for a shower. The moment he heard the steady rhythm of running water, curiosity had tugged at him. Moving quietly, he pushed the door open and stepped inside without a sound.

Steam filled the room, clinging to the mirrors and blurring the edges of everything except her.

Anna stood beneath the shower, bare and unaware, water cascading over her skin as she muttered to herself. He had been content to simply watch for a heartbeat, the sight alone enough to make his chest tighten. Then, through the rush of water, his name slipped from her lips.

That was all it took.

He closed the distance, pressing himself to her back, his hands settling firmly at her waist. Anna gasped, her breath hitching as she felt him there, solid and unmistakable.

Daniel leaned closer, his lips hovering near her ear. “You make it very hard for me to resist when you say my name like that,” he whispered, his tone gentle but undeniably suggestive, as the water continued to pour over them both.

Anna’s protest dissolved into a breathless sigh as his hands traced familiar paths, the heat between them rising faster than the steam around them. She turned in his arms, water slicking their skin as her palms pressed to his chest, eyes dark with need instead of surprise now.

Daniel did not give her time to speak. His mouth claimed hers, slow at first, then deeper, hunger threading through every movement as if he had been holding himself back all this time. The bathroom filled with the sounds of water and quiet moans, the world outside narrowing to nothing but slick skin, shared breaths, and the unmistakable pull between them.

She clung to him as he backed her against the cool tiles, the contrast only sharpening the fire burning low in her belly. Every touch was familiar yet new, every kiss a promise he intended to keep.

By the time the water finally cooled, neither of them noticed. They were tangled together beneath the fading spray, bodies flushed, breaths uneven, and hearts racing. When Daniel finally rested his forehead against hers, a slow, satisfied smile curved his lips.

“So,” he murmured softly, thumbs brushing her hips, “still going to deny you were thinking about me?”

Anna only smiled, leaning in to kiss him again, already knowing this was far from over.

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