I furrowed my brow and spun the ring on my finger, a delicate gold band with three small sapphires embedded in it. My dad had given it to my mom as a gift when they were dating to show his intentions were serious. My mom had passed it down to me on my eighteenth birthday, and ever since, it had become a habit of mine to fidget with it when I was nervous or uncomfortable, which I definitely was after hearing Cris had been dodging their calls. Wouldn’t an innocent man be eager to clear his name?

‘Liz, we have some information which leads us to believe Cristian is our prime suspect at this stage, based on our knowledge of your family tree.’

‘What other information?’ I said, taken aback that they considered him their official prime suspect. The beginnings of a headache prickled behind my right eye.

Hannigan looked at me intently with kind and sympathetic eyes. ‘After Cristian denied our request for a DNA sample, we also tracked down Adam Dominio and requested a sample from him. He was more compliant and agreed to let us test his DNA.’

My breath caught in my chest, my thoughts racing. Andie sat silent and alert next to me.

‘Due to markings matching up from Adam’s DNA, the results show us conclusively that our suspect comes from the Dominio line. This means we can effectively rule out your biological father’s family and focus our investigation more fully on Cristian and Adam, as there doesn’t appear to be any other living male relatives on the Dominio side that fit the age and geographical characteristics of our suspect.’

I felt nauseated. I knew that Cris and Adam would be on their radar as male relatives but the danger didn’t seem that close. There had still been a chance it was someone else I hadn’t discovered yet. But now …

I took a deep breath, my desire to know more details wrestling with the fear churning in the pit of my stomach. Deciding it was worth a shot, I asked, ‘But why do you think your suspect is Cris rather than Adam?’

Hannigan stared at me for a long moment before saying, ‘Liz, unfortunately we can’t share details of our evidence with you at this stage without risking hindering our investigation.’

‘Please, you have to give me something,’ I pleaded. ‘I know you asked me to be cautious but I’ve been spending time with Cris, getting to know him. I need to know if there’s a tangible reason why I shouldn’t be.’

Hannigan took a deep breath, leaning forward. ‘We aren’t completely ruling Adam out at this time. You need to be careful regarding both of them. But you told us that Cristian is a veterinarian. We’ve also confirmed that line of business.’

‘Yes, but I don’t see—’