Chapter Two: Whom Does a Secret Own?

A parking garage appeared. Zhao handed a folder to a man in a cap. The man had a crescent burn at the base of his thumb. Zhao circled Su Rui’s left hand in a photograph. Beneath the cap was Zhou Fang, the wedding photographer. Pain pinched Lin’s finger bones. He let go. “I’ll sign if your photographer witnesses it.” For the first time, Zhao hesitated. Ten minutes later, he left, claiming distress. The contract remained heavy after its owner was gone. “Distance doesn’t matter,” Xu said, hooking a luggage scale through the folder. “Nor does every lie.” Zhao had claimed not to be thirsty and then drunk half a bottle; the bottle remained light. “It has to be something he knows, conceals, and that would change another person’s decision.”