Chapter 7

The air in Zurich was different. It held no trace of exhaust, expensive cologne, or betrayal. Instead, it smelled crisp, like cold water and ancient stone.

I stood in the arrivals hall, watching my suitcase circle the carousel. My phone, which I had turned back on solely to ping Ayla, was vibrating incessantly against my palm.

Emilio (12 Missed Calls)

Emilio: Where are you? The house is empty.

Emilio: Marcus said you took everything. Stop this childish game, Elana.

Emilio: I won. The board voted to keep me. We are safe. Come home.

Safe.

He thought he had won. I looked up at the airport television screen. Even here, four thousand miles away, his face dominated the news. The ticker at the bottom read: Acosta Corp CEO Survives Hostile Takeover, Cites "Family Unity" as Motivation.

The footage showed him walking out of the headquarters. He looked ravaged, his tie loosened-a victor who had torched his own kingdom merely to save the throne.

And right beside him, gripping his arm like a vice, was Hayden. She was beaming. She looked like she had just been crowned queen.

He had mortgaged our future to save her reputation. He had liquidated the assets that were supposed to be our safety net-the ones he swore were for "our" children-solely to keep her out of jail for corporate espionage.

"Elana!"

I turned. Ayla was rushing toward me, her red coat a violent slash of color in the gray terminal. She didn't wave. She just crashed into me, hugging me so hard I lost my breath.

"You made it," she whispered into my hair, her voice thick with relief. "I was so afraid you'd turn back."

"I have nothing to go back to," I said, pulling away.

We drove to her apartment in silence. The city of Zurich blurred by, clean and orderly and utterly indifferent to my shattered life.

When we reached her place, I sank onto the sofa and finally opened the link Ayla had sent me earlier. It was a breakdown of the deal Emilio had made.

He had given up 40% of his voting rights. He had sold the villa in Tuscany-the one he had promised me just yesterday. He had drained the joint accounts.

He had paid a king's ransom for a life with Hayden, and he didn't even realize he was the hostage.

My phone rang again. Emilio.

I looked at Ayla. "He doesn't know I'm gone for good. He thinks I'm throwing a tantrum in a hotel downtown."

"Tell him," Ayla said, handing me a glass of wine. "End it."

I answered.

"Finally!" Emilio's voice was hoarse. "I've been calling for hours. Where are you? The Ritz? The Four Seasons?"

"I'm in Zurich, Emilio."

Silence. The line crackled.

"Zurich?" He laughed, a nervous, jagged sound. "Very funny. Look, I know you're mad about the press conference. But I had to do it. Hayden was falling apart. She threatened to take Leo to France if I didn't fix the legal mess."

"So you paid for her silence with my money."

"It's our money, and I'll make it back!" he snapped. "I'm the hero today, Elana. I saved the company. I saved the family. You should be celebrating with me, not running off on some... some architectural pilgrimage."

"I saw the news," I said, my voice dead steady. "I saw you with her. You looked happy."

"I was performing!" he shouted. "It's PR! Why can't you support me? Just come home. I ordered that vintage necklace you liked. It'll be there tomorrow."

"I'm not coming home, Emilio. I told you at the hospital. I told you on the phone."

"Stop saying that!" His voice cracked. "You're my wife. You don't just leave because things get tough. You stay. You endure. That's what love is."

"No," I said, looking out at the snow-capped mountains in the distance. "That's what a doormat is. And I'm done being stepped on."

"Elana, if you don't come back by the weekend, I'm cancelling your credit cards."

"I cut them up before I left."

"I'll... I'll stop the scholarship funding!"

"The board already approved it directly. You can't touch me."

He was breathing hard now. Panic was setting in. He was realizing that his usual levers of control-money, guilt, fear-were severed.

"I'll come get you," he threatened. "I'll fly there and drag you back."

"Don't bother," I said. "You have a victory party to attend. Go celebrate with your real family."

I hung up.

Then, with a calm finality, I removed the SIM card from my phone and snapped it in half.

"Done?" Ayla asked.

"No," I said, dropping the pieces into the trash. "Just started."