Chapter 1 1

The condensation on the floor-to-ceiling glass was the only thing separating Kiley from the sprawling, electric nervous system of Manhattan. From this height, the yellow taxis were just streaks of light, blood cells moving through the arteries of a city that never slept. Kiley pressed her forehead against the cold pane. The chill seeped into her skin, a welcome distraction from the hollow ache expanding inside her chest.

She glanced down at her wrist. The leather strap of her watch was worn, the only piece of jewelry she still wore other than the platinum band on her left hand. Two in the morning.

The apartment was silent. It was a silence so heavy it felt like it had mass, pressing against her eardrums. On the coffee table behind her, the document waited. The edges of the paper were curled slightly from how many times she had thumbed through them, reading the legal jargon that boiled down to one simple, brutal fact: she was being discarded.

Irreconcilable differences.

A soft beep echoed from the foyer. The elevator mechanism whirred, a low hum that vibrated through the hardwood floors.

Kiley didn't turn around. She didn't need to see him to know he was there. She heard the heavy thud of the front door closing, followed by the click of the lock. Then came the footsteps. They were uneven, slightly heavy.

The air in the room shifted. A scent drifted toward her, cutting through the sterile smell of the apartment's air conditioning. It was a mix of expensive scotch, cold night air, and something else. Something floral and powdery.

Chanel No. 5.

Kiley's stomach twisted. A wave of nausea rolled up her throat. It was Adda's scent. It clung to his coat, a territorial marker left by a woman who knew exactly what she was doing. Kiley closed her eyes, her fingernails digging into her palms until the sharp pain grounded her.

Evertt didn't speak. He walked past her, the fabric of his suit rustling. He went straight to the wet bar. The sound of crystal clinking against crystal rang out, sharp and discordant. Liquid splashed into a glass.

"Did you sign it?"

His voice was devoid of warmth. It was the tone he used for incompetent employees or telemarketers. He stood with his back to her, his shoulders tense under his tailored jacket. He took a long swallow of the amber liquid.

Kiley turned slowly. Her legs felt heavy, like she was wading through water. She looked at his back. The broad shoulders, the dark hair trimmed to perfection. For three years, she had memorized the curve of his spine, the way he slept, the way he drank his coffee.

"Is there really no coming back from this?" Her voice was a whisper, barely audible over the hum of the refrigerator. "Even for Grandfather's sake? He loves me, Evertt."

Evertt spun around. The movement was violent, sudden.

His eyes were bloodshot. There was no love in them. There wasn't even pity. There was only irritation, a simmering annoyance that she was still here, taking up space in his life. He slammed the heavy crystal glass down onto the marble countertop. Amber liquid sloshed over the rim, staining the pristine white stone.

"Don't you dare bring my grandfather into this," he spat. The venom in his voice made her flinch physically. "You think you can use him as a shield? Adda needs me. She is fragile, Kiley. She is real. You..." He looked her up and down, his lip curling in disgust. "You got what you wanted. You got the payout."

He reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. He pulled out a slip of paper and flicked his wrist.

The check fluttered through the air. It drifted slowly, landing on the coffee table right next to the divorce papers.

"Five million dollars," Evertt said, his voice dropping to a cruel sneer. "That's more money than anyone in that trailer park you came from sees in ten lifetimes. Take it. It's the price of my freedom."

Kiley looked at the check. The zeros seemed to mock her. Five million. That was the value he placed on three years of her life. Three years of nursing him when he was sick, of tolerating his mother's insults, of hiding her true self so she wouldn't outshine him.

Something inside her snapped. It wasn't a loud break. It was quiet, like a thread finally giving way under too much tension. The hope she had been nurturing, the foolish, pathetic hope that he might wake up and realize what they had, dissolved.

She walked to the table. Her hand didn't shake. She picked up the black fountain pen lying next to the papers.

Evertt watched her, tapping his foot impatiently. He checked his watch. "Hurry up. Adda is waiting in the car downstairs. She's not feeling well."

The mention of her name in this moment, in their home, while he was ending their marriage, was the final blow. Kiley looked up at him. Her eyes, usually warm and expressive, were now flat. Dead.

"This is the last time, Evertt," she said softly. "I loved you."

Evertt grimaced, as if she had sworn at him. "Just sign the damn papers, Kiley."

She looked down at the signature line. Kiley Baker. That was who she had tried to be. She pressed the nib of the pen to the paper. The ink flowed smoothly, black and permanent.

She didn't sign Baker.

With a fluid, practiced motion, she wrote a name that was not the one he expected. The letters were stylized, a sharp, angular scrawl that bore no resemblance to the round, submissive script of Kiley Baker. It was the signature of Kiley Koch.

She capped the pen with a decisive click. She closed the folder and pushed it across the table toward him.

Evertt didn't hesitate. He snatched the folder up. His phone buzzed in his pocket-another text from Adda. Distracted, he flipped the folder open, his eyes barely grazing the bottom of the page. He saw the black ink, the existence of a signature, and that was enough. He didn't even notice the name change. He just saw the ink, and his shoulders sagged in relief. He had what he wanted.

"Leave the keys on the counter," he said, already turning away. He grabbed his coat, not looking at her again. "You have until noon tomorrow to get your things out."

He strode to the elevator and pressed the button. The doors slid open immediately. He stepped inside, and as the metal doors began to close, he didn't look back. He was already pulling out his phone, likely texting Adda.

The doors shut. He was gone.

Kiley stood alone in the silence. She looked down at the check still sitting on the table. Five million dollars.

She picked it up. The paper felt crisp between her fingers. She walked over to the corner of the room where the heavy-duty office shredder sat. She pressed the power button. The machine hummed to life, a hungry, mechanical sound.

She fed the check into the slot.

Whirrrrrr-crunch.

The machine ate the paper greedily. The five million dollars turned into confetti in seconds. She watched the strips of paper fall into the bin, feeling a strange, cold satisfaction. She didn't need his money. She never needed his money.

She walked to the kitchen drawer, the one under the silverware that Evertt never opened. She pulled the drawer out completely, reached into the gap behind the frame, and pressed a hidden latch. A false bottom popped open. Inside lay a sleek, black device. It wasn't a smartphone. It was an encrypted satellite device.

She powered it on. It connected instantly. She dialed a number she hadn't called in three years.

It rang once.

"Speak," a deep voice answered. It was rough, alert, as if the owner never truly slept.

Kiley took a breath. "Brother," she said, her voice finally trembling, not with sadness, but with the release of a burden. "Come get me. The game is over."