Chapter 2 2

Three weeks later, the only thing keeping Barron Drake from burning down Manhattan was the plastic device strapped to his left ankle.

He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of the penthouse, staring down at the city that was currently eating him alive. The ankle monitor blinked green. Beep. Beep. A constant, rhythmic reminder that he was a prisoner in his own empire.

He turned, sweeping a stack of documents off his mahogany desk. They fluttered to the floor-useless legal briefs, threats from the SEC, and the marriage contract his father had forced him to sign.

"Clean it up," Barron snapped.

Arthur, his head of security, knelt to gather the papers. "Sir, about the night at the Pierre... we scrubbed the footage again. It's clean. Too clean. Whoever she was, she knew exactly where the camera blind spots were. It's professional work."

Barron rolled the silver cufflink between his fingers. It had become a nervous tic. "Keep looking. She didn't just disappear into thin air."

"We're trying, sir. Speaking of which, the lawyers finalized the terms of your temporary release for the Schmidt Gala. The motion was approved. You have a six-hour window, but the monitoring will be tripled. Any deviation from the route, and the deal is off."

Barron scoffed. "A six-hour leash. How generous. And the Schmidt girl? The mute? I haven't seen her."

"She stays in the east wing. Mostly keeps to herself."

"Good. Keep it that way. I don't need a charity case wandering around while I'm trying to stay out of federal prison."

In the hallway, hidden by the shadow of a large vase, Elza Stark stood perfectly still. She held a dust cloth, blending into the scenery like she was part of the furniture. She heard every word. Her expression didn't change. She didn't feel hurt; she felt relieved. Invisibility was her armor.

Magda, the housekeeper, rounded the corner and saw her. Magda's eyes softened with pity. She handed Elza a printed schedule. "Ma'am, the car is ready. For your... visit."

Elza nodded, taking the paper. Serenity Hills Sanitarium - Charity Visit.

An hour later, Elza walked past the reception of the high-end facility. She wore a shapeless gray sweater that swallowed her figure. She kept her head down, avoiding eye contact, the picture of a submissive, silent wife doing her duty.

She slipped into the VIP wing.

Room 304 was chaos. Julian Sterling, once the youngest quant on Wall Street, was pacing frantically. The walls were covered in whiteboards, and the whiteboards were covered in gibberish.

"It doesn't fit! The variable is wrong! The system collapses at t-minus-zero!" Julian screamed, throwing a dry-erase marker at the window.

The nurses huddled by the door, terrified. Julian was in a manic episode.

Elza stepped inside. She closed the door, shutting out the noise of the hallway.

Julian spun around, wild-eyed. "Get out! I don't need charity! I need a mathematician!"

Elza didn't flinch. She walked to the whiteboard, picked up a black marker, and uncapped it. The smell of the ink was sharp.

She looked at Julian's chaotic equation. It was a predictive model for high-frequency trading, but he had missed a derivative in the third line.

She began to write.

Her hand moved with terrifying speed. She crossed out Julian's work and replaced it with elegant, precise notation. She didn't pause to think; the numbers flowed out of her like music.

Julian stopped breathing. He crept closer, his eyes glued to the board.

"The stochastic volatility..." he whispered. "You adjusted for the jump diffusion."

Elza finished the equation. She capped the marker and set it down. The chaotic mess was now a perfect, closed loop. A weaponized financial model capable of predicting a crash before it happened.

Julian fell to his knees, looking up at her with reverence. "Who are you? You're not just a volunteer."

Elza placed a finger to her lips. Shhh.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wrapped peppermint candy, placing it in his shaking hand. She turned to leave.

"The Zero," Julian breathed, clutching the candy. "You're The Zero."

Elza slipped out of the room just as Dr. Evans came running down the hall. She hunched her shoulders, shrinking back into herself, becoming the small, silent girl again.

Back at the penthouse, the air was thick with tension. Elza entered through the service entrance, removing her coat. She smelled of antiseptic and the specific, stale air of a hospital.

She turned the corner into the main hallway and nearly collided with a solid wall of muscle.

Barron.

He stopped, looking down at her. He was close enough that she could smell the expensive scotch on his breath. He wrinkled his nose.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.

Elza kept her eyes on his chest. She raised her hands and signed, movements fluid but hesitant. Charity.

Barron stared at her hands, then at her face. He didn't understand sign language, and he didn't care to learn. He smelled the hospital on her and took a step back, revulsion flickering in his eyes.

"You smell like sickness," he muttered, stepping around her. "Stay out of my way."

Elza stood alone in the hallway, watching his back. He had no idea that the financial model he was currently paying millions to find had just been solved by the wife he couldn't stand to look at.