Chapter 1 1

Edlyn Booth adjusted the magnification loupe over her eyes, the world narrowing down to a single square inch of canvas. The smell of solvent was sharp in the air, a chemical comfort she had known since childhood. She held the scalpel with a steadiness that defied the tremors in her chest. This was a seventeenth-century Dutch oil painting, and the varnish had yellowed into a sickly amber. Her job was to remove the decay without harming the history beneath. It was the only time she felt in control.

The intercom buzzed, a harsh, electronic intrusion that made her hand freeze mid-air. She exhaled slowly, placed the scalpel on the velvet tray, and tapped the monitor on the wall. It was the concierge, announcing a delivery from Arno's personal assistant.

Send it up, she typed on the keypad. She did not speak. She had not spoken a word in three years.

Moments later, Magda, the housekeeper, bustled in with a garment bag. It was Arno's charcoal suit, the one he had worn yesterday. Magda hung it in the master closet with the reverence due a religious artifact. Edlyn watched from the doorway. Her eyes traced the hem of the jacket. It hung slightly askew. Arno Rutledge did not tolerate asymmetry.

Magda left to start dinner. Edlyn stepped into the closet. The space smelled of cedar and expensive dry cleaning, but underneath, there was a faint, metallic scent. She reached out, her fingers brushing the fine wool. The pocket flap was tucked in, but a corner of white cardstock protruded against the dark fabric.

She held her breath. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. She pulled the paper out.

It was a visitor pass. Mount Sinai Hospital. VIP Wing. The time stamp read 11:00 PM last night.

Edlyn stared at the small piece of paper. The edges were sharp against her thumb. Last night, Arno had texted her. Board meeting ran late. Don't wait up.

He had lied.

She pulled out her phone, her hands shaking so badly she almost dropped it. She took a photo of the pass and moved it to a hidden, encrypted folder. She slid the pass back into the pocket, exactly as she had found it.

A notification popped up on her screen. An automated email from the nursing home. Payment Overdue. Final Notice.

The air in the closet felt suddenly thin. The walls were closing in. She needed air. She needed answers.

Edlyn grabbed a nondescript gray trench coat and wrapped a scarf around her lower face. She bypassed the elevator that led to the private garage and took the service exit. She walked four blocks before descending into the subway, merging with the anonymous flow of New York City.

The hospital was a fortress of glass and steel. Edlyn kept her head down, her scarf pulled high. She navigated the lobby, blending into the stream of worried relatives and tired staff. The VIP wing was different. The air was cooler, the lighting softer, the silence heavier.

Two men in dark suits stood guard at the double doors. They were not hospital security. They wore the silver lapel pins of Rutledge Global.

Edlyn stopped by a donor plaque, pretending to read the names. Her pulse roared in her ears. A nurse pushed a cart filled with rare, white orchids past the guards. Edlyn turned slightly, her eyes catching the small card tucked into the blooms.

Get well. A.R.

The initials burned into her retinas. Arno never sent flowers. He considered cut flowers a waste of capital.

She waited for the nurse to swipe her badge, then slipped through the closing doors behind the cart, using the bulk of the flowers as a shield. She followed the cart down the corridor. Room 1208.

The door to 1208 was ajar. Edlyn pressed herself into a recessed alcove. Through the gap, she saw machinery. A ventilator hissed rhythmically. There was a team of doctors in white coats, their voices low and urgent. She could not see the patient, only the sheer volume of technology keeping them alive.

One of the Rutledge guards turned his head. His gaze swept the hallway and locked onto her.

Edlyn froze. Her instinct was to run, but her legs felt like lead.

"Excuse me, ma'am," the guard said, stepping forward. "This is a restricted area."

Edlyn pointed to her throat. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She made a series of frantic, nonsensical gestures with her hands, mimicking confusion.

The guard frowned, his aggression dampening into annoyance. He assumed she was lost and disabled. He pointed firmly toward the elevators.

"Exit is that way."

Edlyn nodded rapidly, playing the part of the frightened, mute woman. She turned and walked to the elevator, her back prickling with the sensation of being watched. Only when the doors slid shut did she allow herself to gasp for air. She leaned against the cold metal wall, seeing her reflection in the polished steel. Her eyes were wide, terrified.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket.

Come home for dinner.

It was Arno. The command was simple, brutal. He was summoning his asset. Edlyn looked at the message, then up at the floor indicator as it descended. She had seen the truth, or at least the edge of it. Now she had to go home and pretend she was blind.