Chapter 1 1

The Montblanc pen felt heavy in her hand, a cold, weighted cylinder of black resin and gold. It hovered over the signature line, the nib drying out in the recycled air of the conference room.

"Just a standard renewal, Mrs. Wilson," Felix Sterling said. He pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose. He didn't look at her. He was looking at his watch. "Two years. The confidentiality clause has been adjusted for inflation and current market valuation of the family assets."

Dennie scanned the document. The penalty for breach of contract had jumped from ten million to fifty million dollars.

Her heart didn't race. Her palms didn't sweat. She had trained her body to be a void where reactions went to die. She pressed the nib to the paper. The ink flowed smooth and dark, turning Dennie Marshall into a liability that had just agreed to remain silent for another twenty-four months.

Felix took the folder before the ink was dry. There was a flicker of something in his eyes-pity? Contempt? It didn't matter. To him, she was the trophy wife who signed her life away for an allowance and a closet full of clothes she rarely wore.

The double doors at the end of the room burst open. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

Holmes Wilson walked in.

He didn't look at her. He didn't look at Felix. He walked straight to the head of the massive redwood table, a shark cutting through water, followed by three assistants who were reciting data about an acquisition in Singapore.

"The merger is stalled," Holmes said, his voice a low baritone that vibrated in the quiet room. He sat down, opening a laptop. "Fix it. Or you're all fired."

She stood up. Her chair made a soft scrape against the carpet. She smoothed the front of her cream-colored pencil skirt. She was invisible. She was furniture.

"Sir," Felix said, stepping forward. "The documents are signed."

"Mm," Holmes grunted. He was typing.

Dennie walked the length of the table. It felt like a mile. When she reached his side, she paused. The scent of him-sandalwood and cold rain-hit her. It was a smell that used to make her knees weak. Now it just triggered a survival reflex.

She tilted her head slightly, a silent question she knew he'd ignore. Her voice was a liability, locked away by contract, but the gesture was a carefully rehearsed piece of theater.

Holmes didn't stop typing. "No time." He waved a hand, a dismissal you would give a servant. "Go."

She let her shoulders slump. She lowered her eyes. She performed the disappointment perfectly. She gave a small, defeated nod.

She turned and walked out. She kept her head down until the elevator doors slid shut, sealing her inside the metal box.

The moment the doors clicked, her spine snapped straight. The sad, submissive pout vanished. Her face went blank, hard.

She pulled her phone from her purse and keyed in a sequence into the calculator app. The hidden partition opened.

Countdown: 24:00:00.

Twenty-four hours. One more day until the actual divorce clause triggered. One more day until she could take her settlement and vanish into the Witness Protection Program's ghost system.

A text came in from Sarah. Tonight? The usual spot? Celebrating two years of your widowhood?

Dennie typed back a single smiley face. Her fingers trembled, just once.

The ride back to the estate was silent. When she entered the foyer, Mrs. Higgins was there, her hands clasped in front of her apron. She watched Dennie change her shoes like she was memorizing the tread pattern.

"Dinner is prepared, Madam," she said.

"I'm not hungry," Dennie said, bypassing her.

She went up to the master bedroom. She locked the door. She went into the walk-in closet, pushed aside the rows of designer gowns, and pressed the hidden latch behind the shoe rack.

The panel popped open. No diamonds. Just a scratched, silver USB drive. This wasn't the real data; that was buried under layers of military-grade encryption on a server in Iceland. This drive was merely the key, the biometrically-locked handshake required for her weekly check-in. Her Dead Man's Switch. If she didn't check in every week, a terabyte of Wilson family secrets would flood the servers of the SEC and the FBI.

She sat on the floor, her laptop balancing on her knees. She plugged it in. This was her heartbeat. Her proof of life.

Code scrolled across the screen. Green text on black. Server secure.

She heard the crunch of gravel on the driveway below.

Her stomach dropped. He never came home this early.

She yanked the USB drive out, shoved it into the wall, and snapped the panel shut. She threw the laptop onto the vanity and stripped off her clothes, pulling on a conservative silk nightgown.

She was sitting at the vanity, wiping off her lipstick, when the door opened.

Holmes stood there. He looked disheveled. His tie was loosened, and he smelled like scotch.

Dennie stiffened, then forced her muscles to liquefy. She stood up, reaching for his coat. "You're back early."

He stepped back, avoiding her touch. His eyes swept the room. They were predatory, sharp. He was looking for something wrong. He sniffed the air.

"What is that smell?" he asked.

"Ozone," she thought. Overheated processor.

"New hair dryer," she said. "It smells a bit like plastic."

He stared at her. He took a step closer. He reached out and grabbed her chin, his fingers digging into her jaw. He tilted her head up, forcing her to look into his ice-blue eyes.

"Where were you today?" he asked.

"I was at your office," she whispered, keeping her eyes wide and innocent. "Signing the papers. Remember?"

He held her gaze for five seconds. It felt like five years. Then he let go, disgusted.

"Right," he said. "Go to sleep."