Chapter 2 2

Beth pulled the heavy oak door shut behind her.

The moment the latch clicked into place, the full weight of the sedative hit her. The hallway tilted sharply to the right.

She stumbled, her shoulder slamming hard into the polished oak wall paneling. She pressed her palms flat against the cool wood, forcing her eyes wide open to stop the spinning.

Down the hall, the receptionist looked up from her computer.

Her eyes were wide with a mix of practiced pity and sharp suspicion. She held out a validated parking ticket, her arm stiff.

Beth ignored the ticket. She couldn't let anyone see her like this.

"I need to use the restroom," Beth mumbled. Her tongue felt thick and clumsy in her mouth.

She pushed off the wall and forced her legs to move, heading toward the shadowed alcove at the far end of the corridor.

She pushed through the restroom door and stumbled toward the sink.

She turned the chrome faucet on full blast. The water was ice cold. She cupped her hands and splashed it directly into her face, gasping as the freezing temperature shocked her system.

She did it again. And again.

Water dripped from her chin, ruining her expensive silk blouse. She gripped the edges of the marble sink, her knuckles turning white, and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Her face was pale. Her eyes were bloodshot. She looked exactly like the broken, unstable woman the script demanded her to be.

Suddenly, a string of glowing green characters flashed across her vision, burning into her retinas.

WARNING: NARRATIVE DEVIATION DETECTED.

It was The Quill. The system was watching her.

Beth squeezed her eyes shut until the green text faded. She grabbed a rough paper towel, scrubbed her face dry, and threw it into the trash can.

She stepped out of the restroom. The hallway was empty.

As she walked back toward the elevators, she noticed something. The secondary door to Dr. Finch's private office-the one meant for staff access-was cracked open just an inch.

The soundproofing on that door was nonexistent.

Beth stopped. She held her breath.

From inside the room, Finch's voice drifted out. It was low, rushed, and entirely different from his clinical tone.

"Yes, I'm using the prepaid phone," Finch was saying.

Beth pressed her back against the wall, sliding closer to the gap in the door. Her heart began to hammer against her ribs, the adrenaline fighting through the chemical haze in her blood.

"I've documented exactly what K. Holloway requested," Finch continued. "Severe paranoid schizophrenia with violent tendencies."

Beth's breath caught in her throat.

K. Holloway.

That was the chief crisis publicist for Lachlan Langley. Her husband.

"I assure you," Finch said, a sickeningly smug tone bleeding into his voice. "This medical file is bulletproof. It is more than enough for a judge to mandate involuntary psychiatric commitment. Her trust voting rights will be suspended by Friday."

A wave of pure, blinding rage washed over Beth.

Her fingernails dug so deeply into her palms that the skin broke. The sharp, stinging pain grounded her. It cut right through the sedative's fog.

They weren't just trying to discredit her. Lachlan was trying to lock her away in an asylum to steal her shares in the Langley empire.

A muffled, cold female voice spoke through the phone. Beth couldn't make out the words, but the tone was demanding.

"Of course," Finch chuckled. "Once the final wire transfer clears the offshore account, the encrypted audio of her little outburst today will be sent to your secure server."

He was selling her medical privacy. He was breaking every rule of the HIPAA act for a payout from the Langley family.

Beth's hands shook as she reached into her designer bag. She pulled out her phone and swiped open the voice memo app.

She needed proof. She hit the red record button and held the phone close to the crack in the door. This file was her only lifeline. If she could just get it to the right legal team, it would blow Lachlan's entire conspiracy wide open.

Suddenly, the sharp clack-clack-clack of high heels echoed off the marble floor behind her.

The receptionist was walking down the hall, heading straight for her.

Beth's thumb slammed the stop button. She shoved the phone deep into her pocket and spun around, taking two quick steps away from the door.

She smoothed her damp hair and forced her face into a blank, emotionless mask.

"Mrs. Langley?" the receptionist asked, her eyes darting between Beth and the cracked door. "Your private driver has been waiting in the underground garage for twenty minutes."

"Thank you," Beth said. Her voice was ice.

She reached into her bag, pulled out a pair of oversized black sunglasses, and slid them onto her face. They covered the dark circles under her eyes and the murderous rage burning in her pupils.

She walked past the receptionist without another word and stepped into the VIP elevator.

As the stainless steel doors slid shut, Beth watched the floor numbers tick downward.

Any lingering hope she had that Lachlan might actually care about her survival evaporated. Her marriage was a cage, and her husband was the executioner.

The elevator chimed. The doors opened to the dimly lit underground garage.

A sleek black Maybach was idling near the exit. The driver, wearing a sharp suit, quickly stepped out and opened the rear door for her.

Beth slid into the plush leather seat. The door closed with a heavy, soundproof thud.

The car pulled away.

Beth leaned back against the headrest. As she did, her eyes caught something strange.

The rearview mirror was angled slightly downward. It wasn't positioned for the driver to see the traffic behind them. It was angled to point directly at the backseat. Directly at her face.

Beth didn't move her head. She kept her breathing slow and even.

She unclasped her bag and pulled out a tube of Tom Ford lipstick. She popped the cap off and held the small, mirrored surface of the lipstick tube up to her face, pretending to check her makeup.

Using the reflection of the tiny mirror, she scanned the ceiling of the car.

There it was.

Tucked perfectly into the dark edge of the reading light console was a microscopic red blinking dot. A pinhole camera.

A cold shiver ran down her spine. They were watching her right now.

Beth lowered the lipstick. She didn't put it on. She dropped it back into her bag and let it snap shut.

She slowly lifted her head. She stared directly into the hidden lens of the camera.

She didn't smile. She didn't scream.

Instead, she slowly and deliberately raised her right hand and flipped a rigid, defiant middle finger straight at the lens.

Miles away, in the security control room of the Langley Group headquarters, K. Holloway stared at the live feed on her monitor. Her jaw tightened. She immediately picked up the internal phone.

Inside the Maybach, the bright Manhattan sunlight suddenly broke through the tinted windows as the car emerged from the garage.

Beth closed her eyes, letting the warmth hit her skin. She was calculating her next move.

Suddenly, the silence in the car was shattered.

Her phone vibrated violently against her thigh.

She pulled it out. The screen lit up with the caller ID.

Lachlan Langley.

The executioner was calling.