Chapter 4

Rain lashed against the dirty window of the cheap motel on the edge of Manhattan. Lightning flashed, illuminating the peeling, water-stained wallpaper.

Annabelle sat on the edge of the sagging spring mattress. It groaned under her weight. She rubbed a rough towel over her dripping wet hair.

Her cheap prepaid phone vibrated on the chipped nightstand. The screen lit up with an email notification from a Legal Aid Society lawyer.

She opened the attachment. It was the finalized divorce agreement.

She scrolled through the harsh terms. She was waiving all rights to marital assets. She was leaving with exactly what she brought into the marriage: nothing.

Without a second of hesitation, she traced her electronic signature on the cracked screen and hit send.

Annabelle stared at the blank screen of the cheap phone. The silence of the motel room was deafening. A sudden, suffocating wave of longing for her children crashed over her. Her hands trembled as she manually dialed the familiar landline number of the penthouse. She just needed to hear their voices one last time. The line rang twice before someone picked up.

Annabelle's heart gave a violent, painful squeeze. "Mom?" Leo's voice came through the speaker. He was crying hysterically. A loud crack of thunder boomed in the background. "I'm scared."

Annabelle's throat tightened. Tears instantly flooded her eyes. "Leo, baby, it's okay. I'm here. Don't be afraid of the thunder-"

There was a scuffling sound. The phone was snatched away.

"Why did you abandon us?" Theo's voice was ice-cold. It sounded exactly like Julian.

"Theo, I didn't abandon you," Annabelle choked out, pressing a hand to her chest. It felt like her ribs were cracking. "I had to leave."

"Aunt Jocelyne says you're a selfish, crazy woman," Theo said mechanically. "She says you only care about yourself."

Hearing Jocelyne's name from her son's mouth made the blood freeze in Annabelle's veins.

"I never want to see you again! You're a bad mom!" Leo screamed in the background.

The line went dead. The dial tone buzzed loudly in the quiet motel room.

Annabelle sat paralyzed. The phone slipped from her numb fingers and hit the stained carpet.

Another crack of thunder shook the room, drowning out the agonizing sob that ripped from her throat.

She buried her face in her hands. She cried until her lungs burned, until her stomach cramped with physical pain. She mourned the death of her motherhood.

Five minutes later, she stopped.

She stood up. Her joints felt stiff. She walked into the tiny, moldy bathroom and splashed freezing water on her face.

She looked in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, but the vulnerability in them was gone. They were sharp. Lethal.

Her phone lit up again. A text message from Alistair, Julian's executive assistant.

Julian requires your presence at the Ware Group headquarters tomorrow at 10 AM to discuss the divorce terms.

Annabelle wiped the water from her chin. The last shred of affection she held for that family had been brutally murdered by that phone call.

She typed a single word: OK.

She opened her suitcase and pulled out her only tailored black business suit.

She hung it on the shower rod and began meticulously ironing out every single wrinkle with the motel's cheap iron.

She unzipped a hidden compartment in her bag. She pulled out a thick folder containing Jocelyne's medical records and private club bills she had gathered over the years. Along with them was a sealed yellow envelope. For months, she had been paying a private investigator to track Jocelyne's erratic late-night movements, anticipating a disaster. The PI had emailed her the final batch of photos just hours before the crash. She shoved them into her briefcase.

She sat in the dark room, listening to the rain, waiting for the sun to rise. She was going to war.