Chapter 5

Joy sat on the cold marble floor for ten minutes. Her heart rate slowly returned to normal. The throbbing in her head dulled to an ache.

She pushed herself up, her vision swimming for a moment. She blinked rapidly, forcing the world to stop spinning. She didn't go to the main elevator. She walked straight to the private executive lift, the one that descended directly to the secure underground parking garage.

She needed to corner Angel without Hillary whispering poison in his ear.

The garage was dimly lit and smelled of exhaust and damp concrete. Joy walked down the rows of luxury cars until she saw the taillights of Angel's Aston Martin flash red. He was backing out of his spot.

Joy broke into a run.

She stepped directly into the path of the reversing car.

Tires screeched against the concrete. The heavy car jerked to a violent halt, the bumper stopping mere inches from her knees.

The driver's side door flew open.

Angel stormed out. The garage lights cast harsh shadows across his face. He looked murderous.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!" Angel roared. The sound bounced off the concrete walls. "Do you want to die?"

Joy stood her ground. The headlights blinded her, but she didn't flinch. She looked like a cornered animal, terrified but ready to bite.

"I am not signing the divorce papers," Joy said. Her voice cut through the heavy air.

Angel marched right up to her. He grabbed her jaw again, his thumb pressing hard into her cheek.

"I will destroy you," Angel said. His voice was a low, dangerous vibration. "That million dollars is the last cent you'll ever see. I will make sure you and your pathetic brother are blacklisted in every city in this country. You will leave with nothing but the clothes on your back."

Joy's jaw ached. Her heart pounded against her ribs.

She didn't beg. She didn't cry.

Instead, she abruptly turned her head to the left.

She presented her right profile to him. She angled her right ear directly toward his face. It was a defensive posture, but it was also a calculated strike.

"You'll have to speak louder," Joy said, her voice eerily calm, her eyes staring blankly at the concrete wall. "The ringing in my right ear is particularly bad today. A permanent reminder."

Angel's fingers went rigid against her jaw.

It was like someone had flipped a switch and cut his power. All the rage drained out of his body in a single second, replaced by a sick, cold dread.

His eyes locked onto her right ear. The harsh garage lighting illuminated the thin, pale scar curving behind the cartilage.

The memory hit him again, sharp and brutal. The crunch of metal. The spray of glass. The blood matting her hair. His fault. All his fault.

Joy felt his grip loosen. She felt the slight tremor in his fingers before he snatched his hand away like her skin burned him. He took a sudden step back.

Joy turned to face him. She pressed her advantage.

"If you force me out," Joy said, her voice trembling just enough to sound broken, "I will take you to court. I will reopen the medical files from three years ago. I will tell the press exactly how the great Angel Wilcox treats the wife he crippled."

Angel stared at her. His chest heaved.

"The Wilcox family reputation can't survive a domestic abuse scandal," Joy whispered.

Guilt and fury warred in Angel's eyes. He looked at her like he hated her, but he looked at himself like he hated himself more. He searched her face, looking for a crack, looking for a lie.

Joy kept her face perfectly blank. Her stomach was tied in knots. If he called her bluff, she was dead.

Suddenly, the silence in the garage was shattered by a loud, obnoxious ringtone.

It was Angel's phone. Hillary.

Angel looked down at his pocket. He looked back at Joy, at the pale scar behind her ear. The muscles in his neck strained.

He didn't answer the phone.

He spun around and kicked the heavy steel door of his car. The metal dented with a sickening crunch.

He threw himself into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut. He threw the car into drive and slammed his foot on the gas.

The tires squealed, leaving black marks on the concrete. The car swerved around Joy, the side mirror brushing against her sleeve, and sped toward the exit.

Joy stood alone in the dark garage.

She watched the red taillights disappear. Her knees finally gave out. She leaned back against a concrete pillar and slid down to the floor.

She reached up and touched her right ear, the one with the scar. A bitter, hollow laugh escaped her lips. She had won the battle, but she felt sick to her stomach. The ringing was a lie. The deafness was a lie. Her ear had healed almost perfectly years ago.