Chapter 4

Gemma grabbed Katelyn's wrist and pulled her into a small, empty lounge room adjacent to the hallway.

Katelyn eagerly followed, assuming Gemma wanted to finalize the escape route away from the security cameras. She quickly locked the door behind them.

Gemma collapsed onto the velvet sofa. She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as if she were sobbing.

Katelyn poured a glass of warm water from the side table and handed it over. "You have to be brave, Gemma. Go to him."

Gemma peeked through the gaps in her fingers. She saw the raw contempt pulling at the corners of Katelyn's mouth.

Gemma reached for the glass. She intentionally let her hand jerk, spilling half the water down the front of her silk dress.

"Oh no!" Katelyn gasped, grabbing a napkin and dabbing at the fabric. "Don't worry about Brion. He's just a heartless tyrant anyway. He doesn't love you."

A genuine, hot spike of anger shot through Gemma's veins at the insult to Brion. Her fingers twitched, fighting the urge to crush the glass in her hand.

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "But if I leave... what happens to the Vargas family?"

"Your dad is rich," Katelyn said dismissively. "He'll figure out how to handle Wall Street."

Gemma pulled her own phone from her clutch. "I need to text Jair. I need to make sure he's really there."

Katelyn immediately leaned over, her eyes glued to the screen, desperate to monitor the prey.

Gemma tilted the phone slightly. The glare from the chandelier hit the privacy screen protector, turning the display pitch black to anyone not looking dead center.

Her thumbs flew across the digital keyboard at a blinding speed.

She wasn't texting Jair. She wasn't hacking anything. She was simply inputting Katelyn's backup email address and the password Katelyn had drunkenly let slip in her past life-a combination of her mother's birthday and her first love's name. It was one of the countless messes Gemma had cleaned up for her. Katelyn's cloud drive instantly swung wide open.

"I'm just so scared," Gemma whispered, keeping her eyes locked on the loading bar.

Katelyn stomped her foot in frustration. "If you don't go right now, he's going to die, Gemma!"

The progress bar hit one hundred percent.

A flood of hidden bank statements and encrypted chat logs populated Gemma's screen.

Gemma tapped twice, compressing the files and sending them directly to her secure offshore email server. The evidence was locked down.

She set the phone face down on the velvet cushion.

When she lifted her head, the tears were gone. The trembling had stopped. Her face was carved from ice.

Katelyn took a step back, startled by the sudden shift in the room's temperature.

Gemma stood up. She slowly brushed the water droplets off her dress. Every movement was precise, calculated, and terrifying.

"Are... are you ready?" Katelyn asked, her voice faltering. "The media is waiting."

"How are you liking the new limited-edition Hermes Birkin?" Gemma asked.

The color instantly drained from Katelyn's face. That bag was bought with the money she had siphoned from Gemma's PR budget to buy negative press.

Gemma didn't stop. She recited a string of numbers. "Four, zero, nine, two. Cayman Islands."

Katelyn's body jerked as if she had been electrocuted.

Gemma took a slow step forward. "Using my money to fund my boyfriend. Tell me, Katelyn, does it feel good?"

Katelyn's knees gave out. She stumbled backward until her spine slammed hard against the lounge door. Her eyes were wide, white, and filled with absolute terror.