Chapter 3

A few days later, Elisa sat on the edge of a cheap mattress in a standard Manhattan motel room.

She powered on her primary phone for a fleeting moment to check a saved document. It buzzed instantly.

From Cindy: Sister, Conrad is at the hospital keeping me company. Do you want to come see us?

Elisa's eyes went flat. The air in her lungs turned to ice. She locked the screen, grabbed her coat, and walked out the door.

She took a cab to the most expensive private Catholic hospital in Manhattan. She pulled her coat collar up and kept her head low, blending into the hospital's evening rush.

Pushing through the revolving glass doors, she walked straight toward the VIP elevator bank.

At the nursing station, two large security guards stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

Elisa showed the text message, her voice muffled by her collar. "Cindy Johns. Room 402. She's expecting me."

The head nurse checked the tablet, noting the 'special guest' clearance Cindy had logged to bypass Conrad's general lockdown. She looked Elisa up and down with a judgmental sneer and nodded to the guards. "Let her in. Ms. Johns has been waiting for her 'entertainment'."

Elisa walked down the long corridor. The thick carpet absorbed the sound of her heels.

She reached the premium suite at the end of the hall. The heavy wooden door was cracked open about an inch.

Elisa stopped. She didn't push the door. She stood perfectly still and looked through the narrow gap.

Sunlight flooded the room. Cindy sat propped up against lace pillows, wearing a silk hospital gown. She looked fragile, pathetic.

Conrad sat in a chair pulled close to the bed. He wore a perfectly tailored charcoal suit. His large, powerful hand was wrapped gently around Cindy's pale fingers.

"I still dream about the fire," Cindy whispered, her voice trembling. "The smoke... I was so scared, Conrad."

Cindy shrank back, pulling her shoulders in, pressing herself deeper into the pillows.

Conrad reached out with his free hand. He stroked Cindy's hair. The motion was sickeningly tender.

"I've got you," Conrad said. His voice was soft, a tone Elisa had never heard directed at her. "I will always protect the woman who saved my life."

Cindy sniffled, looking up at him through wet eyelashes. "Do you think Elisa hates me? Because of the divorce?"

Conrad let out a harsh, disgusted scoff. The tenderness vanished from his face, replaced by pure venom. "Elisa is a greedy, toxic viper. Don't waste your pity on her."

He squeezed Cindy's hand. "Signing those papers the second I woke up was the best decision I've ever made. As soon as the cooling-off period is over, I'm marrying you."

Outside the door, Elisa's chest seized. It felt as if a giant hand had reached through her ribs and crushed her heart into a bloody pulp.

She took a half-step back. Her shoulder blades hit the cold, hard wall of the corridor.

She squeezed her eyes shut. A sudden, violent flash of heat and orange flames ripped through her brain. She saw her own hands, covered in soot, dragging a heavy, unconscious body through burning debris.

A sharp, agonizing pain spiked behind her temples. The trauma-induced headache hit her hard.

Elisa snapped her eyes open. The pain vanished. The lingering ache in her chest evaporated, leaving behind a hollow, freezing void.

Any remaining trace of vulnerability died in that second.

She reached up and adjusted the collar of her coat. Her movements were precise, mechanical.

She gripped the handle of her black leather tote bag. Inside rested a thick stack of legal documents regarding her father's trust fund.

She lifted her right leg, aiming her pointed heel directly at the center of the heavy wooden door.