Chapter 5

Adelia dragged her suitcase down the concrete stairs of the subway station. She swiped her MetroCard and boarded the late-night train heading deep into Brooklyn.

The subway car was mostly empty. A few homeless men sleeping on the plastic benches opened their eyes to stare at her dripping clothes and her bare, bloody feet. Adelia wrapped her arms tightly around her chest, trying to stop her teeth from chattering.

She exited the station and limped through several dimly lit blocks. She finally stopped in front of a decaying red-brick apartment building. She pressed the buzzer for her sister Elberta's unit.

The heavy door creaked open. Elberta stood in the doorway wearing a faded cotton nightgown. When she saw her sister shivering and covered in mud and blood, her hands flew to her mouth in shock.

Elberta grabbed Adelia's arm and pulled her into the cramped, narrow hallway. She rushed to the bathroom and brought back a clean towel, frantically rubbing Adelia's soaking wet hair.

The commotion woke Garry, Elberta's husband. He walked out of the bedroom, his face clouded with deep irritation. "What the hell is all the noise?" His words died in his throat when he saw Adelia standing there. The irritation vanished instantly, replaced by a wide, calculating, and greedy smile. In the past, Adelia's visits always meant expensive gifts, imported steaks, or designer clothes.

Garry hurried to the kitchen and poured a glass of hot water. He handed it to Adelia, rubbing his hands together eagerly. He leaned in and asked if Dominic had any new real estate developments he could get a piece of.

Adelia wrapped her freezing fingers around the hot glass. The heat burned her skin, but it grounded her. She kept her head down and spoke in a flat, exhausted voice.

She told him she and Dominic were getting a divorce.

Garry's smile froze instantly. His eyes darted around frantically. A calculating gleam appeared in his pupils.

He leaned closer, his voice urgent. He asked how many millions she got in the settlement. He asked if she got the Manhattan penthouse or the Hamptons property.

Adelia looked up at him. She told him the truth.

She said she signed an agreement to leave with zero assets. She took nothing so she could get out immediately.

The words "zero assets" hit Garry like a physical blow. The muscles around his eyes began to twitch violently. The color drained from his face, replaced by an ugly, dark red flush.

He lunged forward and violently snatched the hot glass of water right out of Adelia's hands.

He slammed the glass down on the cheap wooden coffee table. Water splashed everywhere, soaking a stack of mail.

He pointed a thick finger directly at Adelia's face and started screaming. He called her a mental patient. He said she was a complete idiot for throwing away a billionaire's fortune just to come here and play the victim.

Garry didn't hide his disgust. He yelled that she was a useless parasite and that he wasn't going to let her drain his hard-earned money.

Elberta burst into tears. She stepped in front of Adelia, using her body as a shield. She screamed at Garry to shut his mouth, telling him Adelia was her only sister and this was her home too.

Garry let out a vicious sneer. He looked at his wife with pure contempt. He told Elberta she was nothing but a leech living off his paycheck, and she had no right to play the generous host.

The argument escalated into a screaming match. Garry's face contorted with rage. He raised his heavy hand, preparing to slap Elberta across the face.

Adelia moved with lightning speed. She reached out and clamped her hand around Garry's thick wrist, stopping his arm in mid-air.

Her eyes were dead and freezing cold. Three years in the cutthroat world of the Thompson family had taught her how to project pure intimidation.

She stared into Garry's eyes and told him in a low, dangerous voice that if he ever touched her sister, she would destroy him.

Garry felt the icy grip on his wrist and saw the murder in her eyes. He flinched. He yanked his arm back, cursing under his breath. He turned and stomped back into the bedroom, slamming the door so hard the walls shook.

The living room fell silent. Elberta collapsed onto the sofa, pulling Adelia into her arms. She sobbed uncontrollably, apologizing over and over for being too weak to protect her.

Adelia swallowed the lump of glass in her throat. She patted her sister's back, holding her tears back.

Elberta wiped her eyes and went to the bathroom to get a plastic first-aid kit. She knelt on the worn carpet and carefully poured hydrogen peroxide over the deep cuts on the soles of Adelia's feet.

The chemical reaction bubbled white. A blinding, searing pain shot up Adelia's legs. She clamped her jaw shut, refusing to make a sound.

She looked down at the gray hairs mixed into her sister's roots. She slowly curled her hands into fists.

After bandaging the wounds, Elberta led Adelia into the tiny, cluttered spare room. She gave Adelia an oversized, faded t-shirt to sleep in.

Adelia lay down on the hard, lumpy folding bed. Through the thin drywall, she could hear Garry complaining and cursing in the master bedroom.

She stared at the water stains on the ceiling. She realized her sister was trapped in a different kind of hell, and right now, Adelia had zero power to save her.

A fierce, burning need for survival ignited in her chest. She had to get a job. She had to get money.

At three in the morning, Adelia sat up on the folding bed. She pulled her phone from her bag and connected to the weak apartment WiFi.

She opened a job portal app. She began aggressively editing her resume. She didn't hide her identity as Dominic's wife; instead, she strategically leveraged the high-level logistical and translation work she had discreetly handled for his overseas accounts during that three-year gap, framing her application as a hungry professional eager to prove her own worth.

The blue light from the screen illuminated her pale face. Her eyes were sharp and unyielding. Tomorrow was going to be a bloodbath, and she was ready for it.