Chapter 8

Kaia walked out of the boutique and stepped straight into the waiting Maybach. "Drive to the cafe on the Upper East Side."

The moment the car doors locked, her body gave out. She grabbed a tissue, pressed it against her mouth, and coughed violently. When she pulled the tissue away, it was soaked in dark red blood.

She arrived at the private room in the cafe. Her best friend, Alaia, was already sitting there with a laptop open.

Alaia looked up. She saw the blood staining Kaia's lips and gasped. "Oh my god, I'm calling an ambulance."

Kaia grabbed Alaia's wrist, her grip surprisingly strong. "Sit down. Show me what you found."

Alaia swallowed hard. She turned the laptop around and hit play. It was a compilation of dark web transactions and street camera footage.

The video clearly showed Seraphina standing in a dark alley, handing a thick stack of cash to the man in the baseball cap.

Kaia stared at the screen. A cold, vicious smile spread across her face. She plugged her phone in and downloaded the video.

"Where is Seraphina right now?" Kaia asked.

"Gerrit checked her into the VIP suite at Manhattan Private Hospital to recover from the 'shock'," Alaia replied.

Kaia stood up. "Let's go."

Kaia walked through the hospital lobby, her heels clicking loudly against the tile. She took the elevator straight to the top floor.

She pushed open the door to the VIP suite. Seraphina was sitting up in bed, looking perfectly healthy, blowing on a cup of steaming hot tea.

When Seraphina saw Kaia, the relaxed smile vanished. She instantly widened her eyes, trying to look terrified.

Kaia didn't say a word. She walked right up to the side of the bed and shoved her phone screen directly into Seraphina's face.

The video played. The sound of Seraphina negotiating the price with the fake stalker echoed loudly in the quiet room.

All the color drained from Seraphina's face. She lunged forward, trying to snatch the phone out of Kaia's hand.

Kaia stepped back. "If you don't want this video on the front page of the New York Times tomorrow, you will pack your bags and leave this city."

Seraphina was backed into a corner. A look of pure, malicious panic flashed in her eyes.

She looked past Kaia. Through the glass window of the door, she saw Gerrit's tall figure walking down the hallway toward the room.

Seraphina grabbed the porcelain cup of boiling hot tea from the nightstand. Without hesitating, she threw the scalding liquid directly at Kaia's face.

Kaia threw her arm up on instinct. The boiling tea splashed across the back of her hand and soaked into her exposed collarbone.

The delicate skin instantly turned violently red. Huge blisters bubbled up on the surface. Kaia let out a sharp cry of pain and stumbled backward.

At that exact second, Gerrit pushed the door open. He watched the last drops of the hot tea fall from Seraphina's hand.

The room fell dead silent. Gerrit stared at the horrific red burns blistering across Kaia's collarbone. His brain stopped functioning.

Seraphina immediately started sobbing. "She was trying to blackmail me with a fake video! I got scared and knocked the cup over!"

Gerrit didn't look at Seraphina. He looked down at the floor. Kaia had dropped her phone. The screen was still glowing, looping the video of Seraphina paying the stalker.

The truth hit Gerrit like a physical punch to the gut.

Kaia stood there, her body trembling from the agonizing burns and the cancer eating her insides. She looked at Gerrit with absolute, unfiltered disgust.

Gerrit's face turned pale. He lunged forward and scooped Kaia's shaking body into his arms.

Seraphina screamed his name, but he ignored her. He held Kaia tightly against his chest and sprinted out of the room, running frantically toward the emergency room downstairs.