Chapter 2

Two days later, the transfer to the hospice was complete. Kelsey was stable, for now. The word felt like a lie.

Elaine was in the apartment she had once shared with Brett, a ghost in her own home. The space was filled with seven years of memories, now all tainted.

A curt text from Brett had arrived that morning: "Conference in Chicago. Back tomorrow. Behave."

She replied with a single word: "Okay." It was easier than fighting.

She had already emailed her resignation to the company' s HR department. There was no response. She wasn't surprised. Brett controlled everything.

She started packing. Her life, it turned out, fit into one large suitcase and a carry-on. Architectural drawings, a few cherished books, clothes. The rest was just stuff, things that belonged to a life she no longer recognized.

Suddenly, a key turned in the lock. It was Brett' s assistant, a young woman named Chloe who had always been more loyal to him than to the company.

"Elaine," Chloe said, her tone professional but cold. "Brett needs you. Come with me."

Chloe' s eyes flickered to the half-packed suitcase on the floor. "Going somewhere?"

Before Elaine could answer, Chloe grabbed her arm. There was no point in resisting. She was pulled out of the apartment and into a black town car waiting at the curb.

They drove to a gleaming new skyscraper on the edge of Central Park. A private elevator took them straight to the penthouse.

The doors opened to a vast, empty space. Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a breathtaking view of the city. This was the project Brett had been obsessed with for the last year.

Chloe led her to a bedroom where a rack of designer clothes and a makeup artist were waiting. "Get her ready," Chloe instructed, then left.

An hour later, Elaine was dressed in an elegant silk gown, her face a mask of makeup. She felt like a doll, hollow and manipulated.

Brett appeared, a triumphant smile on his face. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her against him.

"Look at it, Lainey. Our future."

She stared at her reflection in the window, her mind numb. She thought of Kelsey, lying in a sterile room, the view from his window a brick wall.

"Where' s the watch?" Brett' s voice was a low murmur against her ear. He noticed its absence on her wrist. "Don' t tell me you lost it."

"This is the final act," he continued, ignoring her silence. "The party is tonight. I' m giving Daniella her 'project launch' celebration. Right here. In front of everyone, I' m going to make her believe this is all for her."

He spun her around, his eyes shining with a feverish light. "And then, when she' s at the peak of her glory, I' m going to fire her. I' ll expose her for the fraud she is. It will be perfect."

He talked about their future, about the children they would have in this empty palace. He even mentioned Kelsey, how he would have the best room, the best doctors.

The words were like needles in her heart. Kelsey, who couldn' t even open his eyes. Kelsey, who would never see this view.

She remembered Kelsey' s last visit to their old apartment, before he got too sick. He had sat on their small balcony, looking at the sliver of sky between buildings. He had told Brett, "You' re the best big brother in the world."

Brett had promised him a real view one day. A view like this.

The dream was dead. It had died the moment Brett chose his game over Kelsey' s life.

"Brett, I..." she started, the words catching in her throat.

Before she could finish, the elevator doors slammed open.

Daniella Chen stormed in, her face a thundercloud of fury. "So this is your 'business meeting' ?"

Brett froze, his confident smile vanishing. He looked genuinely shocked.

Daniella' s eyes were wild. "You thought you could play me? You think I' m stupid?"

She ripped the keys to her company car from her purse and hurled them at Brett. They clattered harmlessly to the marble floor.

Then she turned to Elaine. She tore the Vice President name badge from her own jacket and threw it directly at Elaine' s face. The sharp plastic corner cut her cheek.

A single drop of blood welled up and trickled down her skin.

But Brett wasn't looking at her. He wasn't rushing to her side.

His eyes were fixed on Daniella.

And in his expression, Elaine saw the same heartbroken pity, the same pained tenderness he used to give only to her.

He had looked at her that way when her mother died. He had looked at her that way when Kelsey was first diagnosed.

Now, that look was for another woman. The woman who had just assaulted her.

Daniella, seeing his reaction, let out a choked sob. Her anger dissolved into a theatrical display of hurt. "I can' t believe you would do this to me, Brett."

She stumbled dramatically, clutching her chest.

Brett rushed to her side, catching her before she could fall. "Daniella, it' s not what you think."

She pushed him away weakly. "Don' t touch me."

Elaine tried to speak, to explain that Chloe had brought her here, that this wasn' t her idea. "Brett, I didn' t..."

"Shut up, Elaine!" Brett snapped, his eyes flashing with a coldness she had never seen before. "Just stay out of this."

His body was rigid, his mind completely consumed by the crying woman in front of him.

Elaine stood frozen, a single drop of blood on her cheek, her heart a block of ice in her chest.