Chapter 5

The phone call came in the dead of night. Erica was dozing in a chair in the living room, a place she now slept to avoid sharing a bed with Alex.

It was a nurse from the hospital. "Mrs. Wade? It's about your sister, Jayda. You need to come now. She's fading."

The world dropped out from under Erica. She shot to her feet, her heart hammering against her ribs. She grabbed her keys, her purse, anything.

"I'm on my way," she choked out, already running for the door.

A figure blocked her path. It was Diamond, wrapped in a silk robe, a glass of wine in her hand. She had been staying at the apartment for the past week, a constant, menacing presence.

"Where do you think you're going?" Diamond asked, her voice lazy and unconcerned.

"Jayda," Erica gasped. "She's... I have to go."

"Oh, I don't think so," Diamond said, taking a sip of her wine. "I'm having a nightmare. I'm scared. You can't leave me alone."

"Please," Erica begged, the word tearing out of her. "She's my sister. She's dying. Let me go see her. Just for a minute."

"No," Diamond said flatly. "I need you here. I need your company."

Desperation clawed at Erica. She dropped to her knees, her body shaking uncontrollably. She pressed her forehead to the cold, hard floor. "Please, I'm begging you. She's just a kid. She's innocent. Let me say goodbye. I'll do anything. I'll be your servant for the rest of my life. Just let me go."

Diamond watched her, her expression one of detached amusement, as if observing an interesting insect.

Just then, Alex walked in, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Alex!" Erica scrambled toward him, grabbing his legs. "It's Jayda. She's dying. We have to go. Please, Alex, take me to her."

Alex looked from Erica's desperate, tear-streaked face to Diamond's cool, composed one. He went to Diamond, his movements hesitant.

"Let her go," he said, his voice low.

Diamond pouted, her lower lip trembling. "But Alex, I'm frightened. You promised you'd protect me." It was a practiced, manipulative display.

Alex hesitated. He looked at Erica, then back at Diamond. The war in his eyes was agonizing to watch.

He took a deep breath. "Erica," he said, his voice hard and final. "Stay here."

The words hit her like a physical blow. "What?"

"Ms. Hampton needs you," he said, his tone dismissive. "The doctors are doing everything they can for Jayda. You'll only be in the way. Stay here. Play the cello for Diamond. It will calm her nerves."

"Are you hearing yourself?" Erica shrieked, her voice cracking with disbelief. "My sister is dying, and you want me to play the cello for her?"

"You can visit tomorrow," he said, his voice devoid of all emotion. He was no longer her husband. He was a machine, programmed to serve Diamond Hampton.

Erica looked from his cold face to Diamond's triumphant one. They were not two people. They were a single entity, a monster of cruelty and obsession. She was utterly, completely alone.

She got up from the floor, her body moving as if in a trance. She walked to the corner where her new cello sat-a replacement from Diamond, another gift, another chain.

She sat down and began to play. The music was a dirge, a long, mournful cry of pure agony. Each note was a tear she couldn't shed, a scream she couldn't voice.

Through the haze of her grief, she prayed. Please, Jayda, hold on. Please don't leave me alone. Please survive.

Diamond curled up on the sofa and, soothed by the melody of Erica's heartbreak, she fell asleep. Alex watched her, a look of gentle adoration on his face. He never once looked at Erica.

The hours crawled by. The sky outside began to lighten from black to gray. Erica's fingers were numb, her arms ached, but she didn't stop. She played on, fueled by a desperate, fading hope.

Then, her phone rang again. It sat on the table across the room. She stopped playing, the sudden silence jarring.

Alex looked up, annoyed by the interruption. He picked up the phone and brought it to her.

She took it with a trembling hand. Good news, she prayed. Please, let it be good news.

It was the same nurse. Her voice was soft, heavy with pity. "Mrs. Wade, I'm so sorry. Your sister... she's gone."

The world went silent. The phone slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. A black void opened up inside her, a chasm of loss so vast it swallowed everything.

The last thing she saw before she fainted was Alex's face, his expression not of sorrow, but of mild irritation that her collapse might wake his sleeping queen.