"Oh, give it up, sis." Gladys's voice dripped with mock sweetness. "Who are you even calling? Your dead mother? Or some man you found on the side? I heard you shacked up with some guy thirty years older than you. The second you left Elliot, you turned into nothing. Proved everyone right."
While she was still talking, she reached into her purse, pulled out a thick stack of cash, and tossed it at the officer. His eyes lit up. He mumbled something about having other business to attend to, handed the Bloodstone Qilin over to Gladys, and walked away without a backward glance.
"Tell you what, I'll be generous." Gladys smiled down at me. "If the Farleys found out you were trying to pass off a fake as the real thing, and then it came out that you're Elliot's ex-wife? The embarrassment alone would bury you. So here's what we'll do. Get on your knees. Knock your head on the floor twice. Thank me. And I'll let you walk out of here today."
I stood where I was. Silent. Still.
My eyes were fixed on the phone lying on the floor, split clean in two.
That phone. I'd carried it for years.
My mother gave it to me as a birthday present, right before she died. She'd been frail for so long, barely able to stand, spending her days collecting bottles and scraps to save up a little money. And she'd used it to buy me a phone that cost five figures.
I still remembered the last words my mother ever said to me: "Imogen, that man doesn't love you. Let him go. Mama will always love you, and you have to always love yourself."
At the time, I'd been stunned. I couldn't understand why she would say something like that. She had always liked Elliot. He'd played the role of the perfect husband flawlessly back then, without a single crack in the facade.
It wasn't until later, after I'd done some digging, that I learned the truth. Elliot had deliberately gotten intimate with Gladys right outside my mother's hospital room. The shock was too much for her. She spiraled into severe depression.
Already frail and not wanting to be a burden on me, she jumped from the roof of the hospital.
I let out a quiet breath, my jaw clenched so tight my teeth ached.
"Gladys Fox, you'd better pray my phone can be repaired."
"It's just a phone. You think I can't afford to pay you back for it?"
Elliot frowned at my fixation. "Are you looking down on me? If you hadn't leaked those secrets and bankrupted me, I'd probably be the richest man in the city by now!"
I scoffed. Leaked secrets? Back then, what I'd wanted to do was kill him.
"What's that look supposed to mean?"
Gladys sensed the shift in my mood and immediately stepped in front of Elliot, shielding him.
"Elliot, don't be scared. Worst case, I'll take another hit for you. I'm not afraid of anything."
Elliot stroked her hair tenderly and pulled her behind him.
Then he strode forward and wrapped his hand around my throat.
"Imogen, I was careless before, and you got the better of me. Let's make a little bet. Think you'll die by my hand today?"
I reacted fast, pulling a short blade from my sleeve and slashing toward him. He dodged it with surprising agility.
But before I could recover, something slammed into the back of my skull. Gladys. A vase.
Blood seeped down from my forehead, warm and thick. I forced myself upright. I would not bow my head in front of these two.
"I knew you'd try something. Imogen, I'm not letting you off easy today!"
Elliot seized a fistful of my hair and hurled me sideways. My body cracked against the wall.
Just before everything went dark, I heard his voice.
"Imogen! Are you alright?"
Thank God.
I closed my eyes.
You finally came.
