Nathaniel caught up to her in the parking lot. It had started to rain, a cold, gray drizzle that turned the New York skyline into a watercolor smear.
Victoria was standing by the curb, waiting. She wasn't shivering. She stood like a statue.
"Victoria!" Nathaniel called out.
She turned. The rain had plastered a few strands of hair to her cheek.
Colin came running up behind Nathaniel, holding a tablet over his head to shield it from the rain.
"Mr. Sterling!" Colin gasped. "The trace came back."
Nathaniel stopped. He grabbed the tablet.
Origin: Unknown / Masked VPN.
Location: Routed through server nodes in Cayman Islands, Panama, and Russia.
"It's a dead end," Colin said apologetically. "It's a professional spoofing service. Untraceable."
Nathaniel stared at the screen. Untraceable. Professional.
He looked up at Victoria.
"You hired a pro," he accused, his voice low. "That's why we can't trace it."
Victoria laughed. It was a low, throaty sound that vanished into the rain. She wiped a drop of water from her chin.
"You give me too much credit, Nathaniel. I'm just a housewife, remember? I wouldn't know how to hire a Russian hacker."
Victoria lied smoothly. "And if I wanted to send a message, I wouldn't use a text. I'd send a lawyer."
Nathaniel closed his eyes for a second. The uncertainty was gnawing at him. But the lack of evidence wasn't proof of innocence. It just meant she was good at hiding it.
He opened his eyes. He walked toward her. He took off his suit jacket.
"You're wet," he said. He tried to drape the jacket over her shoulders.
Victoria took a step back. The jacket fell from his hands and landed in a puddle of oily water.
Nathaniel froze. He looked at the jacket, then at her.
"I will compensate you," he said, his voice stiff. It was the only way he knew how to fix things. "I'll increase the settlement. Another ten million."
"Keep your money, Nathaniel. I don't want your money."
"Then what do you want?" he asked, desperate.
Victoria shook her head. "I want you to leave me alone."
She pulled out her phone. A black sedan pulled up to the curb. It was an Uber Black she had summoned.
"Unlock your bank cards," Victoria said as she opened the car door. "I'm going to finish my shopping."
"I... okay," Nathaniel said. He felt like he was losing control of gravity.
"Just... come to the family estate tonight," he added, almost pleading. "Grandfather expects us for the monthly dinner. We need to tell him together. In person."
Victoria paused. She looked at him, calculating.
"Fine," she said. "But don't expect me to play nice."
She got into the car. The door slammed shut.
Nathaniel stood in the rain, looking at his ruined jacket in the mud. It was a five-thousand-dollar custom suit. Now it was garbage.
"Should we follow her, sir?" Colin asked.
Nathaniel watched the taillights of the sedan disappear into the traffic.
"No," he said quietly. "Let her go. We'll see her tonight."
