"Unlock the control room, Miller."
The security guard shifted his weight by the basement door, his gaze dropping to the floor. "Mr. Thorne told us nobody can touch the archives."
"I sign your paychecks, Miller. Unlock it, or find another job before dawn."
He swallowed hard, tapped his master keycard against the pad, and pushed the heavy metal door ajar.
"Which sector do you need, Mrs. Thorne?"
"Play all the videos," I said, leaning against the server console as the burning pressure in my ribs flared again. "Between five and seven this evening. Run it at double speed."
The monitor flashed to life.
Archie appeared on the south terrace first. He trotted toward the railing, his tail wagging low, sniffing at a fallen leaf.
Then Victoria stepped into the frame.
She glanced toward the double doors, checking both sides of the hallway, before stepping onto the terrace. She reached into her pocket and tossed a treat near the outer ledge.
Archie bounded forward.
Victoria didn't hesitate. She grabbed his hind legs, shoved his hips upward, and hurled him over the stone railing into empty air.
A sickening sound cut through the silence—a muffled thud recorded on the ambient mic, followed by an immediate, choked yelp that cut out instantly.
Miller gripped the edge of the console. "Jesus Christ..."
"Keep playing it," I choked out. The air turned to ash in my throat. "Do not stop the tape."
The camera timestamp jumped forty minutes forward.
Alexander walked through the front doors of the mansion. The indoor camera captured him setting his briefcase on the foyer table.
Victoria was curled on the living room sofa, sobbing hysterically with her face buried in her palms.
Alexander dropped his coat and ran to her side. He pulled her against his chest, tucking her head under his chin. His lips moved against her forehead. The audio feed picked up his voice, low and frantic.
"Tory, I've got you," Alexander murmured on the recording. "What happened? What scared you?"
"The dog..." Victoria wailed, clutching his lapels. "He jumped, Alex! I tried to catch his collar, but he leaped right off the terrace! It was horrible... there was so much blood..."
"It’s not your fault," Alexander whispered, rocking her back and forth, smoothing down her hair. "Listen to me. It was an accident. The mutt was old and clumsy. You don't have to look at it. I’ll have the groundskeeper clean it up."
"I was so terrified," she sobbed. "I thought you would be angry with me."
"Never," Alexander said, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You’re safe now. Emma’s neglected that animal for months. It isn't your burden to carry."
The monitor went pitch black as I ripped the flash drive from the USB slot.
"Mrs. Thorne?" Miller took a cautious step backward, his face pale. "What are you going to do?"
"Call a cab," I said. "Right now."
The glass doors of the Sterling Medical Alliance executive tower slid open with a hiss.
The receptionist stood up behind the marble counter. "Mrs. Thorne, Mr. Thorne is in the middle of a board briefing—"
I pushed right past her toward the private executive suite on the top floor.
The mahogany double doors swung inward when I shoved them. Alexander sat on the leather sofa near the floor-to-ceiling windows, reviewing a medical patent portfolio. Victoria sat beside him, sipping chamomile tea from a porcelain cup, her feet tucked beneath a cashmere throw.
Both heads snapped up as I walked in.
"Emma?" Alexander set the folder down, his brows drawing tight. "What are you doing here? I told you to stay in bed."
"Did you?"
"You look dreadful," Victoria chimed in, setting her teacup down with a faint rattle. "Alex, should we call her a nurse? She seems completely unhinged."
I crossed the room in four strides.
Before Victoria could lift her hands to shield herself, I swung my right arm with everything left in my failing body.
The crack of my palm against her cheek echoed off the glass walls.
Victoria shrieked, tumbling sideways across the sofa cushions, clutching her reddening face. "Alex! She hit me!"
"Emma! Stop it!"
Alexander lunged forward, catching my shoulders and shoving me back violently.
My heels caught on the edge of the Persian rug. The floor vanished beneath me. I crashed hard onto the polished wood, the impact jarring my spine and knocking the remaining wind straight out of my chest. Agony ripped through my sternum like lightning.
"Have you lost your mind?" Alexander roared, standing over me with clenched fists. "You come into my office and assault a recovering patient?"
I held the black drive up between trembling fingers. "She threw Archie off the balcony."
Alexander didn't even glance at the drive. "You're delusional."
"Look at the footage!" I screamed, the sound tearing my throat raw. "She lured him to the railing! She shoved him over the edge! He died on the stones below, Alexander! She murdered our dog!"
"Alex, make her stop lying!" Victoria cried from the couch, tears streaming down her bruised cheek. "She's fabricating stories because she hates me! She knows how much I love animals!"
"I saw the tape!" I wheezed, fighting to push myself off the floor. My arms shook so hard they could barely support my weight. "Miller saw it! Put it on your computer right now! Watch what your little angel did!"
"Enough," Alexander barked, his voice dropping into a register of icy disgust. "Archie fell because you left the terrace doors unlocked. You’ve been neglecting him just like you neglect everything else."
"She threw him!"
"You're sick, Emma." He looked down at me. "You poisoned your own head with jealousy, and now you’re seeing conspiracies everywhere. You want an excuse to attack Victoria."
A broken laugh tore out of my mouth. "She threw our dog thirty feet down onto concrete!"
"Shut up," Alexander snapped. He turned toward the executive intercom on the wall and punched the security override. "Security. Now."
"Alexander, please," I rasped, tears finally breaking through my vision. "Look at what she did."
"I am not indulging your psychotic episodes," he said coldly.
The office doors banged open. Two security guards rushed into the room.
"Get her out," Alexander commanded, pointing down at me. "Remove her from the building immediately."
"Mr. Thorne?" the lead guard hesitated, glancing between me on the floor and Victoria weeping on the couch. "Should we call an ambulance? She looks—"
"I said remove her!" Alexander bellowed. "She’s a lunatic! She doesn't need an ambulance, she needs to be locked!"
Hands grabbed under my armpits, hoisting me up roughly. My toes dragged across the hardwood as they hauled me toward the doorway.
"Look at the drive!" I shouted, the flash drive slipping from my fingers and clattering across the floorboards. "Alexander!"
Victoria watched from the sofa, the damp tears still shimmering on her cheeks. As the guards dragged me past the doorway, the corner of her mouth twitched upward into a razor-thin smile.
They shoved me through the elevator, across the polished lobby, and out through the glass turnstiles.
"Don't come back, Mrs. Thorne," the guard grunted, releasing his grip.
I stumbled forward onto the wide concrete plaza outside the headquarters. The midday sun beat down against the gray stone tiles, blinding and suffocating.
A sudden, sharp tearing sensation erupted beneath my left ribs.
It didn't feel like a spasm anymore. It felt as if a vital wire inside my chest had simply snapped.
My knees folded under me.
"Alexander..." I whispered, reaching toward the sky, but only empty air filled my palms.
The concrete rose up to meet my face.
Darkness swarmed the edges of my sight as pedestrians began to shout in the distance, their frantic voices fading into a single, high-pitched drone.
Through the dimming light, a sleek black sedan screeched to a halt at the edge of the plaza curb, its rear door flying open.
