Sunlight streamed through the grimy windows, illuminating dancing dust motes.
Blake woke up on the floor. Her body was stiff.
She checked Elias. His fever had broken. He was sleeping deeply, his breathing even.
A loud banging on the steel door echoed through the loft.
"Miss Blake! We know you're in there!"
It was Lee. The Foley family's Chief of Staff.
They had tracked her phone before she ditched it. Amateur mistake.
Blake glanced at Elias. He was hidden behind a folding room divider.
She opened the door. Lee stood there, flanked by two hulking security guards.
"The Duke is furious. Come quietly," Lee sneered. He looked at her dirty nightgown with disdain.
Lee reached out to grab her arm. His grip was disrespectful, bruising.
Blake grabbed his thumb. She twisted.
Lee yelped, dropping to his knees as the pressure on the joint became unbearable.
The guards stepped forward, hands reaching for their belts.
"Take one step, and I break his finger," Blake warned. Her voice was calm, almost bored.
The guards hesitated. They looked at Lee's pained face.
"I am the Duchess of Harrison," she whispered in Lee's ear.
"Touch me again, and you lose the hand."
She released him. Lee cradled his hand against his chest, eyes wide with fear.
"I need a ride to Foley Manor. My car is... indisposed."
"Wait, you want to go back?" Lee asked, confused.
"I have business with my father. Drive."
She grabbed a trench coat from the rack near the door. It was her mother's old one.
She put it on, buttoning it to hide the stained nightgown.
She glanced back at the divider. Elias was still safe.
She stepped into the hallway. Her head was held high.
Lee scurried to press the elevator button for her.
They entered the black town car waiting outside. The leather seats smelled of lemon polish.
Blake sat in the back. She checked her reflection in the window. Her eyes were cold steel. The victim was dead.
The car sped off toward the Foley estate.
