At exactly 11:00 PM, Elena stood in the dark hallway.
She held a steaming mug of black coffee in her hands. Her bare feet sank into the plush Persian runner, making her footsteps completely silent as she crept toward the study.
The heavy oak door was slightly ajar. A sliver of yellow light spilled out onto the carpet. She could hear the rapid, aggressive clacking of Cooper's fingers on his mechanical keyboard.
She raised her hand to push the door open.
Suddenly, a shrill ringtone shattered the quiet of the room.
The typing stopped instantly. Elena heard the scrape of Cooper's chair pushing back.
"Daisy?" Cooper's voice answered. It wasn't the cold, authoritative tone he used with his board, or the patronizing tone he used with Elena. It was frantic. Soft. Desperate. "What's wrong? Did you have the nightmare again?"
Elena stood frozen in the shadows. Hearing that sickeningly sweet nickname still sent a sharp, involuntary pang through her chest, but it was quickly swallowed by a wave of pure disgust.
She couldn't hear what Celeste was saying, but she heard Cooper curse under his breath.
"Don't cry. I'm coming right now. Stay in bed, don't move," Cooper ordered.
Elena scrambled backward, pressing her back flat against the wall in the darkest corner of the corridor. She held her breath, her heart hammering against her ribs.
The study door flew open.
Cooper strode out. He didn't grab his suit jacket. He didn't even look left or right. He walked straight past her hiding spot, his eyes fixed on the front door, completely consumed by his panic for Celeste.
The front door slammed shut. The penthouse fell dead silent.
Elena exhaled a shaky breath. She stepped out of the shadows and walked straight into the study.
The monitors on his massive desk were glowing brightly. In his rush to play the hero, he hadn't locked his computer.
Elena set the coffee mug down. She pulled her phone from her silk robe pocket and switched it to silent.
She stared at the screen. It was a complex, multi-tiered wire transfer portal. The destination accounts were all flagged under a Cayman Islands banking registry.
Jackpot.
Elena held her phone steady and snapped five high-resolution photos of the screen, making sure the account numbers and Cooper's digital signature were crystal clear.
She lowered her phone. Her eyes caught something else.
The bottom drawer of his mahogany desk was firmly shut. She gave the brass handle a gentle tug, but it didn't budge. It was locked.
Elena's eyes darted around the pristine desk. Cooper was meticulous, but he was also a creature of habit. Three years of cleaning his office had taught her his hiding spots. She dropped to her knees and reached her hand underneath the heavy mahogany frame, feeling along the carved wooden lip just above the drawer. Her fingertips brushed against a small piece of heavy-duty tape.
She peeled it back. A small silver key dropped into her palm.
She slid the key into the lock. It turned with a satisfying click. Elena pulled the drawer open.
Underneath a stack of legal pads sat a plain, unmarked black velvet box.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she popped the lid open.
Inside was a thick stack of glossy photographs. Elena picked them up.
The first photo was Cooper and Celeste on a private yacht, their lips locked in a passionate kiss. The second was them holding hands on the cobblestone streets of Paris. The timestamp on the bottom corner was from six months ago.
Right in the middle of their marriage.
Beneath the photos were three folded receipts from Cartier and Harry Winston. The totals exceeded two million dollars. The recipient name on the shipping address was Celeste Robles.
A violent wave of nausea hit Elena so hard she almost gagged. Her hands shook violently, wanting to rip the photos into a thousand pieces.
She bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted copper. She forced her hands to steady.
Click. Click. Click.
She photographed every single receipt and every single picture.
Just as she snapped the last photo, the soft, electronic chime of the private elevator echoed from the foyer.
Footsteps. The heavy, rhythmic click of shoes against the marble floor was approaching the hallway.
Elena's blood ran cold. Her heart leaped into her throat. She instantly hit the power button on her phone, plunging the screen into darkness.
She shoved the photos back into the velvet box, slammed the lid shut, and pushed the drawer closed. She yanked the key out and dropped it into her pocket.
