Elena stood up just as Martha, the housekeeper, appeared in the doorway holding a glass of warm milk.
Martha gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. "Mrs. Mitchell! You scared me. What are you doing in here? Where is Mr. Mitchell?"
Elena didn't miss a beat. She picked up the mug of coffee, offering Martha a calm, tired smile.
"He got an emergency call from a board member and had to run out," Elena lied smoothly. "I was just bringing him coffee. I'll clean up his desk and go to bed."
Martha sighed, shaking her head. "He works too hard. Goodnight, ma'am."
"Goodnight, Martha."
Elena waited until Martha's footsteps faded away. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Sweat beaded on the back of her neck.
She walked back to her bedroom, locked the door, and opened her encrypted email. She attached every single photo and hit send, addressing it to Camilla Adler.
Then, she permanently deleted the files from her phone.
Elena lay back on the pillows, staring at the ceiling. For the first time in days, a genuine, terrifying smile spread across her face.
......
The Manhattan sky was a bruised, angry purple.
Elena stood under the narrow awning of Le Bernardin, a three-Michelin-star restaurant. The wind whipped her thin, silk evening gown against her legs. She crossed her arms, trying to preserve whatever body heat she had left.
Today was their third wedding anniversary. Cooper had booked the table months ago, and after his sudden disappearance last night, he insisted on keeping the reservation to "make it up to her."
A sleek black Maybach pulled up to the curb, tires hissing against the wet asphalt.
The rear door opened. Cooper stepped out, popping open a massive black golf umbrella. He walked over to her, his arm automatically wrapping around her waist.
"Sorry I'm late," he murmured, his breath warm against her freezing cheek.
Elena forced her spine to relax. She leaned into him, offering a flawless, empty smile. "It's fine."
They turned toward the heavy glass doors of the restaurant.
Suddenly, the sharp buzzing of a phone vibrated from Cooper's breast pocket.
Cooper pulled it out. He glanced at the caller ID. His face instantly tightened. He stopped walking, stepping out from under the awning and into the rain.
Elena stood perfectly still. She watched him press the phone to his ear, his hand cupping the microphone as he spoke in rapid, hushed, panicked tones.
The sky finally broke. A torrential downpour unleashed over the city. The temperature plummeted instantly.
Cooper shoved the phone back into his pocket. He jogged back to Elena. He wouldn't look her in the eye. His gaze darted to the pavement, to the door, anywhere but her face.
"Elena," he started, his voice tight with fake regret. "There's a massive server crash at the data center. I have to go deal with it right now."
Elena knew he was lying. The servers didn't crash. Celeste had called.
She looked at him, forcing her eyes to widen in disappointment. She reached out, her cold fingers lightly gripping his wet sleeve.
"But Cooper, it's our anniversary," she pleaded softly. "Can't the VP of Engineering handle it?"
Cooper ripped his arm out of her grasp. His face hardened, annoyed that she was questioning him.
"It's a multi-million dollar crisis, Elena! Stop being childish," he snapped. "Go inside. Eat. I'll leave the card with the hostess."
He didn't wait for her to argue. He shoved the heavy black umbrella into her hands.
He turned on his heel and sprinted through the rain toward the Maybach. He threw himself into the backseat and slammed the door.
The car tore away from the curb, its tires kicking up a massive wave of dirty street water that splashed directly onto the hem of Elena's designer gown.
Elena stood there. The umbrella was heavy in her hands.
She looked at the warm, golden light spilling from the restaurant windows. She felt a sudden, violent urge to laugh. It was so pathetic. He was so predictable.
She didn't walk into the restaurant.
She turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.
The wind howled down 7th Avenue. A sudden gust caught the umbrella, violently snapping the metal spokes backward. The umbrella inverted, becoming entirely useless.
Elena dropped it onto the sidewalk.
The freezing rain battered her bare shoulders. Her hair plastered to her face in wet, heavy ropes. Her high heels slipped on the slick pavement, sending sharp jolts of pain up her calves.
Every taxi that passed had its 'Off Duty' light on. The Uber app showed no available cars due to the flash flood warnings.
She kept walking. Block after block.
Her teeth began to chatter violently. A deep, bone-chilling ache settled into her joints. Her vision started to blur at the edges.
She pressed a shaking hand to her forehead. Her skin was burning up. The heat radiating from her skull was terrifying.
She pulled her phone from her clutch. The screen was blank.
Not a single text from Cooper asking if she made it inside. Not a single call checking if she was safe.
She was nothing to him. Less than nothing.
Elena gritted her teeth. She dragged her freezing, aching body to the corner of an intersection and practically threw herself in front of a beat-up yellow cab.
The cab screeched to a halt. Elena yanked the door open and collapsed onto the cracked vinyl backseat.
The driver turned around, his eyes wide with alarm. "Lady, you look like a ghost. Do you need a hospital?"
Elena leaned her burning head against the cold, wet window. Her chest heaved as she struggled to pull air into her lungs.
"Take me to NewYork-Presbyterian," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "The emergency room."
