The air in the hallway turned to lead. Carley's heart hammered against her ribs so violently she thought the men in the elevator could hear it.
Do you two know each other?
Carley stared into Barron's dark, bottomless eyes. If she said yes, if she admitted she was his adoptive sister, her professional life would instantly become entangled with him. He would have power over her career. He would use what happened last night-the pajamas, the humiliation-to crush her reputation here. He would never let her escape.
She had to cut the cord. Now.
Carley dug her fingernails into the leather of her portfolio. She forced her facial muscles to relax. She pulled her lips back into a polite, entirely hollow smile.
She shifted her gaze away from Barron and looked directly at Gregory Vance.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Vance," Carley said. Her voice was steady, crisp, and terrifyingly clear. "You must be mistaken. I don't know this Mr. Newton."
The silence that followed was absolute.
It felt as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the corridor.
Gregory Vance blinked, his smile faltering. He looked confused. "Oh. I... I apologize. I just assumed..."
Carley didn't look back at the elevator. She could feel the heat radiating from it. She could feel a gaze so sharp and furious it felt like a physical blade pressing against her throat.
Barron didn't say a word.
He stepped out of the elevator.
The men around him quickly parted, giving him a wide berth. He walked straight toward Carley.
Every instinct in Carley's body screamed at her to run, to step back, but she forced her feet to stay planted on the carpet. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, refusing to look at him.
As Barron passed her, he didn't alter his path.
His broad shoulder slammed into hers.
It wasn't a brush. It was a deliberate, hard physical strike.
The impact knocked Carley off balance. She stumbled sideways, her ankle twisting slightly in her heel. She gasped, catching her balance just before she hit the wall.
Barron didn't stop. He didn't look back. He kept walking down the hall, his long strides eating up the distance, leaving a wake of freezing terror behind him.
The executives scrambled out of the elevator to follow him.
Gregory Vance stood in the hallway, staring at Barron's retreating back, and then turned slowly to look at Carley.
The warmth and admiration that had been in Vance's eyes just three minutes ago were completely gone. They were replaced by a cold, calculating distance. He had just seen the most powerful man in the building intentionally shoulder-check this job applicant.
"Well, Miss Holman," Vance said, his voice flat and dismissive. "We have your contact information. We will let you know our decision."
He didn't offer his hand. He turned and walked away.
Carley stood alone in the hallway. Her shoulder throbbed from the impact. Her stomach twisted into a violent knot.
She had just lost the job. She knew it with absolute certainty.
She walked into the empty elevator and pressed the lobby button. As the metal doors closed, her knees finally gave out. She leaned heavily against the steel wall, her breathing ragged. She had stood up to him. She had denied him. But the victory tasted like ash in her mouth.
She walked out of the Vance Group building into the glaring Manhattan sunlight. Her body felt numb.
She pulled her phone from her purse and dialed Clara's number.
"I ruined it," Carley whispered the second Clara answered. Her voice cracked.
She explained everything-the elevator, the question, the lie, the physical hit.
Clara was silent for a long moment. "Carley... you did the right thing. You can't let him think he owns every part of your life. You had to draw a line."
"He's going to destroy me, Clara. He's going to make sure I never get a job in this city."
Before Clara could answer, a loud beep sounded in Carley's ear. Call waiting.
Carley pulled the phone away and looked at the screen. It was Betty, the housekeeper.
A fresh wave of dread washed over her. She clicked over. "Hello?"
"Miss Holman," Betty's voice was stiff and formal. "I am calling to inform you that Madam Eleanor has requested a family dinner tonight at Seaview Manor. Your attendance is mandatory."
Carley stopped walking. The sidewalk spun beneath her feet.
Eleanor Newton. The matriarch. The terrifying, iron-fisted grandmother of the Newton family who rarely left her estate in the Hamptons.
A family dinner. Tonight. Just hours after she publicly humiliated Barron.
This wasn't a dinner. It was an execution.
"I understand, Betty," Carley choked out. "I'll be there."
She hung up the phone. Her lungs restricted, the claustrophobia gripping her chest in a vise. Barron wasn't just going to ruin her career. He was bringing the entire family down on her head.
