The cab hit a massive pothole on the broken streets of Queens, sending a harsh jolt up Chelsea's spine.
She pulled the vibrating burner phone from her bag. She pressed the green button and held the cold plastic to her ear. She didn't say a word.
"I know you're back in the city, you little rat," a woman's voice sneered through the speaker.
It was Deidre Brooks. Jackson's mother. The matriarch of the Brooks family. Her voice carried the distinct, arrogant drawl of old money.
Chelsea instantly altered her breathing. She made her inhales short and ragged, projecting the exact sound of a terrified, lower-class girl caught in a trap.
"Mrs. Brooks," Chelsea stammered, her voice shaking. "I... I didn't mean to-"
"Shut up," Deidre snapped. "If you breathe the same air as my sons again, I will make sure those pathetic siblings of yours rotting in the slums disappear permanently. Do you understand me?"
Chelsea's fingers clamped around the phone. Her knuckles turned bone-white. The threat against her fake family ignited a dark, violent rage in her chest.
"Please," Chelsea begged, forcing a sob into her throat. "I won't go near them. I swear."
Deidre let out a disgusted scoff and ended the call. The dial tone hummed in Chelsea's ear.
Chelsea lowered the phone. She looked out the rain-streaked window at the decaying storefronts. There was no fear in her eyes anymore. Only a bottomless, pitch-black intent to kill.
The cab pulled up to a brick building with peeling paint. Chelsea paid in cash. She dragged her suitcase up three flights of narrow, mold-smelling stairs.
Inside the cramped apartment, she sat on the edge of a mattress with broken springs. She pulled a plastic ice pack from the mini-fridge and pressed it hard against her lower abdomen, waiting for the surgical pain to subside.
The next morning, Chelsea walked into the bustling midtown office of Starburst Public Relations. She wore a cheap, off-the-rack navy suit.
She sat down in her tiny cubicle and booted up her computer.
Her coworker, Chloe, rolled her office chair over. She slammed a copy of the New York Post onto Chelsea's keyboard.
"Look at this," Chloe whispered excitedly, pointing to the gossip column. "The Brooks Family Foundation just fired their PR agency. They're looking for new representation. It's a ten-million-dollar account."
Chelsea glanced at the grainy paparazzi photo of Jackson's sharp profile. Her stomach tightened.
"I don't care about billionaires," Chelsea muttered, pushing the paper away.
The glass door of the corner office flew open. Arthur Jennings, the agency owner, clapped his hands loudly.
"Emergency meeting in the conference room! Now!" Arthur yelled.
Chelsea followed the herd of employees into the room. Arthur stood at the head of the table. The massive Brooks Group logo glowed on the projector screen behind him.
"We got an invite to pitch for the Brooks Foundation," Arthur announced, his face flushed with greed.
His assistant passed out thick stacks of background dossiers to the project managers.
"Jackson Brooks is a monster," Arthur warned, pacing the room. "He eats PR teams alive. He fired the last three agencies for minor typos. Who wants to lead the pitch?"
The room fell dead silent. Everyone stared at their shoes.
Arthur's eyes scanned the room and locked onto Chelsea, who was trying to shrink into the back row.
"Perez," Arthur barked. "You handled that psycho hedge fund manager last year. Word on the street is that guy was a major thorn in the Brooks family's side, and your campaign completely neutralized him. The Brooks team specifically dropped your name during the initial screening. They want to see the person who pulled that off. You're the lead on this. It's an order, not a request."
Chelsea's jaw clenched. She cursed Arthur's relentless corporate ladder-climbing in her head. She stood up slowly.
"I'll do my best, Arthur," she said, keeping her voice meek.
After the meeting, Chelsea walked back to her desk. She rubbed her throbbing temples. Her phone buzzed on the desk.
It was a massive block of text from Cason. He was begging for her forgiveness. He pleaded with her to come to his thirtieth birthday party tonight at an exclusive rooftop lounge in Manhattan.
Chelsea looked at the Brooks Foundation dossier on her desk. Then she looked at Cason's text. Jackson would absolutely be at his own brother's milestone birthday.
She needed to maintain her hold on Cason, and she needed to test Jackson's limits.
She typed a single word: Okay.
She locked her phone. The gears of her revenge were spinning faster now. The collision between her fake personal life and her new professional mandate was inevitable.
