Selene spun on her heel and hurried outside.
Time was running out. She needed to find somewhere–anywhere with power and internet access so she could join the online math competition.
She headed to the nearest coffee shop, only to find the Wi–Fi was down there too.
Selene pressed the emergency contact on her phone and called Luke Holloway.
“Luke, can I use your gym to get online? I’ve got no signal anywhere over here.”
Luke’s voice came through, apologetic. “Sorry, Selene. The gym’s closed right now–there was a fire code issue.”
“You’re kidding me!”
What were the odds?
Luke sounded unsettled too. “And my apartment lost power today, out of the blue. I’m about to call the utility company.”
“Don’t bother.” Selene’s voice was tight. “Sorry, Luke. I shouldn’t drag you into this.”
It didn’t take long for Luke to realize why Selene sounded so guilty.
His tone turned grave. “Is this Harrison? Did he cut off your signal at home?”
“Luke, I have something really important I need to do. I’ll be okay. I just… I believe things will get better.”
She didn’t have time to explain. She hung up, clutching her laptop to her chest as she stepped into the rain.
The drizzle fell in fine needles, soaking into her coat as she wrapped it tightly around her computer.
She glanced back.
A white car crept after her, its pace deliberate.
An antenna bristled from the roof.
A cold chill ran through her. That was a signal–jamming vehicle.
She quickened her pace, but the car followed, shadowing her every move.
This was Harrison’s way of telling her he could infiltrate every corner of her life.
1/3
10:23
chapter
Divorce papers or not, he could still control her. He could ruin her If he wanted
Selene walked nearly two miles before spotting an old–fashioned convenience store. Inside, she found a landline phone.
She called Theodore, quickly explaining her situation.
After hanging up, she stood under the awning, staring out at the relentless rain.
Theodore promised to send someone to pick her up.
She didn’t dare flag down a taxi–she knew all too well how easy it would be for Harrison to bribe a cab driver. For all she knew, any car she stepped into could take her somewhere she’d never return from.
Just then, the store owner called out to her. “Miss, your husband’s on the phone.”
A wave of cold swept over her.
She was soaked, hair plastered to her forehead, her thin clothes clinging to her shoulders. She looked like a drowned ghost.
She stepped up to the receiver and answered.
At that moment, Harrison was seated in a sleek, leather chair, dressed impeccably in a tailored suit. He gazed down from his office’s floor–to–ceiling windows, surveying the restless city below.
He was like some deity in the clouds–one careless gesture, and he could snuff out any life beneath him.
“So, three weeks out of the Vaughn estate. Have you calmed down yet?”
To him, her leaving looked like nothing more than a sulking child’s runaway act. The divorce papers she’d sent? Just a pathetic joke.
“Get in the white car outside and come home,” Harrison said, his tone final. “If you do, I’ll pretend your little divorce tantrum never happened.”
He was giving her one last chance.
If she didn’t take it, she’d lose everything–no second chances, no one to blame but
herself.
“The money in your Quantum–Horizon Capital account, the house at Azure Vista, every share and asset–I’ll take it all back.”
His words were calm, but the malicious glint in his eyes was palpable, even over the phone.
10:23
Chapter 47
Rage flashed through Selene.
“Harrison, you promised! You can’t just go back on your word!”
He let out a low, icy laugh. “Everything you have, I gave you. I can just as easily take it away.”
“You signed the divorce papers, Harrison!” Selene’s voice rang out, hoarse and fierce.
10:23
