The silence in the room was heavy, suffocating. Elodie clutched her bag to her chest like a shield.

Braxton stood at the head of the table. He slowly unbuttoned his suit jacket.

"Sick," he said. One word. Flat.

Elodie took a step back. "Braxton, I can explain."

"Fever. Chills. Contagious." He walked around the table, moving with the predatory grace of a jungle cat. "You looked remarkably healthy flirting with the Spaniard."

"I wasn't flirting! I was working!" Elodie backed up until her heels hit the base of the floor-to-ceiling window. Behind her, the city dropped away for fifty stories.

"Working," Braxton repeated. He stopped a foot away from her. "For my fiancée."

"I didn't know it was her! It was a blind contract!"

"You lied to me." He stepped closer. He placed his hands on the glass on either side of her head, caging her in. He smelled of coffee and repressed rage. "You lied about where you were. You lied about being sick."

"I needed the money!" Elodie shouted, her voice cracking. "You know why! You control every cent I have!"

"Is that what this is?" He leaned down, his face inches from hers. "You're selling yourself to Caroline for a paycheck?"

"I'm translating! I have a skill set, Braxton. I'm not just your... your whore."

His eyes darkened. "Is that what you think you are?"

"It's what you treat me like."

He grabbed her waist, pulling her flush against him. The contact sent a shockwave through her body. "If you were just a whore, Elodie, I would have fired you months ago."

He buried his hand in her hair, tilting her head back. "You belong to me. Not the agency. Not Caroline. Me."

"Let me go," she whispered, tears pricking her eyes. "Caroline is coming back."

"Let her come."

He crashed his lips onto hers. It wasn't a kiss; it was a claim. It was angry, possessive, and desperate. He bit her lower lip, forcing her mouth open. Elodie tried to push him away, her hands flat against his chest, but he was like a granite wall.

For a second, her body betrayed her. She melted into him, the familiarity of his touch overriding her brain.

Then, the sound of heels clicking in the hallway. Fast. Approaching.

Braxton didn't stop. He deepened the kiss, his hand sliding down to her hip.

The door handle rattled.

Elodie's eyes flew open. Panic exploded in her chest.

"Braxton!" she gasped against his mouth.

The handle turned.

In one fluid motion, Braxton broke the kiss and shoved Elodie to the side. He hit a hidden panel in the wood paneling near the window. A section of the wall slid open silently.

He pushed her into the darkness.

"Stay," he hissed.

The panel slid shut just as the conference room door swung open.

Elodie stumbled in the dark, falling to her knees. It was a narrow observation room, used for monitoring negotiations. A one-way mirror spanned the length of the wall.

She looked through the glass. She was inches away from them, but invisible.

Braxton was standing by the window, looking at his watch. He looked perfectly composed, though Elodie noticed his chest rising and falling slightly faster than normal.

Caroline walked in. She looked around the empty room.

"Where did she go?" Caroline asked, her voice suspicious.

"I sent her away," Braxton said, turning to face her. "She was unprofessional. Attempted to solicit one of the investors for private work after the meeting. It's a security risk I won't tolerate in this building."

Elodie gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. The lie was so smooth, so corporate, so much more damning than calling her incompetent.

"Really?" Caroline walked over to him. She placed a hand on his chest, right where Elodie's hands had been seconds ago. Her eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of disbelief that she quickly masked. "I thought she was quite... spirited."

"She's a liability," Braxton said coldly. "I don't want her in this building again."

"Fine by me." Caroline smiled. She ran her hand down his lapel. "I just came back to grab my sunglasses. And to remind you... dinner with my father tonight. Don't be late."

"I'll be there."

Caroline stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Elodie felt bile rise in her throat. She watched as the woman who had tormented her in high school touched the man who owned her now.

Caroline turned to leave. As she reached the door, she paused. She looked back at the mirror. For a second, her eyes seemed to lock directly onto Elodie's. A shiver ran down Elodie's spine.

Did she know?

Caroline smirked and walked out.

Braxton waited a full minute. Then he walked over and hit the panel release.

The wall opened. Light flooded in.

Elodie scrambled to her feet. She felt dirty. Used.

"Unprofessional?" she spat, stepping out.

Braxton ignored her anger. He walked to his desk and sat down. "You're lucky I didn't let her find you. Do you know what she would do to you?"

"I don't care about her!"

"You should. She controls the social scene in this city. She could make sure your mother never gets a bed in a decent facility again."

Elodie went still. "You wouldn't let that happen."

Braxton looked at papers on his desk. He didn't answer.

The silence was the answer.

"You're a monster," Elodie whispered.

"I'm a businessman, Elodie. And you breached our contract by working for anyone else." He looked up. "Consider your allowance suspended for the month."

"What?" Elodie gripped the edge of the table. "Braxton, no. The nursing home bill is due on Friday!"

"Then maybe you should ask your Spanish friend for a loan."

He picked up a pen. "Get out."

Elodie stared at him. The cruelty was breathtaking. He was punishing her for trying to survive.

She turned and ran. She ran past Geoff, past the elevator bank, to the stairwell. She ran down ten flights of stairs before her legs gave out and she collapsed on the concrete landing, sobbing into her hands.

Elodie walked out of the stairwell into the lobby, her face scrubbed clean but her eyes red. She pushed through the revolving doors into the humid afternoon air.

Her phone buzzed. A notification from her bank app.

Alert: Supplementary Card ending in 4098 has been frozen by the primary account holder.

He didn't wait. He did it immediately.

Elodie stood on the sidewalk, people rushing past her. She had sixty dollars in cash and a maxed-out debit card.

She hailed a cab. She gave the address of the nursing home. It was a reckless expense, but she needed to see her mother. She needed to remember why she was enduring this hell.

When she arrived at The Willows, the head nurse, Mrs. Higgins, was waiting at the reception.

"Ms. Sinclair," Mrs. Higgins said, her face sympathetic but firm. "We just tried to process the monthly retainer. It was declined."

Elodie's blood ran cold. She knew the facility's monthly retainer was auto-drafted from the supplementary card. A bill that was due today. She had been racing against the clock, hoping to secure the translation gig's cash payment before the charge went through. But she was too late. "There's been a mistake with the bank," she lied, her voice steady. "I'm sorting it out."

"We can give you a grace period of forty-eight hours. But after that... corporate policy is strict."

"I know. I'll have it."

Elodie walked to Room 304. Her mother lay in the bed, staring blankly at the window. She was frail, a ghost of the vibrant socialite she used to be. The stroke had taken everything.

Elodie sat by the bed and held her mother's limp hand. "I'm sorry, Mama," she whispered. "I'm trying."

She sat there for an hour, watching the slow rise and fall of her mother's chest.

She needed an ally. She needed someone who hated Braxton as much as she did. Someone with resources.

She pulled out her phone. She opened the Instagram message from Kiana. The photo of Ansel.

She found his profile. It was private, but there was a message button.

Her thumb hovered over the screen. Contacting him was dangerous. If Braxton found out...

He already froze the money, she thought. He already declared war.

She typed.

Ansel. It's Elodie. I heard you're back. I'd love to buy you a coffee. For old times' sake.

She hit send before she could lose her nerve.

She expected to wait hours.

The reply came in thirty seconds.

Elodie. I was hoping you'd reach out. Coffee isn't enough. Dinner? The Blue Note. 8 PM.

The Blue Note. Their old spot.

Elodie stared at the screen. A mix of hope and terror swirled in her gut.

I'll be there, she typed.

She stood up and kissed her mother's forehead. "I'm going to fix this, Mama."

She walked out of the facility with a new energy. She wasn't just a victim anymore. She was a player.

Back in his office, Braxton watched the tracking dot on his screen moving away from the nursing home.

"Geoff," he said.

"Sir?"

"She's moving. Where is she going?"

Geoff checked his own tablet. "She just sent a text. Encrypted app."

Braxton slammed his fist on the desk. "Decrypt it."

"It'll take time, sir."

Braxton stood up and walked to the window. He looked out at the city that he owned. But he couldn't own her thoughts. And that terrified him.