Chapter 1 - WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE
Eleanor Hayes had learned how to fall.
Not gracefully.
Safely.
There was a difference.
She caught herself with one hand as Vanessa Cole charged across the mansion foyer and kicked her against the guarded upper body.
Eleanor lost balance and went down hard.
Her suitcase tipped.
Clothes spilled across polished marble.
Vanessa stood over her in a burgundy silk robe and black heels.
“Get out of my way!”
Eleanor stared up.
No scream.
No plea.
She reached toward the suitcase.
Vanessa kicked it away.
A cream sweater slid beneath the console table.
A prosthetic-liner pouch skidded toward the stairs.
Vanessa laughed.
“Look at you—you’re pathetic!”
Eleanor’s jaw tightened.
She hated that word more than the kick.
Pathetic.
As if losing a leg had turned every difficult movement into proof of character.
Vanessa grabbed clothes from the open case and threw them toward the front door.
Then she pointed outside.
“Crawl out the door and get the hell out.”
Eleanor stopped reaching for the suitcase.
Instead she pulled a slim laptop from beneath a folded coat.
Placed it across her lap.
Opened it.
Vanessa frowned.
“What are you doing?”
Eleanor’s finger moved toward the trackpad.
“Don’t touch it.”
The front door opened.
Charles Hayes entered in a navy suit.
He saw:
Eleanor on the floor,
clothes everywhere,
Vanessa standing above her.
He did not rush forward.
He exhaled.
Rubbed his forehead.
Then looked down at his wife.
“Why are you still here?”
Eleanor slowly raised her eyes.
Charles glanced at the laptop.
At the email window.
At the attachment list.
His face changed.
“Eleanor.”
She moved her finger closer to SEND.
Charles stepped forward.
“What did you send?”
Eleanor answered:
“Nothing yet.”
May you like
He stopped.
Then she clicked.
