Chapter 6 - The Anonymous Threat
The screen of my evening clutch felt suddenly heavy, like a slab of lead cooling against my palm.
“If you sign that acquisition, Evelyn, your little girl won't make it home from the hotel tonight.”
The words seemed to sear themselves into my retina. Every drop of blood rushed away from my face, leaving my limbs shaking with a sudden, icy shock. For a fraction of a second, the glittering patio, the federal liaison holding the secure tablet, and Marcus standing in his ruined tuxedo blurred into a chaotic, dizzying swirl.
"Mrs. Rhodes?" the liaison asked, his brow furrowing as he noticed my sudden stillness. "Is there a problem with the restructuring terms?"
I forced my breathing to steady, locking down every maternal instinct screaming at me to drop everything and run back inside. Panicking would only give whoever sent that message the advantage. I slipped the phone back into my bag with a hand that barely trembled and looked up at the liaison.
"No problem at all," I said, my voice unnervingly calm. "Give me the stylus."
I signed my name swiftly across the digital screen, handing the tablet back to him. "Tell Mr. Rhodes I'll meet him inside in two minutes."
The liaison nodded, completely unaware of the invisible dagger pressed against my throat, and turned back toward the glass doors of the ballroom.
Marcus, still clutching the stone planter box, squinted at me suspiciously. "What's wrong with you? Did something happen?"
May you like
I didn't answer him. I turned on my heel and walked briskly toward the terrace doors, my mind racing through every possible threat. Chloe and Marcus were desperate, but this wasn't their style of panic—this was professional, cold, and calculated.
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