Chapter 64

No.1

The digital clock on the microwave glowed a harsh green: 7:00 PM.

Elisa stood in the master bathroom of her temporary Manhattan apartment. She had just finished pressing a heavy, freezing ice pack against the massive,purple-black bruise blooming across her lower spine.The cold numbed the sharpest edges of the pain.④

She pulled on a set of loose, black silk loungewear.The soft fabric felt like armor against her battered skin.

She walked into the quiet living room,pouring herself a cup of hot black tea. She needed the caffeine. She needed her brain operating at maximum capacity for the digital war Alastair was currently launching.

Suddenly, the sharp, jarring buzz of the apartment intercom shattered the silence.

Elisa frowned. She walked over to the wall-mounted security console and tapped the screen.

The high-definition camera feed from the lobby downstairs flickered on. Standing in front of the glass doors, looking incredibly impatient and furious, was August.

Elisa stared at his face on the screen. A wave of pure,exhausted annoyance washed over her. She considered leaving him down there to rot. But the final, supplementary asset transfer documents for the divorce were still being processed by his lawyers.She couldn't afford to give him an excuse to stall the legal machinery.

No.2

She pressed the unlock button.

Three minutes later, a heavy, aggressive knock hammered against her front door.

Elisa unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open.

August pushed his way inside without waiting for an invitation. He was wearing the same navy suit from the resort, but his tie was ripped off and his collar was unbuttoned. He radiated a frantic, chaotic energy. He looked around the modest apartment with blatant disgust, as if the very air was beneath him.

He turned to face her. There was no apology in his eyes for the violence of the morning. There was only a demanding, arrogant expectation.

"We have a problem," August ordered, his voice sharp and absolute. "A problem you created. Get dressed. You're coming with me to fix it."

Elisa stood by the kitchen island. She picked up her teacup, bringing the hot porcelain to her lips. She didn't even blink at his command.

"Did one of the estate guard dogs die?" Elisa asked,her voice a flat, deadpan drawl. "Isthat why you need me to attend a mourning service?"

No.3

August's jaw clenched violently. The muscles in his neck jumped.

"Don't be a smart-ass," August snapped. "Some pathetic paparazzi managed to sneak a long-lens camera onto the Belmont grounds this morning. They sold the photos of the terrace incident to Page Six.The pictures are completely out of context."

Elisa raised an eyebrow. "Out of context?"

"They are framing Allena as a homewrecker," August

hissed, his eyes wide with outrage. "The headline is calling her a violent mistress who attacked the legal wife. The internet is tearing her apart. She hasn't stopped crying for three hours."

Elisa stared at himn. She looked at the genuine distress on his face. He was actually suffering because his mistress was facing the consequences of her own actions.

"Well," Elisa said softly, taking a slow sip of her tea."It sounds like the internet finally got something right."

"Shut up!" August roared, slamming his open palm down on the marble kitchen island. The teacup rattled violently.

No.4

He leaned over the counter, his face inches from hers.

"You are going to fix this," August commanded,pronouncing every word with slow, threatening emphasis. "You are going to come to the manor. And when we leave, you are going to hold my hand in front of the paparazzi waiting at the gates. You are going to smile, and you are going to act like we are

perfectly happy."

He stood up straight, crossing his arms, presenting his demand as if it were a generous business offer.

"If you act as a PR shield and prove to the media that our marriage is fine," August said, "the rumors about Allena being a homewrecker will die instantly. Do this, and I will tell my lawyers to add an extra million to your divorce settlement."

Elisa's fingers slowly tightened around the handle of her teacup.

She looked at the man standing in her kitchen. He was asking his legally wedded wife-the woman whose back was currently bruised black and blue because of his friends-to go out in public and pretend to be in love with him, solely to protect the reputation of the woman he was sleeping with.

It was a level of psychological cruelty so profound it bordered on the surreal.

No.5

Elisa carefully set the teacup down on the marble.She walked around the island. She walked straight to the front door, grabbed the heavy brass handle, and yanked the door wide open.

She stood in the doorway and pointed a single, rigid finger toward the hallway.

"August," Elisa said. Her voice was completely devoid of anger. It was the freezing, absolute zero of deep space. "You are a medical miracle. I have never seen a human being survive without a brain or a spine for this long."

August's face turned a violent shade of red. "Elisa-"

"Take your pathetic bribes, take your fake tears,and get out of my house," Elisa cut him off, her voice slicing through the air like a scalpel. "I would rather swallow broken glass than spend one second protecting that parasite. Get out."

August stared at her. His chest heaved. The absolute rejection, the total lack of fear in her eyes, shattered his fragile ego into a million pieces.

He stepped into the doorway. He leaned down, his eyes burning with a dark, sociopathic hatred.

"You are going to regret this," August whispered,his voice shaking with rage. "You think you can embarrass me? You think you can hurt her and get away with it? I will unleash a storm on you that will

No.6

leave you with absolutely nothing. You won't be able to walk down a street in New York without people spitting on you."

Elisa didn't flinch. She looked right back into his eyes, her lips curving into a terrifying, predatory smile.

"I look forward to it," Elisa whispered.

She shoved the heavy wooden door forward. August had to step back quickly to avoid getting hit in the face.

Bang.

The door slammed shut. Elisa instantly threw the deadbolt.

She leaned her back against the wood, closing her eyes, letting out a long, slow breath. Her heart was beating a fast, steady rhythm against her ribs.

Suddenly, her cell phone on the kitchen counter began to vibrate violently. It buzzed, stopped, and immediately buzzed again.

No.7

Elisa walked over and picked it up. It was Jewel.

She swiped to answer. "Jewel?"

"Elisa, are you looking at your phone right now?"Jewel's voice was high-pitched, frantic, and breathless. "You need to open Twitter. You need to look at Page Six. Right now."

"August was just here complaining about Page Six,"Elisa said, her brow furrowing. "He said they were attacking Allena."

"What? No!" Jewel yelled into the phone. "Elisa, they aren't attacking Allena. They flipped the narrative.They are destroying you."

Elisa's blood ran cold. She pulled the phone away from her ear and tapped the Twitter icon.

The screen loaded. A massive, coordinated digital execution was already underway.