Chapter 241
No.1
The guest room was dead silent.
Elisa kept her back pressed flat against the heavy wooden door.The cold surface seeped through her thin cotton hoodie. She listened. The muffled sounds of the household staff unpacking August's luggage down the hallway slowly faded away. The heavy footsteps retreated toward the service elevator.
She was alone.
Elisa pushed off the door. She walked across the thick carpet toward the walk-in closet. She pushed aside the heavy winter coats and dropped to her knees. She stared at the black metal safe hidden in the dark corner. She ran her fingers over the cold steel edge. Kayden's documents were secure.②
A sharp, rhythmic knock echoed through the room.
Elisa's hand froze on the safe. The knocking was loud, aggressive, and completely devoid of basic respect.
She stood up. Her jaw tightened. She ignored the sound and turned toward the en-suite bathroom.She needed to wash the grime of the day off her skin.She needed to prepare for the thirty days of warfare ahead.
The knocking grew faster.
No.2
Then came the harsh, metallic scraping of a key sliding into the lock.
Elisa spun around. Her dark eyes widened slightly,She had thrown both interior deadbolts. A standard key could not open this door.
A loud click echoed in the room. The heavy metal deadbolts slid back into the doorframe, forced open by an external override mechanism.
The door swung open.
Brenda stood in the doorway. The head housekeeper wore her crisp black uniform. Her face was a mask of cold, bureaucratic arrogance. In her right hand,she held a heavy ring of brass keys. It was the master set, designed to bypass every single privacy lock in the penthouse.
Elisa's blood turned to ice. The sheer violation of the act sent a violent tremor through her nervous system.
She didn't speak. She reached out, grabbed the heavy glass water pitcher from the bedside table,and hurled it directly at Brenda.
The thick glass smashed into the hardwood floor inches from Brenda's black shoes.
No.3
Water and sharp, jagged shards exploded outward.
Brenda gasped, jumping backward. Her shouIders hit the doorframe. But she recovered quickly. She straightened her spine, gripping the brass keys tighter.
"Germaine left explicit instructions," Brenda said. Her voice shook slightly, but the arrogant sneer remained. "You are required to sleep in the master bedroom tonight. With your husband."
Elisa stepped over the broken glass. Her eyes were completely dead.
"Get out of my room," Elisa whispered. Her voice was a low, lethal hiss. "Before I use one of those shards to
open your throat."
Brenda did not retreat.Instead, she reached into her uniform pocket. She pulled out her smartphone and held it up.
The screen displayed a live, high-definition video feed.
No.4
Elisa's breath stopped. Her lungs seized.
It was the intensive care unit at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. The camera was angled directly at Phineas's bed. Elisa could see the rhythmic rise and fall of her grandfather's frail chest.She could see the complex IV lines feeding into his arms.④
"Mrs. Chambers's patience expires at midnight,"Brenda stated slowly. "She expects compliance."
Elisa stared at the screen. Her fingernails dug so deeply into her palms that the skin broke. A sharp,stinging pain radiated up her arms.
The absolute, crushing weight of Germaine's power pressed down on her chest. The brass keys. The live video feed. They owned the physical space. They
owned the hospital. For the first time in months, she felt truly powerless.
Elisa closed her eyes. She forced her lungs to expand.She swallowed the thick, burning bile in her throat. She pushed the homicidal rage down into a dark,locked box in her mind.
She opened her eyes.
No.5
She didn't look at Brenda. She walked forward,her cheap sneakers crunching over the broken glass. She walked out of the guest room and turned down the long, brightly lit hallway.
She walked toward the master suite.
The heavy oak double doors were slightly ajar.Warm,yellow light spilled out onto the hallway carpet. The air smelled of expensive sandalwood body wash and steam.
Elisa pushed the door open.
August was standing in the center of the massive bedroom. He had just stepped out of the shower.A thick white towel was wrapped low around his waist.Water droplets slid down the hard, defined muscles
of his chest and stomach. His dark hair was wet,sticking to his forehead.
He looked up as the door opened. His dark eyes narrowed. A cold, mocking smirk twisted his lips.
Brenda stepped into the room right behind Elisa. She bowed her head slightly toward August.
No.6
"Sir," Brenda said smoothly. "Mrs. Chambers wishes you both a pleasant evening. For the future of the family."
She emphasized the last wvords heavily.
August's face instantly darkened. The smirk vanished. The muscles in his jaw clenched tight. He despised his mother's interference. He hated being monitored in his own home.
"Get out," August ordered. His voice was a freezing,low rumble. He didn't even look at the housekeeper.
Brenda nodded. She stepped backward out of the room. She pulled the heavy oak doors shut.
A loud, metallic click echoed through the room.Brenda had locked the door from the outside.
August stared at the closed door for a second. He let out a harsh breath. He turned and walked toward the marble wet bar in the corner of the room. He grabbed a crystal decanter and poured two fingers of amber whiskey into a glass.
He turned around,leaning his hip against the marble counter.
No.7
His dark eyes slowly swept over Elisa. He looked at her empty hands. He looked at her faded gray sweatpants and the oversized, cheap cotton hoodie.
He took a slow sip of the whiskey.
"Where is your luggage?" August asked. His tone was dripping with condescension. "If you decided to throw a tantrum and move back in to get my attention, you could at least change your clothes."
Elisa stood near the door. She looked at his arrogant,handsome face. She felt absolutely nothing.
"I didn't bring my luggage," Elisa said. Her voice was flat, carrying perfectly across the large room."Because I only plan to stay in this room long enough to get my divorce decree back."