Chapter 56

No.1

The heavy velvet curtains closed over the stage,signaling a thirty-minute intermission. The wealthy attendees flooded out of the ballroom and into the massive, Roman-columned atrium for champagne and caviar.

Elisa and Jewel stood near a towering marble pillar in the shadows, far away from the glaring lights of the central bar. Elisa held a glass of sparkling water, her face an unreadable mask.

But the sharks had already smelled blood in the water.

A loud, obnoxious laugh echoed across the marble floor.Devon Browning, holding a snifter of cognac,swaggered toward them. He was flanked by three Wall Street executives and a few socialites hungry for drama.

Clinging to Devon's arm was Allena.

Around Allena's neck hung the massive, heavy

platinum and sapphire amulet. It looked absurdly out of place against her modern red dress, but she was touching it constantly, making sure the light caught the gems.

No.2

Devon stopped a few feet from Elisa. He looked her up and down with a sneer of absolute disgust.

"Well, well," Devon mocked, his voice booming to ensure the surrounding crowd could hear. "Look who ran out of steam. What happened, Elisa? Did your little secret sugar daddy cut off your credit limit at ten million?"

The socialites behind him erupted into high-pitched,cruel laughter. They circled closer, their eyes gleaming with the thrill of watching the former Mrs.Chambers get publicly slaughtered.

Allena stepped forward, her hand resting on the heavy blue sapphire. She tilted her head, putting on a sickeningly fake expression of pity.

"You really shouldn't have embarrassed yourself,Elisa," Allena cooed. "Some things are just meant for people of a certain... status. You can't force your way into royalty."

Jewel's face turned a violent shade of red. She couldn't take it anymore.

Jewel lunged forward, pointing a shaking finger directly at Allena's face. "You disgusting, parasitic thief! You steal her husband, you steal her life, and you stand here bragging about a necklace? You are trash!"

No.3

Devon's eyes narrowed. He stepped in front of Allena, his massive hand shooting out. He shoved Jewel hard in the center of her chest.

"Watch your mouth, you stupid bitch," Devon snarled.

Jewel, wearing high heels, lost her balance. She stumbled backward, her arms flailing, about to crash onto the hard marble floor.

Elisa's arm shot out with blinding speed. She caught Jewel by the waist, stabilizing her instantly.

Elisa slowly turned her head.

The air in the atrium seemed to instantly freeze. The ambient chatter died down.

Elisa stepped past Jewel. She walked directly up to

No.4

Devon. She didn't yell. She didn't raise her hands.She simply unleashed the full, terrifying aura of a trauma surgeon who held life and death in her hands every single day.

Her black eyes locked onto Devon's face. The sheer,physiological pressure radiating from her made Devon subconsciously take a half-step backward.

"Mr. Browning," Elisa said. Her voice was a low,vibrating hum that carried perfectly in the sudden silence. Alastair's deep-web intelligence network had never failed her, laying Devon's most fatal, buried vulnerabilities right in the palm of her hand. "Do you really think the SEC won't notice the offshore shell companies you used to short those medical tech stocks last quarter?"

Devon's face went completely, chalk-white. The cognac sloshed in his glass.

His illegal short-selling was buried under layers of encrypted corporate structures. It was a federal crime that would put him in prison for twenty years.There was absolutely no way a nurse should know about that.

Elisa didn't give him a second to breathe. She turned her dead eyes to Allena.

Allena shrank back, her hand clutching the sapphire amulet so hard her knuckles turned white.

No.5

"And you," Elisa whispered, her voice slicing through Allena's fragile ego like a scalpel. "That necklace is heavy, isn't it? Enjoy wearing it. Because just like the life you stole, the weight of it is eventually going to snap your pathetic little neck."

Allena gasped, her eyes wide with genuine terror.She looked at Elisa and saw nothing but a black void.

The surrounding crowd was completely paralyzed.The mocking laughter was gone, replaced by a suffocating, terrified silence. They realized they weren't watching a victim; they were looking at a predator.

Elisa turned away from them in disgust.

"Let's go, Jewel," Elisa said calmly. "The smell of rotting garbage is giving me a headache."

Elisa walked through the crowd. The wealthy socialites literally parted like the Red Sea, stepping

back to avoid making eye contact with her.

No.6

They walked out of the atrium and onto the outdoor terrace. The freezing night wind hit Elisa's face,clearing the stench of the room from her lungs.

Jewel was rubbing her chest where Devon had shoved her, her eyes still blazing with adrenaline."Elisa, we cant just let them get away with this. We have to destroy them."

Elisa stopped walking. She looked up at the dark,starless sky.

She reached into the inner pocket of her grey suit jacket. Her fingers brushed against the folded copy of the seven-year marriage contract.

Thirty-four hours.

A slow, terrifying smile curved Elisa's lips.

"Don't engage them on their level, Jewel," Elisa said,her voice calm and low. "It's pointless. Go back to your room. Trust me, the game isn't over yet."

No.7

Elisa watched Jewel walk toward the guest wing.Then, she turned and walked toward the private VIP elevators, heading back up to the top floor.

She didn't know that a monster was waiting for her in the dark.