ed her phone onto the velvet be

ed behind her eyes, a physical manifestati

e bench. She picke

ount with its hundred thousand followers. Instead, she logged into a b

d in the phone number she had just

icon spun f

ile po

_Se

p of a woman's wrist resting on a dark leather armrest. Ar

t was the custom Italian leather

orless laugh. It scrap

sted" icon appeared. She knew Brielle would nev

lt-in vanity at the back of the

gital empire from the shadows. She knew how the in

ogin page on her browser. S

the usernam

gin link to an email address. The em

inal mastermind. She was a twenty-two-year-old gir

new how predictable Brielle was, and how massive Bernhard's ego was. It wa

1999. I

ls, Bernhard's initials, an

r teeth ground together so

Bernhard. She thou

ed: B&B

ing circ

shed white. Th

wa

ched. She clicked o

There were over t

irror selfie. Brielle was standing in front of a floor-to-ce

shirts feel better t

e gripped the edge of the vanity

rolled

champagne flutes

angled legs in

e timeline went back.

mo

stop

nd and crystal-clear water. Brielle was wear

the post w

seized. She c

told her he was in Chicago closing a massive merger. He had sent

the Maldives.

med in on

ne was a custom Cartier necklace.

wned that exact same necklace. Bernhard h

e caption under

just a shield. I

ernum. The air rushed out of her lungs in a sharp g

completely burned away by the sh

flew across

y photo. Every location ta

re, encrypted email client and attached the file. She typed in the a

hit

ing against the cold, heavy metal of a satellite phone she kept hidden t

y fist pounded o

ed but impatient. "You've been in th

Her heart slammed

abbed her phone and rapidly cleared

e to slow down. She smoothed her hands down h

ed the d

black velvet eveni

arity gala next week," she said, her voice per

ress. His eyes immediatel

, turning away. "Hurry up. I'

ed toward the living room. A wave of pur

the dress

walked into the

ity. She looked at her reflection in the mir

as a flawless, five-carat ov

ng whenever she felt anxious. It was supp

ckle. It felt like a dise

h her right hand. She didn't t

r her knuckle, leaving a bright

idn't

over to t

nd caught the harsh bathroom light, throwi

ned her

the water with a hollow p

and pressed the s

f water spun violently, swallowing the ring w

ning to the mechanical

sense of relief

squirts of antibacterial soap into her palm.

il the skin was raw, red, and burning. She scrubbed un