urface, every piece of designer furniture, was a monument

apartment was in Julian's name. Staying here meant being under his control, subject to his whims and the prying eyes of whoeve

She needed a furnished apartment, immediate occupancy, full discretion. A sleek, modern unit in a high-security building in Chelsea was avai

elt like the first clean b

ueen power suits. Her most expensive jewelry. Her laptop, her external hard drives, the encrypted flash drive she'd prepared. She left beh

ags. When she was finished, the walk-in closet looked hollowed out, her side stripped ba

s to the foyer herself

her fingers moving across the keyboard. It was time to begin

the table, vibrated. It was

nsfer had just been deposite

: $500

screen lit up with a photo of her and Julian on a beach

so thick it wa

he muscles in her face. She arranged her voice into a fam

wered.

apologetic balm. "I just heard what happened with Mrs. Rodr

loe had f

hloe said, injecting a note of hurt and betr

out a lost cufflink of mine. A complete misunderstanding. Did you see the little something I sent over

nt. A transaction to smooth things

laptop screen. A cold smile touched her lips. "Oh, Julian. You

pable through the phone. "Now, I've got to run in

hun

he sweetness vanished from Chloe's

entire five hundred thousand dollars out of her account and into a firewalled, anonymous tru

ocking glasses and turned her full attention back

She was activating a backdoor, a hidden entry point she herself had coded into the network archi

server appeared on her screen. Bypassing the

se and efficient. She began a bulk download of the last three year

'J.S. Private Holdings', a red warning box p

ly lazy, egotistical. She tried the most obvious combinat

SYSTEM ALERT

hands remained steady. He wouldn't be that sentimental. His real l

the zip code of his mother Vivian's a

r turned green.

of sub-folders. Shell corporations. Offshore accounts. Undeclared real

d download, sending everyth

or that opened directly into

home.

he keyboard, a frantic dance of commands. She force-quit the download, in

, she switched her screen

n, bringing a gust of cold air and the faint, cl

ptop open. His tense expre

walking over. He leaned do

ting at her laptop screen as if engrossed. "I was just looking

nd, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes, bef

his voice flat. "Wha

drink. Chloe watched him go, her heart still pounding against h

h, his attention on his own phone. Then she cl

he said, he

ooke

the door. His eyes followed her hand, and the

said, the lie smooth and effortless. "She's

icker of suspicion in h

ze, her expression perfectly calm, perfectl

rack, the tell. She gave him nothing. Just the placid

ip of his scotch. "Fine.

wil

't look back. She stepped into the elevator, and as the doors slid shut, cutting o

was