CHAPTER 4
Daniel was supposed to arrive first.
That had been the plan.
He would park outside, text her, enter through the double doors, and they would speak to Richard together.
But Richard had called Emily from Vanessa’s phone thirty minutes early.
“Come now,” he had said. “Or I’ll send your things to storage.”
So Emily came.
Alone.
She told herself she was not afraid of him.
Then she stepped into the living room and saw Vanessa standing there in that burgundy dress, smiling at Emily’s white suit like she was watching a stain walk across the marble floor.
Richard pointed to the coffee table.
A pen waited beside a stack of papers.
“Sign,” he said.
Emily looked down.
The top page was titled Voluntary Separation and Asset Release.
Her stomach tightened.
“No.”
Richard’s eyes sharpened.
Vanessa moved closer, her voice soft and cruel.
“She never belonged here anyway.”
May you like
Emily looked at her.
“No,” Emily said. “But you certainly made yourself comfortable.”
