Chapter 13 TIME BOMB PART 3
By the time Vivienne got to the conference room, Noah had fallen asleep on the couch with drawings all around him. His sketchbook had fallen out of his hands and was lying open on the floor, showing half-finished stars and planets.
She looked at him for a moment while he slept. He still looked weak. Thinner than he was before going to the hospital.
Was she a bad mom? She thought.
She might have been better off working from home and letting him rest instead of bringing him to work again.
But that would mean Marcus setting her phone on fire.
She still couldn't stand the thought of being away from her son. Not after last week.
"Noah." She softly touched his shoulder. "Come on, baby. It's time to go home."
He woke up and blinked, confused. "Home?"
"Yes, baby. Home."
He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. She picked up his drawings while he put his shoes back on, and then they left.
There was silence throughout the way home. Noah slept in the passenger seat with his head against the window. Vivienne drove on autopilot while her mind raced through everything. Every phone call that didn't go through. Every door that was shut. Every luck that had disappeared as soon as she reached for it.
Dinner at home was sandwiches because she was too tired to cook. Noah ate without saying anything, then asked to watch TV.
"It's a school night," she started to say, but then she stopped. He wasn't going to school until next week. "Sure, go ahead."
He sat down on the couch, a cartoon playing quietly. He leaned against Vivienne's shoulder and didn't say anything.
For once, her phone was on the coffee table and not ringing.
She put Noah to bed at ten-thirty. He was already half asleep when he stumbled down the hall to his room. She followed him and put him to bed.
"Mom?" he asked in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, baby?"
"Will we be okay?"
The question hit her like a punch in the chest. "Of course we are. Why do you ask?"
"You've been sad."
"I'm not sad. I'm just tired. Mommy has been very busy."
"Promise?"
"I promise. Everything will be okay."
He nodded, half satisfied, and shut his eyes.
She waited until his breathing slowed down, then quietly closed his door.
It was dark in the apartment.
Vivienne was sitting on the couch with her phone in her hands. She had cried so much this week that she thought she was out of tears. Now she just felt empty.
She looked through her contacts to see if she had missed anyone. Anyone who could help.
There was no one else.
She put the phone down on the coffee table and leaned back, shutting her eyes.
Her phone lit up.
Message from a number she didn't recognize.
She almost didn't pay attention to it. It was probably nothing.
But something made her open it.
The words on the screen made her heart stop.
"Hey, Elara."
That name stopped her cold.
In ten years, no one had called her that.
Another message came up right away.
"Don't be surprised."
"I just need a little help."
"I know your secret. I know who you really are, and I know who your child's father is."
Her hands began to shake.
One more message.
"It's really just a simple favor."
"Someone made you an offer not too long ago. You need to take it. Sign the contract and get to work."
A last message.
"Elara, it's up to you. You have 24 hours to make a decision or everyone finds out your little secret."
Vivienne's whole body shook as she stared at the screen.
Who is this?
And how? How did they find out?
She couldn't see clearly. She blinked, but the words on the screen stayed the same.
Elara.
In ten years, no one had called her that. No one was supposed to know that name existed.
Were they watching her? How long? Since she began CrossLight? Since the birth of Noah? When did this happen?
She looked down the hall toward Noah's room, and her chest got tighter and tighter until she couldn't breathe.
They knew who he was. They know about Alexander.
Who could do this?
Marcus? No. They had been through a lot together. He wouldn't make threats against her. Would he?
One of her employees? But none of them knew her before CrossLight. No one does.
Victoria? The idea made her blood run cold. Did Alexander's mother somehow find out that she was still alive?
Another message came in on her phone. She jumped and almost dropped it.
But it was just a notice from the bank. The screen went dark after that.
She looked at her reflection in the black glass.
Someone else stared back at her.