Chapter 15 LONGEST DAY PART 2
Vivienne took one more second to think before opening the door. She opened it just enough to see Marcus standing there, his face red with anger.
“Finally,” he said as he pushed past her and into the apartment. “Why aren’t you picking up your phone? Why aren’t you at work?”
She locked the door behind him and double-checked. As he walked back and forth in her living room, her eyes followed him.
Could it be him? The thought stayed with her, toxic and unwanted. Would her best friend really threaten her like this?
“Noah is still recovering,” she said in a calm voice. “I decided to work from home today.”
Marcus stopped pacing and faced her. His face went from angry to worried in a split second.
“Vee, Jesus. You look awful. Have you gotten any sleep?”
She put a strand of hair behind her ear, aware of the dark circles under her eyes. “I’m okay.”
“You’re not okay. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” He moved closer to her, and she instinctively backed away. He saw it and was confused. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” She looked over at Noah, who was drawing on the couch and pretending not to listen. “Please keep your voice down.”
Marcus spoke more quietly, but he couldn’t hide how urgent it was. “The landlord filed for eviction this morning. They can’t legally lock us out for thirty days.” He ran his hand through his hair. “And Dev took the extra key and won’t answer his phone. He might be out doing interviews.”
Each word felt like another brick on her chest, making it harder to breathe.
“I’ll take care of it,” she said in a robotic voice.
“How do you want to take care of it?” Marcus’s voice heightened again. “We don’t have any other choices, Vee.”
She looked at him and tried to find any signs on his face that he was behind the texts. Would his eyes give him away?
“Vee, what’s wrong with you?” He moved closer, and she jumped. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m the enemy.” He sounded really hurt.
“You’ve been pressuring me,” she said finally. “Stop pushing me about the Hunt contract when I’ve already told you I can’t do it.”
Marcus stepped back. “I’m working to save our business. I’m trying to keep my home.” His voice broke. “My wife is saying that if we lose the house, she will take the kids to her mother’s. Do you know what’s at stake for me?”
There was a huge gap of silence between them.
“I need to leave.” He grabbed his coat, but his movements were stiff. “I hope you figure out what’s going on with you soon. We’re running out of time.”
The door closed behind him with a quiet click.
Noah raised his head from his sketchbook. “Why are you and Uncle Marcus fighting?”
“We weren’t fighting, sweetie.” She made herself smile. “Just talking about work.”
“Grown-up stuff?” He rolled his eyes.
“Something like that.” She looked at her phone. There were no new messages. “How about lunch? Pizza again?”
His face lit up. “Can we get the cheesy crust this time?”
“Anything you want.”
Noah ate two slices of pizza right away, but Vivienne only pushed one piece around on her plate. Every bite got stuck in her throat. She kept looking at her phone and doing math in her head. The blackmailer’s deadline was in nine and a half hours.
Nine and a half hours before everything in her life blows up.
After lunch, Vivienne headed to her room with her laptop, leaving Noah in the living room.
She typed “Alexander Hunt” into the search bar of a new browser window. There were hundreds of results right away.
“Alexander Hunt announces a new way to play games that will change everything”
“Hunt Enterprises gets $600 million to invest in the Tyranny franchise”
“Most Eligible Business Man: Alexander Hunt tops the list for the third year in a row.”
She clicked on articles and pictures, looking for anything that might link him to the strange texter.
But there was no sign of who might be threatening her or how they knew her secret.
Noah had fallen asleep on the couch when she got back to the living room. He seemed so calm.
She gently put a soft blanket over him. She ran her fingers through his hair, brushing it back from his forehead. What would happen to him if everyone knew who his dad was? What would the Hunts do if they found out she kept the child?
She sat down at the table with her laptop and opened Alexander’s email again. The cursor blinked steadily, as if it didn’t care about her problems.
She couldn’t type a single word for hours as she stared at the empty reply button and occasionally surfed through her phone.
How do you agree to work with a man you used to love, who probably forgot you ever existed, whose family had almost ended you, while a stranger was blackmailing you into doing it?
Finally, she was able to touch the keys. But no words would come out. Every time she tried, it felt like giving up, like saying the blackmailer had won.
That the Hunt family would be in charge of her life again.
She looked at Noah, who was still sleeping soundly on the couch. She thought about Marcus’s kids, who might have to leave their home. She thought about her workers, who were already looking for new jobs. She thought about the strange texter who seemed to know everything about her past.
She had two hours left now.
She made up her mind with a clarity that came only from having no other options. Sometimes, the only way to keep what you love safe is to go right into danger.
She straightened her back at 9:45 and began typing with newly found energy.
Dear Mr. Hunt,
I’ve thought about your offer. I’m happy to talk about the terms whenever it’s best for you.
Please tell me when and where you want to meet.
Best regards, Vivienne Cross
She looked at Noah one last time, at his innocent face and the future that was at stake.
“I’m sorry, baby,” she said softly. “Mommy has to do this.”
She clicked send and closed her eyes.
The familiar whoosh sound let her know that her message had been sent into the digital void. She held her breath and waited for a quick reply.
Nothing came.
She walked around the apartment, looking at her phone every thirty seconds.
Ten minutes went by. Twenty.
Then her phone lit up.
“Good choice, Elara,” wrote an unknown number. “See, that wasn’t too hard.”
Her blood froze.
This stranger was watching her every move.