Chapter 5

I never went back to the hotel. Or maybe I no longer belonged in the world of ordinary people.

Victor's men took me out of that cold, damp warehouse.

The car sped off, finally pulling up in front of a secluded villa tucked away halfway up a hillside on the edge of the city.

Security was tight with guards everywhere, like they were guarding a fortress. It looked more like a gilded cage than a mansion.

I was led to a bedroom on the second floor. The room was huge, decked out in pure luxury. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city's glittering nightscape stretched out before me.

But I knew I was a prisoner in a new cage.

A woman in a black skirt suit walked in, looking smart and capable. Her name was Linda, the housekeeper of this place, also Victor's right hand.

"Ms. Sterling, the boss said, if you need anything, tell me." Linda sounded courteous, but her gaze was full of suspicion and assessment.

I nodded, staying silent.

Linda brought me a change of clothes, all high-end designer labels.

They fit right. Clearly, Victor had done his homework on me.

I took a shower and changed into fresh clothes. Standing in front of the huge full-length mirror, I stared at my reflection.

The woman in the mirror looked pale, her eyes hollow. But deep within that hollowness, a small, wild flame burned.

From this day forward, Riley was dead. The only thing left was a shell, driven by revenge.

First thing in the morning, I was escorted to the basement of the villa. The place had been transformed into a high-tech command center.

More than a dozen massive screens flickered with streams of data and code I couldn't make heads or tails of.

A man with gold-rimmed glasses, looking refined and scholarly, was busy working at the control station.

That was Alex, Victor's Chief Technology Officer.

Victor sat on the central leather sofa, a cup of coffee in his hand.

When he saw me come in, he pointed to the seat beside him. "Sit."

I sat down as he told me.

"Alex, fill Ms. Sterling in," Victor said.

Alex pushed up his glasses and glanced over at me. His gaze held the cautious scrutiny typical of a technician, along with a touch of disdain.

He said, "Ms. Sterling, the Aegis Bank account under your name is one of the most secure, encrypted accounts in Snoweland. We've tried all the usual cracking methods, but nothing worked.

"The security system is tightly integrated with the personal info your husband, David, provided. Right now, we're stuck at the final step, video verification.

"The system will randomly pull up three security questions. You've got one minute to answer them, live on camera. If you mess up or run out of time, the account gets permanently frozen.

"All the money will instantly be sent to a bank-held charity fund. We only have one chance."

Alex's tone was flat, as if he was stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.

I got it. David had set up a trap, a trap only I could unlock, but I only got one chance.

"What are the questions?" I asked.

"We have no idea," Alex said. "They're picked at random from a huge pool of questions. But from what we've figured out, they're all about stuff you and David went through together."

I closed my eyes. Every little detail from the past three years with David flashed through my mind in a blur.

All those memories I once treasured were nothing but the keys unlocking the gates of hell for me.

Victor watched me, as if he could read my mind. "No rush. Take your time. Think it over. If you can't remember, we can always get someone to help jog your memory."

As soon as Victor finished talking, one of the big screens flickered and switched to a new feed. David appeared on the display.

He was tied to a chair, ice-cold water dumped straight over his head until he jerked awake with a gasp.

He looked more wretched than he had yesterday. His face was mottled with bruises, his eyes filled with sheer terror and utter despair.

He saw me on the screen. "Riley, save me."

He howled frantically, like a man gone mad. "Riley, I know I messed up. Hurry, and tell them how to get the money out. Hand over the money, and we'll make it out alive. We can start over."

We could start over? I looked at his tear-streaked, snot-running face, my heart icy cold. Even now, he was still fooling himself.

One of Victor's men walked over to David, holding a tablet. "Start talking. Write down every single question and answer you programmed."

David nodded frantically, like he was grabbing onto his last hope.

His hands trembled as he typed in one question after another on the screen.

[What was the name of our first cat?]

[Which country did we go to for our honeymoon?]

[What's the date of our engagement anniversary?]

Hundreds of questions, crammed together, filled the screen. They were all the most private memories between us.

As I looked at those questions, it was like flipping through the script of some cringey romance drama. And I was the idiot lead, kept in the dark from beginning to end.

Victor handed me the tablet. "Look through it. Is that enough for you to remember?"

I took the tablet from Victor and flipped through it quickly. Each question felt like a knife slicing through my heart. I went through them in a blur.

Finally, I looked up at Victor. "Not enough. There's one question missing, the one that really matters."

Victor's eyes narrowed. "Oh? What question?"

I pointed at David on the screen, making sure every word hit home. "You should ask him. Ask him how he pushed his ex-girlfriend, who was deeply depressed, step by step, until she was driven to jump to her death."