CHAPTER 2 – THE DOOR THAT OPENED EVERYTHING
CHAPTER 2 – THE DOOR THAT OPENED EVERYTHING
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then a sharp metallic crack echoed through the foyer.
Sarah's prosthetic had absorbed the impact, but the tremendous force twisted the titanium pylon far beyond its normal alignment. A jagged seam appeared along the polished metal shaft.
Eleanor's triumphant smile faltered.
"What was that?" one of the guests whispered.
Sarah looked down in horror.
The hidden compartment inside the titanium tube had partially opened.
A tiny black flash drive, no bigger than a stick of gum, slid halfway out before catching on the fractured carbon-fiber sleeve.
Only three people noticed it.
Sarah.
Me.
And Eleanor.
The color drained from Eleanor's face.
She had never seen the drive before, but something in her expression told me she instantly understood it wasn't supposed to exist.
"Open this door," I said calmly.
She hesitated.
For the first time in years, Eleanor looked afraid.
Security guards hurried toward the entrance after hearing the commotion.
"What happened?"
"Eleanor slammed the door on my wife's prosthetic," I answered loudly enough for half the room to hear.
Several guests exchanged uncomfortable glances.
"That's absurd," Eleanor snapped. "It was an accident."
Sarah leaned heavily against me, fighting the pain radiating through her residual limb.
"It wasn't," she whispered.
One of the security guards released the hydraulic lock.
The massive oak door swung open.
As Sarah stumbled free, I discreetly slipped the flash drive back into the damaged compartment before anyone else could see it.
Except...
Eleanor had seen enough.
And from the hatred burning in her eyes, I knew she wasn't finished.
Neither was I.
Because tonight was no longer about surviving humiliation.
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Tonight had become evidence.
Every camera in the Oakwood Country Club had just recorded exactly who Eleanor really was.
