Chapter 5The Waiting Room

The hospital corridor smelled of antiseptic and regret.

Vera's hands were still stained with Morgan's blood, dried now, flaking beneath her nails. She'd been sitting in the same plastic chair for three hours, watching the doors to the OR swing open and closed, each time bracing for the worst.

A nurse had offered her a blanket. She'd refused.

Footsteps. Sharp. Purposeful.

Julian rounded the corner, his tie undone, his eyes wild. He stopped when he saw her, and something in his expression shifted—recognition, then accusation.

“You.” His voice was raw. “She was with you.”

Vera stood. The movement cost her. “She saved my life.”

“Saved your life.” Julian laughed, but there was no humor in it. “She's in surgery because of you. The doctors won't tell me if she's going to—” He stopped, jaw tight. “Who did this, Vera?”

The name sat on her tongue like poison. *Elena.*

But Elena had files. Elena had leverage. Elena had recordings of Vera telling her sister to handle it herself.

“I don't know yet,” Vera said.

Julian's eyes narrowed. “You're lying.”

“I'm trying to find out.”

“You're trying to protect yourself.” He stepped closer, close enough that she could smell the rain on his jacket, the coffee on his breath. “I know what you do, Vera. I had you investigated after the gala. The Unraveler. Breaking up relationships for money.”

The name hit her like a slap.

“I figured it was business,” Julian continued. “Petty revenge. But Morgan—she believed in you. She said you were different.” His voice cracked. “She *defended* you.”

Vera said nothing. What was there to say?

A doctor emerged from the double doors. Julian turned, his anger dissolving into something more fragile. Vera watched him listen, watched his shoulders drop when the doctor said *stable*, *recovering*, *she'll pull through*.

The relief didn't reach her.

It couldn't.

---

The memory came unbidden, sharp as a scalpel.

*Her apartment, a year ago. Rain against the windows. Lily on the couch, knees drawn to her chest, phone clutched in shaking hands.*

*“They have the files, Vera. All of them. The board members, the offshore accounts—if Elena finds out I copied them—”*

*Vera had been standing by the window, half-listening, already thinking about her next job. Lily was always dramatic. Always on the edge.*

*“Then don't let her find out. Handle it yourself.”*

*“I can't. I need help.”*

*“You wanted in. You're in. Figure it out.”*

*Lily had looked at her then, really looked, and Vera had seen something break behind her sister's eyes.*

*“You don't care, do you?” Lily whispered. “If I go down, as long as you're safe—”*

*“That's not fair.”*

*“It's true.”*

*Vera had walked out. Left her sister alone with the files and the fear.*

*The next morning, Lily was dead.*

---

A nurse touched Vera's shoulder, pulling her back.

“You can see her now. Just for a few minutes.”

Morgan's room was dim, machines beeping in quiet rhythm. She looked small in the bed, her face pale, her chest rising and falling beneath bandages.

Vera sat in the chair beside her. For a long moment, neither spoke.

Then Morgan's eyes fluttered open.

“You stayed.” Her voice was a whisper, hoarse from the tube.

“You're an idiot,” Vera said. “You followed me. You knew she had a gun.”

“I knew she'd hurt you.”

“She almost killed you.”

Morgan's hand moved, slow, finding Vera's. Her fingers were cold. “I made a deal with her. Three weeks ago. She said she had evidence that would destroy Julian. I thought—I thought if I fed her information about you, she'd leave him alone.”

Vera's throat tightened. “You were working for her.”

“I was trying to protect my brother.” Morgan's eyes glistened. “But then I met you. And I realized who you really were. The Unraveler. The woman who destroyed my brother's engagement. The woman who—” She stopped, swallowing hard. “I knew. From the beginning.”

The words landed like a blade.

“You knew,” Vera repeated.

“I recognized you from the files Elena showed me. The aliases, the patterns. I knew everything.” Morgan's grip tightened. “But I also saw the way you looked at me. The way you hesitated before lying. And I thought—maybe she's not lost. Maybe she can still choose.”

Vera pulled her hand away. “You manipulated me.”

“We manipulated each other.” Morgan's laugh was brittle. “That's what we do. We lie. We scheme. We keep everyone at arm's length because if they get too close, they might see the cracks.”

“And what do you see now?”

Morgan held her gaze. “Someone who's been running so long she forgot what she was running from.”

Vera's chest ached. The words were too close, too sharp.

“I fell in love with the person you could be,” Morgan said softly. “Not the one you were. And I still believe she's in there.”

Silence.

Vera stood, her legs unsteady. “You need to rest.”

“Vera—”

“I'll find Elena. I'll end this.” She moved toward the door, then stopped. “But if you ever lie to me again, Morgan—if you ever keep something like this from me—I'm gone. And I won't come back.”

She didn't wait for an answer.

---

Dawn was breaking when Vera reached her apartment.

She spread Elena's client files across the kitchen table. Name after name, transaction after transaction. Elena's empire was built on secrets—secrets she'd collected, weaponized, traded.

Vera's own name was in there. Her aliases. Her jobs. Everything Elena could use to destroy her.

She needed leverage. Something Elena valued more than revenge.

Her phone buzzed.

A text from an unknown number.

*You think you can save her? She's already mine.*

Vera stared at the screen. Her thumb hovered over the call button.

Then she typed back:

*We'll see about that.*