The Space Between Heartbeats

Chapter 6

The word “background check” echoed in Elara’s skull, a death knell. She stood frozen in the doorway of Mark’s study, her blood running cold. He held her gaze, the cold smile still playing on his lips. It was a power play. He was letting her know he was onto them, enjoying her panic.

“There’s no need for that,” Elara said, forcing her voice to stay level. “She’s just a cleaner. I’ll let her go if it makes you uncomfortable.”

“Oh, no,” Mark said, leaning back in his leather chair. It creaked, a sound of entitlement. “She’s so… useful. And so good at fixing things. I’d like to know more about someone with such… diverse skills.” The subtext was clear: I know she’s more than a cleaner.

He picked up a pen and began to tap it rhythmically on his desk. “Besides, if she’s been in our home this long, we should be thorough. For security.” His eyes were flat, predatory. “Unless there’s something you’re afraid I’ll find out?”

The challenge hung in the air. Elara’s mind raced. Denying it further would only confirm his suspicions. She was trapped.

“Do what you want,” she said, feigning a nonchalance she didn’t feel. She turned and walked away, her spine rigid, feeling his eyes on her back like a physical weight.

She went straight to the guest room, her heart hammering against her ribs. She didn’t knock, just slipped inside and locked the door behind her.

Kai was on the floor, sketching. She looked up, and her smile faded instantly when she saw Elara’s face. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s having a background check done on you,” Elara whispered, the words tumbling out. “He knows something’s up. He’s toying with me.”

All the color drained from Kai’s face. The sketchpad slid from her lap. She knew what that meant. Her life was a patchwork of half-truths, temporary addresses, and a past that wouldn’t withstand scrutiny. A background check wouldn’t just reveal she wasn’t a cleaner; it would paint a picture of a rootless, unstable person, confirming every one of Mark’s suspicions and giving him all the ammunition he needed.

“I have to leave,” Kai said, standing up abruptly. “Now. Tonight.”

“No!” The word was a reflex, a cry of pure terror. Elara grabbed her hands. “If you run, it makes you look guilty. It makes us look guilty. He’ll know for sure.”

“So what do we do?” Kai’s voice was edged with desperation. “We just wait for him to get the report and then… what? Throw me out? Call the police?”

The image was too vivid, too horrifying. Elara squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t know. I need to think. I need to…”

She needed to get to the report first. She needed to stop it.

Mark’s personal assistant, Brenda, was a woman in her fifties who had always been kind to Elara. She had also, on more than one occasion, given Elara a look of quiet sympathy when Mark had been particularly neglectful.

Elara waited until Mark left for a meeting the next day. She dressed carefully, chose a vintage necklace she knew Brenda admired, and drove to his office.

“Elara! What a lovely surprise,” Brenda said, smiling from behind her desk.

“I was just nearby,” Elara lied, her smile feeling brittle. “I wondered if I could steal you for a quick coffee? My treat.”

Over cappuccinos at a nearby café, Elara made small talk before steering the conversation. “Mark is so paranoid lately,” she said with a light, weary laugh. “He’s convinced himself the new cleaning girl is some kind of master thief. He’s even ordered a background check on the poor thing.” She rolled her eyes, playing the exasperated wife.

Brenda’s expression tightened almost imperceptibly. “Oh. Yes, he mentioned that. He asked me to expedite it with the firm we use.”

Elara’s heart leapt into her throat. Expedite it. “It’s so silly. I feel terrible for the girl. Her name is Kai, and she’s just… sweet. A bit lost. I’d hate for her to be frightened off because of Mark’s delusions.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Brenda, would it be a terrible breach of protocol if you… forwarded the report to me first? Let me see if there’s anything actually concerning in it before it sends Mark on a warpath? I could just… handle it quietly.”

She placed the small, tastefully wrapped box containing the necklace on the table between them. “A small thank you for always keeping him from flying off the handle.”

Brenda looked at the box, then at Elara’s pleading eyes. She saw a kindred spirit, another woman managing a difficult man. She sighed. “It is highly irregular…”

“Please, Brenda. For peace.”

After a long moment, Brenda gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. “The report is due tomorrow afternoon. I’ll… I’ll see what I can do.”

Elara nearly collapsed with relief.

The email from Brenda arrived at 11:03 the next morning. The subject line was simply: Report you asked for.

Elara’s hands shook so badly she could barely open the attachment.

The document was cold, clinical, and devastating.

Name: Kai Jensen

A.K.A.: Several aliases found, used primarily for securing short-term employment.

Last Known Permanent Address: St. Catherine’s Group Home, closed 2018.

Employment History: Erratic. Multiple short-term, cash-only jobs (waitressing, manual labor, retail). No long-term employment on record.

Financials: No bank accounts, credit history, or assets found.

Criminal Record: One misdemeanor for trespassing (2019), charges dropped. One arrest for shoplifting (2020), charges dropped due to lack of evidence.

But it was the final note that made Elara’s blood run cold:

Subject appears to have no verifiable social security number or birth certificate on file. Identity cannot be fully confirmed. Recommend further investigation.

Kai was a ghost. And to a man like Mark, a ghost was a threat. A ghost could be discredited, disappeared, destroyed without a paper trail.

This report wasn’t just an invasion of privacy; it was a weapon. In Mark’s hands, it would be a declaration of war.

Elara deleted the email and emptied the trash. She had to warn Kai. She had to make her understand how much danger she was in.

She found Kai in the garden, pulling weeds with a fierce, frantic energy.

“We need to talk,” Elara said, her voice hollow.

She showed her the printed report, watching as Kai’s face went from confusion to dawning horror to a mask of grim resignation as she read it.

“I see,” Kai said softly, handing the papers back as if they were poison. “So that’s it, then.” She looked out at the garden, her shoulders slumping. “I told you I was nobody.”

“You are not nobody,” Elara said, her voice fierce. She grabbed Kai’s hands, which were gritty with soil. “But this… this gives him all the power. He’ll use this to say you’re a criminal, a con artist, that you manipulated me.”

“He’s not entirely wrong,” Kai whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I did manipulate you. I saw a beautiful, sad woman in a gilded cage and I wanted her. I wanted to be the one to set her free. That was selfish.”

“It was the greatest gift anyone has ever given me,” Elara insisted. She took a deep, shuddering breath. The words she had been too afraid to say now seemed like the only option left. “We have to leave. Together. Now. Before he gets the report.”

Kai’s head snapped up, her eyes wide with shock. “What? Elara, no. Your life… your home…”

“Is a prison!” Elara cried, her composure breaking. “Don’t you see? He’s the warden! This… you… are the only real thing in it. I choose you. I choose a life with you, even if it’s in a studio apartment, even if it’s hard. It will be real.”

She was crying now, the tears she had held back for years finally falling freely. “But we have to go. Today.”

Kai looked at her, at the raw, desperate love on her face. Hope, terrifying and beautiful, dawned in her own eyes. She nodded, a single, decisive movement. “Okay.”