His collateral

Chapter 19

"Are you sure you don't want to change into something else?" Sara asked, tapping the key card against the door. It beeped and clicked open. "I picked a dress that would suit you perfectly. Do you want to try it?"

"No. I'll pass. I'm comfortable in what I'm wearing." Elena said, her eyes sweeping across the room as she stepped in behind Sara.

She paused.

A luxurious room with ceiling to floor transparent walls displaying the breathtaking night view of the city stretched before her. Polished marble floors that glowed as though made of glass. An extra large king sized bed covered with spotless quality sheets.

Elena's mouth fell open.

How much was Lucien Black worth exactly? Spending what seemed like a small fortune just so his sister could change before dinner. The thought alone was staggering.

"Do you like the room?" Sara asked, opening the huge wardrobe at the corner of the room. She slipped off her dress and changed into a robe with the hotel's crest. "We'll be spending the night here after dinner."

Elena blinked, confused. "The estate is only an hour's drive away. Why would we stay?" She asked, keeping her voice light to mask the unease quietly spreading through her chest.

"I don't know." Sara shrugged, wrapping a towel around her hair. "Lu hasn't fully recovered from the gunshot earlier this week. Maybe he got tired from shopping with us all day." She giggled.

"Fair enough." Elena said, though slightly unconvinced. She sat slowly at the edge of the bed, sinking into its softness. "Are you going to shower?"

"Yes. The oil from the spa massage left my skin feeling sticky. I just hope this towel holds my hair up. I doubt there's enough time to blow dry it." She replied, disappearing into the bathroom.

Elena bounced gently on the bed, her eyes drifting across the items scattered around her. Shopping bags with clothes spilling out. Sara's purse, and beside it her phone.

"Sara." She called out carefully, unable to pull her gaze away.

"Yes?" Sara answered, her voice muffled beneath running water.

"Do you mind if I borrow your phone for a minute?”

"Yeah, sure. The password's my name." Her voice echoed from the bathroom.

Elena swallowed hard, her hand trembling as she reached for the phone. The moment it unlocked she opened the browser, fingers moving swiftly.

She typed the name Lucien Black into the search bar and waited.

The page loaded for a few seconds then — Sorry, we could not find any results for your search, appeared on the screen.

Elena stared at it.

She refreshed the page. Same response. She tried again with different keywords. Nothing. No articles. Not a single record of the man who had turned her life upside down.

She shook her head slowly.

This was insane. How could a man of his obvious wealth and power be completely invisible to the internet as if he simply did not exist?

A soft melody broke through her thoughts as the phone vibrated in her hand. The name Lu glowed on the screen beside a small pink heart emoji.

Her stomach dropped.

"Sara, your brother's calling." She managed to call out.

"Answer it and tell him we'll be down in twenty minutes." Sara yelled from the bathroom.

"What? No."

"Please." She pleaded, her voice echoing. "He'll come straight up here if I don't answer."

Elena fell silent, staring at the phone. She had no interest in speaking to that man. But if he came up here her plan for the evening was finished before it started. She couldn't risk that.

She drew a slow breath and slid the answer button across the screen, pressing it gently to her ear.

"Aren't you done yet?" His deep voice came through immediately. "I have an important matter to attend to after dinner. Don't keep me waiting."

The words in her throat got stuck. He sounded different. Very different.

"Sara, if I don't hear a response in the next three seconds I'm coming to that room myself. Don't complain later that I didn't give you enough time." He added, his tone still calm.

"Sara says we'll be down in twenty minutes." Elena said quietly.

Silence filled the line.

"Okay." Then it went dead.

Elena lowered the phone slowly from her ear.

"What did he say?" Sara asked, the shower turning off.

"He says he's coming to get you if you aren't done in five minutes."

Sara burst through the bathroom door, a towel wrapped around her body, eyes wide with panic. "Five minutes?" She gasped, lunging toward the shopping bags on the bed. "Okay. Okay. This dress. No wait, this one instead. Would this be better? Which one, Elena? Help me out."

Elena pressed her lips together as hard as she could to stop herself from laughing.

It didn't work.

She burst out laughing, uncontrollably.

"What's funny?" Sara demanded, struggling to slip on a dress.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Elena covered her mouth, fighting the laughter.

"Help me with my zipper." Sara turned her back to Elena.

"Actually, your brother didn't say any of that. I made the whole thing up."

Sara went still.

"I'm sorry." Elena pressed her lips together again. "But your reaction was just too funny."

"I hate you." Sara said flatly.

"No, you don't."

"I do." Sara rolled her eyes. "I'm going to do my makeup. And I'm not speaking to you for the rest of the night."

"That sounds fair." Elena chuckled softly. "I'll be on the balcony. Call me when you're done. I'm still borrowing your phone by the way." She said, sliding the door open.

She stepped outside and closed it behind her. The smile on her lips faded the moment the glass separated them. The night air hit her face, cool and sharp. The city spread out glittering below. She stood there staring in silence for a moment.

Then she raised the phone.

Her fingers moved with urgency as she typed the name Jason Dalton into the search bar.

The results loaded instantly. Articles. Pictures. His face filled the screen image after image. A few with her. She scrolled past them until a headline from weeks ago caught her eye and her hand stilled.

She clicked it open, her breathing shallow as she read.

Jason Dalton, CEO of cosmetics brand Jana, holds a public press conference following company bankruptcy.

A video link sat at the bottom of the article. She tapped it open.

Jason sat behind a conference table, surrounded by journalists, microphones pointed at him from every direction. He looked like a man on the edge of collapse.

"My ex wife." He said in a shaky voice, close to tears. "She betrayed me. Tarnished everything I spent my life building."

"You seemed like a perfect couple." A journalist called from the crowd. "What do you think went wrong?"

"I don't know." He shook his head slowly.

"Just two nights ago you both attended a high profile event together." Another voice cut in. "Doesn't that mean you were on good terms after the private divorce? Your story about her betrayal isn't adding up."

Jason opened his mouth then closed it. His hand moved to his pocket and pulled out his phone, glancing at the screen.

"I apologize." He said, standing abruptly. "This conference has to end now. I have an urgent meeting with my stakeholders." He adjusted his tie.

Camera shutters clicked endlessly, voices of journalists overlapping as a bodyguard walked him out of the conference room.

The video ended.

Elena's hand tightened around the phone until she could feel the edges pressing painfully into her skin. The city blurred as tears flowed down her face. Her body trembled while her free palm pressed over her mouth to muffle the sound.