Chapter 3: Pressure Cooked

I left.

Straight home. Didn't tell anyone. Not even him. The door closed behind me and I went straight to my bed, bypassing the kitchen, the light switch, everything. My body sank into the mattress.

But my eyes...they stayed open.

Staring at the ceiling. Waiting for sleep that wouldn't come.

How could I? Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Seraphina's smile. That whisper. “You were never the only one I planned for.”

By sunrise, my phone had exploded.

Literally. The battery died from the constant notifications. I plugged it in and watched it come back to life like a monster resurrecting. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Messages flooding in faster than I could breathe.

The first headline hit me like a brick.

“Tech Mogul Aiden Cross Ditches Fiancée For Heiress At Own Engagement Party.”

Below it, a photo. Aiden carrying Seraphina. Her head on his shoulder. His face twisted with concern. And me... tiny in the background, blurred, forgettable.

I scrolled.

#EngagementFail trending worldwide.

Various sources say Cross and Vaughn have "History"

Who is Elara Sinclair? The Nobody Who Almost Became Somebody

That one made me laugh. A horrible, broken sound that echoed in my empty apartment.

My phone rang. Dad.

"Don't answer it," I whispered to myself. But my finger hit the green button anyway.

"Elara Marie Sinclair." His voice came through like thunder. "I've been calling you for six hours."

"I know, Dad. I'm..."

"Are you okay? Where are you? I'm getting in the car right now. I'm coming to..."

"Dad, please..."

"That son of a... " He stopped himself. Barely. "I want his address. I want to talk to him. Man to man."

"That's not going to help."

"The hell it won't." Papers rustled in the background. "I'm looking at the New York Times right now, sweetheart. The Times. You're on page three. Page three of the goddamn New York Times because that..."

"I have to go."

"Elara..."

I hung up. Immediately, my mom called.

I answered. "Mom..."

"Don't say anything." Her voice was ice calm. The voice she used when she was barely holding it together. "Not to the press. Not to your friends. Not to anyone. Do you understand me?"

"I didn't..."

"Don't give them blood, baby. They're sharks. All of them. The second you show weakness, they'll tear you apart."

"Mom, he left me standing there. In front of everyone."

"I know." Her voice cracked just slightly. "I know, sweetheart. But right now, you need to be smart. You need to..."

"To what? Smile? Pretend everything's fine?"

"To protect yourself."

My brother texted while I was still on the phone with her.

In case you need a lawyer and a publicist. Call me.

My sister sent a voice memo. I played it on speaker.

"Lara, oh my God, I'm so sorry. This is insane. Everyone's talking about it. My coworkers won't shut up. They keep asking if I knew... if you knew... if there was something going on between them. I told them to mind their business but..." She paused. Took a shaky breath. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay."

I wasn't okay.

Mara showed up at my door at eight a.m. with coffee and bagels and a look on her face that said she'd fight anyone who came near me.

"You look like hell," she said, pushing past me into the apartment.

"Thanks."

"I mean it. When's the last time you ate? Slept? Breathed?"

I sank onto the couch. "Seraphina whispered something to me. At the hospital."

Mara froze, coffee cup halfway to her mouth. "What?"

"She said... " I swallowed hard. "She said I was never the only one she planned for."

"Planned for." Mara set the coffee down slowly. "Planned. Like... this was intentional?"

"I don't know. Maybe I heard wrong. Maybe..."

"You didn't hear wrong." She pulled out her phone, fingers flying across the screen. "I've been digging. All night. And Elara... there's something you need to see."

She handed me the phone.

A video played. Security footage. Black and white. Time stamped from last night, two hours before the party started.

The Crystal Ballroom service entrance.

Seraphina stood alone in the hallway, checking her reflection in a compact mirror. She smoothed her dress. Adjusted her hair. Then... she let herself fall.

Not a real fall. A practiced one. Graceful. Controlled. She caught herself on the wall, stood up, and did it again. And again. Testing angles. Perfecting the collapse.

My hands started shaking.

"Keep watching," Mara said quietly.

Seraphina checked her pulse. Timed something on her watch. Then she smiled at the camera... directly at it, like she knew someone would be watching eventually. That smile. That same secret smile from the hospital.

The video ended.

"Where did you get this?" My voice came out hoarse.

"I have a friend who works security at the venue. I called in a favor." Mara leaned forward. "Elara, she rehearsed it. She planned the whole thing."

"But why? What does she..."

"Aiden." The word hung between us. "She wants Aiden."

My phone rang. His name flashed across the screen.

I stared at it. Let it ring. Once. Twice. Three times.

"Answer it," Mara said. "See what he has to say."

I hit accept. "What?"

"Elara. Thank God." He sounded exhausted. Hollow. "I've been trying to reach you..."

"I've been busy. Reading about myself in the news. Watching my life become a meme."

"I know. I'm so sorry. I'm handling it. My PR team is working on a statement..."

"A statement." I laughed. "That's what I am now? A problem that needs a statement?"

"That's not what I meant. Elara, please. Can we talk? In person? I need to see you."

"Why? So you can explain how you had to do what was right? How it was an emergency? How I'm supposed to just understand?"

"It was an emergency." His voice hardened. "Whatever you think happened, Seraphina was in real danger. The doctors confirmed it. Someone drugged her."

"I know." I stood up, pacing. "And isn't that convenient? She collapses at our engagement party. You rush to her rescue. The whole world watches. And now she's the victim and I'm the jealous fiancée."

"You think she planned this?" He sounded incredulous. "Elara, someone poisoned her. That's not... that's not something you plan."

"Isn't it?"

Silence.

"What are you saying?"

I glanced at Mara. She nodded.

"I have footage. From the venue. Security camera. It shows Seraphina practicing her fall. Two hours before the party."

More silence. Longer this time.

"That's impossible."

"I watched it. She rehearsed it, Aiden. Multiple times. She knew exactly how she was going to fall. Exactly how it would look."

"Send it to me."

"Why? So you can delete it? So your PR team can make it disappear?"

"So I can see what you're talking about." His voice rose. "Because right now, you sound paranoid. You sound like you're trying to smear someone who almost died."

Almost died. The words hit like a slap.

"She didn't almost die. She put on a show."

"The tox screen doesn't lie, Elara. She had chemicals in her system. Real chemicals that could have killed her."

"Maybe she put them there herself."

"Jesus Christ." He exhaled hard. "Listen to yourself. You're accusing her of... what? Drugging herself? Faking a medical emergency? For what? Attention?"

"For you."

The words came out quiet. Final.

"That's insane."

"Is it? She's been circling you for years, Aiden. Every charity event. Every gala. Every time we're together, she finds a way to be there. To touch your arm. To laugh at your jokes. To look at you like..."

"Like what?"

"Like you belong to her."

He was quiet for so long I thought he'd hung up.

"I have to go," he finally said. "Marcus is here. We need to draft a response to..."

"To what? The media? Your investors? What about me? What about responding to me?"

"I'm trying, Elara. But you're making this impossible. You're turning this into something it's not."

"Then what is it?"

"A tragedy. A horrible accident. And we need to handle it carefully because my company... "

"Your company." I laughed. Bitter. "There it is."

"Don't." His voice turned cold. "Don't make this about money or business or..."

"Then what should I make it about? Love? Because the man I love didn't even look back when he left me standing in front of two hundred people."

"I made a choice in the moment. A split second decision. And I'd make it again because someone's life was at stake."

"And mine wasn't?"

No answer.

I hung up.

Mara was watching me with worried eyes. "What did he say?"

"That I'm paranoid. That I'm making it into something it's not." I grabbed my laptop, opening it with shaking hands. "Send me that footage. I want to see it again."

She airdropped it to me. I downloaded it, opened it, watched it three more times.

Each time, Seraphina's smile got sharper. Each time, the rehearsed fall looked more calculated.

"There has to be more," I muttered. "More footage. More proof."

"I'll call my friend again. See if there are other cameras..."

My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

You want the truth? Check your email. Someone who knows what really happened.

My heart hammered. "Mara..."

"What?"

I opened my email. New message. No subject line. An attachment.

I clicked it.

Another video. Different angle. Same hallway. Same time stamp.

Seraphina stood there, practicing her fall.

And then someone walked into the frame.

Tall. Dark suit. Familiar build.

Aiden.

"Oh my God," Mara whispered.

We watched in silence as Aiden approached Seraphina. They talked. No audio, but their body language was clear. Comfortable. Intimate.

Then Aiden reached into his pocket.

Pulled out a small black packet.

And handed it to Seraphina.

She took it. Slipped it into her purse. Smiled at him. Touched his face.

And he let her.

The video ended.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Couldn't process what I'd just seen.

"Elara..." Mara's voice sounded far away. "That could be anything. Medicine. Aspirin. It doesn't mean..."

But I wasn't listening.

Because I was remembering something Aiden had said at the hospital. Something the doctor had mentioned.

We found traces of a substance in her bloodwork.

My finger hovered over the video's play button; when I pressed it, the footage didn't just show Seraphina rehearsing a fall... It showed Aiden standing nearby, removing a small black packet from his pocket and slipping it into Seraphina's hand.