FIVE

HARDIN

“Sir, is something wrong?”

I keep my eyes fixed on my iPad, but my attention is entirely on Keona as she makes a phone call. 

Something feels off. 

Maybe it’s the tight crease between her brows, or the restless drumming of her fingertips against the polished marble island. 

Whatever it is, I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. 

Who is she talking to?

Why didn’t she come to bed last night? 

“Sir?”

I look up sharply, and Stephen, my head of finance, immediately shrinks against the door.

“What?”

“Uh…” He pushes his too-big glasses higher up the bridge of his nose, his gaze dropping to the tablet in his hands. “I was telling you about the Shanghai project, but you didn’t seem to be listening...”

I release an impatient breath and flip my iPad closed. 

“I’m listening now.”

Stephen hesitates for a second, and I just know whatever he’s about to say is going to test my patience.

“S-sir…uh, I know it’s not my place to say it, but I don’t think it’s wise to monitor your partner like this. The CCTV cameras are a bit over the top, don’t you think…?”

***

KEONA

“…luckily for you, we have a spot open tomorrow afternoon by two o’clock. Is that okay by you, Mrs. Keona?”

I wrap my fingers around my steaming mug for warmth, but even that does nothing for the cold that pierces my bones. 

This is it.

Hardin and I will finally be going our separate ways. 

“Yes,” I confirm, keeping my voice steady. “I will definitely be there.”

“Great!” The woman responds. “See you then.”

I end the call and lower my phone to the island, my fingers shaking so badly, I’m scared I might drop it.

I should feel victorious. After all, after six years, I’m finally letting go of my biggest mistake. 

But instead, all I feel is a deep irrational fear. 

My heart is splitting right in the middle.

Hardin is the only man I’ve known all my life. Will I ever recover from this? 

I’m still lost in thought when my ringtone suddenly cuts through the silence. 

I glance at the screen, my brows drawing together. 

Strange number.

I answer immediately.

“Hello?”

“Hello, am I speaking with Mrs. Cromwell?” A stately male voice asks from the other end. 

He sounds oddly familiar. Where have I heard this voice before?

“Yes. Who is this?”

“It’s Malcolm Coleman. The principal of Brooks Hall. I’m calling concerning your daughter.”

I pace away from the counter, my chest already tightening with unease.

“Did something happen to Cora?”

“Your daughter came down with a sudden fever thirty minutes ago. She was admitted to the school clinic but hasn’t made any progress since then. I think you should come pick her up and take her to the doctor.”

Before he even finishes that sentence, I’m already moving, my heart stuck in my throat.

“Thank you, principal. I’m on my way.”

My brain is swirling with a million and one thoughts as I hurriedly stick my arms into the first thing I find in my walk-in closet, a silk shirt. 

Cora was fine this morning. I made sure to check on her before the driver picked her up. Did she eat something bad?

The moment I step into my car, the heavens open and fat rain drops plop down my windshield. The sky is grey and miserable, adding another layer to the worry already churning my stomach.

By the time I arrive at Brooks Hall, the rain has settled over the city, turning the road into ribbons of murky water.

All I can think about as I skip out of my car and hurry inside, cold to the bone, with my hair hanging limp and plastered to my face, is how much I hate the rainy weather.

It’s just so depressing.

I’m trying to shake some of the water from my clothes when a chirpy female voice comes from behind me;

“Mrs Cromwell?”

I turn around, immediately stepping forward when I see Cora’s class teacher.

“Ms. Lindsay. It’s good to see you. I’m here to pick up my daughter. Sorry I’m a bit late. The rain…”

I slow down when I notice the frown on Lindsay’s face, my heart already sinking.

“Is there a problem? Did something happen to my daughter?”

Her grey eyes widen and she quickly waves both hands, shaking her head at the same time; “What? No. I’m just surprised you’re not aware that your daughter has already been picked up.”

I open my mouth to respond, then the words hit me and I pause;

“Excuse me?”

She has the nerve to give me a blinding smile; “Cora was picked from school about thirty minutes ago.”

I stagger forward, my heart beating so fast, I’m scared it might combust.

There’s no way Hardin had picked her up…right? 

He’s usually busy with work around this time. 

Then who…?

“Are you sure you’re not mistaken? The only people allowed to retrieve my daughter from this premises are me and my husband. I’m sure he didn’t come here, so please check to confirm what you’re saying.”

The smile on Lindsay’s face disappears as fast as it came;

“I never said your husband picked her up, ma’am. Cora was retrieved by her guardian, Ms. Sophia Benett.”

I let out a little laugh, convinced I must have heard her wrong.

“This is a joke, right?” I take a step forward, looming over a trembling Lindsay. "Enough playing around. Get me my daughter. Right now.”

“I… I have no idea what you want me to say, Mrs. Cromwell,” she stammers. “Cora is not on the premises.”

When she doesn’t laugh it off five seconds later, it finally dawns on me that she’s not joking.

Sophia Benett really came to pick up my child. 

And these people just let her. 

Anger slams into me with the force of a speeding train.

“According to school rules, the only people allowed to retrieve a child from school premises are their parents or guardians. In Cora’s case, that’s me and my husband. On whose authority did you let that woman leave with my child?”

Lindsay seems confused by my outburst. And that only intensifies my anger.

“Mrs. Cromwell, I assure you they we don’t just hand out kids to whatever stranger that pops up to the school. Ms. Sophia’s name is registered in Cora’s records as her emergency contact…”

What? 

I’m still reeling from that utterly absurd information when I’m dealt another blow.

“Also, this isn’t the first time Ms. Sophia has come for Cora. The other day, she even came with your husband and they took her home together…”