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Todd explaining the night’s events would give her a few precious moments to escape before the “cleaning crew” the family had on speed dial arrived to mop up the murder scene. She had five minutes—tops. How the Pershings would explain away Brent’s disappearance was anyone’s guess, but this wasn’t the first time the family had gotten their hands dirty. Nor would it be the last.
Dragging in a breath, she stopped the recording and tried to steady her shaking limbs so she could get the hell out of here. If she didn’t… Madison shuddered at the possibilities. She doubted Todd would merely threaten pulling the funding for her father’s healthcare in his fragile condition to keep her mouth shut. More likely, he would end her, too, and the family would buy off the press to spin it as a tragic murder-suicide following a torrid affair. It wouldn’t matter that she’d always hated Brent.
Stifling her panic, Madison tiptoed down the hall and emerged into the living room.
“Three minutes?” Todd sounded unnervingly close, like a few steps and the turn of a corner, and they would be face-to-face.
There was no time for fear and no room for error. She had to get out—of this apartment, this building, this town—now.
She whirled and sprinted for the door, almost dizzy with relief when she grabbed the cold handle and tugged. The click sounded incredibly loud in the uneasy silence, but the door opened. She wrenched it wide, scrambling when it nearly hit the adjacent wall. With quick reflexes, she managed to stop it and was halfway out of the unit when she heard precisely what she dreaded.
“Madison!”
She glanced back to find her husband shirtless and shoeless, his eyes full of rage. He still held the dripping knife.
“Stay away!” She dashed into the penthouse’s lobby, frantically pressing the call button for the elevator, praying the car would reach her before a homicidal Todd did.
Because he had this floor all to himself, there were no strangers to protect her or offer their aid. There would be no witnesses to tell the world what really happened. And after seeing her husband’s face, she knew he wouldn’t bother with threats. He would merely end her and let his grandfather’s people take care of the dirty details. She’d never get to say goodbye to her father, much less hold his hands through his upcoming treatments. She would never get to tell her girls back home—Haisley, Gracelyn, and Charlene—how much their lifelong friendships had meant to her. She would never see Matt Montgomery, the man she’d never stopped wanting, to ask why she hadn’t been enough for him. She would be dust.
No. Her life couldn’t come to that. She wouldn’t let it.
“Get back here!” Todd demanded from the foyer, hiding the blade behind the door. But she had no doubt he gripped it, ready and waiting.
The elevator still hadn’t come.Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god.
Panicked, she looked around for an escape route. To her left sat a door. She hadn’t noticed it earlier, and she had no idea where it led, but it was her only escape.
She backed away, horrified when he suddenly lunged and gave chase, the knife raised threateningly.
Madison didn’t stop. She bolted through the door and shoved it closed behind her before racing down the stairwell. Of course, she was alone. People not running for their lives took the elevator.
When she heard the door crash behind her, she squealed in terror, sprinting as fast as she could with every part of her on adrenaline overload.
In blind panic, she scampered down one flight, two, then three…aware of Todd gaining on her. Did this stairwell have cameras? Would anyone see her? But who was she kidding? If her husband offed her here, the surveillance equipment would either sadly “malfunction” or the video of her murder would mysteriously “disappear.” There would be no escape and no justice if she didn’t secure them herself.
“Stop running, bitch!” Todd growled about halfway down. “I won’t hurt you.”
She didn’t dare listen. “Liar! Go away!”
“No. You’ve been a thorn in my ass for two years.”
“I didn’t see anything,” she lied, even though her common sense told her that didn’t matter.
“You saw everything.” Like a man with renewed purpose, he ran faster.
Finally, she had the presence of mind to run out of her heels and leave them behind, dashing on bare feet toward the exit as fast as she could. In that moment, she thanked god that she’d always enjoyed a good run or a challenging spin class. Between that and her fight-or-flight instincts, she managed to race down the last three flights, putting distance between her and Todd, until she shoved open the next door with a cry, emerged into the marble-floored lobby, and skidded to a stop in the middle. The massive drum chandeliers overhead flooded the expansive space and seemingly shined a spotlight on her.
At her intrusion, heads turned. Discerning gazes swept over her from head to toe with a sniff of disdain. Then people looked away, whispering judgmentally to one another.
Madison didn’t care. She spun around to the stairwell door as it opened again. For a split second, Todd appeared in the frame, then saw other people whip toward the sound. He slinked back to the shadows, but not before she caught the warning on his face. She might be getting away now, but he was coming for her…
Wrenching her keys from her pocket, she fled through the grand lobby doors, careening around the side of the building and through the parking lot until she reached the swanky German car her husband had insisted she needed.
Madison would bet anything he could track it, along with her phone. Now she was on the clock, and she had to ditch every way Todd could possibly trace her—before he caught up with her and finished what he’d started.
When she reached the car, she flung herself in, locked every door, then skidded out of the lot, blending in with traffic. Tears poured down her face.
She couldn’t stop to unpack everything she’d witnessed and what that meant for her future. She had to get out of town and come up with a plan to stay safe. She didn’t have a moment to lose.
