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Skin red and pleasantly aching from the hot water, Fern reluctantly turned off the spray. She needed to keep moving. She wrapped her hair in a towel, riffled through her suitcase, and threw on a pair of wide-legged black jeans, a gray turtleneck, and her favorite Converse shoes.
She sat on the edge of her bed and scrolled to the security camera app on her phone. Cat was lying facedown on the stone floor, covered in the insulated blanket. A fist of panic struck Fern in the chest. Why wasn’t she moving?
Fern poked at the intercom button on her phone. “Cat,” she called out. “Cat, wake up. Are you okay?” She was crying now. Hot tears of regret. How had things gotten so completely out of hand? “Please, wake up,” she pleaded. “I’m so sorry.”
Fern was crying so hard she almost missed the twitch of Cat’s fingers. “Oh, thank God,” Fern breathed. “Don’t worry, Cat,” she said. “I’ll get you out of there. There’s something wrong with the lock,” she lied. “I’m working on it.”
Cat lifted her head from the stone floor and looked up. She struggled to a sitting position and Fern could feel her desperation through the camera. Cat cleared her throat and a sound like fingernails against sandpaper emerged. “Why are you doing this?” she rasped. “After everything I’ve done for you.”
“I’m so sorry,” Fern said, wiping the moisture from her face.
“You’re sorry?” Cat repeated, getting to her feet and coming closer to the camera, her eyes blazing with anger. “If you’re so sorry then get me the fuck out of here!”
“Okay,” Fern cried, unable to stop the tears. “I’ll be right there. I promise.”
Fern turned off the camera. She had betrayed the one person who had come to her defense. Cat could have left Fern to contend with Ned Bennett in that executive office ten years ago, but she didn’t. Cat had understood that Fern was in danger, in need of help, and she had stepped in with no regard for herself. Cat had walked away from a great job and took Fern with her.
Fern had been blinded by her own ambition. But no more—she would put an end to all of this. She would let Cat out of the cellar and take care of her like she had taken care of Fern. The game could wait one more night. Once Cat got something to eat, had showered and slept in her own bed, Fern would hand back the reins of One Lucky Winner to the rightful person. Relief flooded through her. It was going to be okay. Cat would make things okay again.
Fern’s phone vibrated again and she glanced at the screen, anxious to keep moving. It was Alfonso.
Have you seen the reach yet? he asked.
Reach? It took a moment for Fern to understand what Alfonso was talking about. Fern’s stomach dropped.
Record-breaking! Alfonso texted. Sixteen million viewers and growing.
Fern froze. Sixteen million?
People are watching. Millions of people. It’s all anyone is talking about. I’ve texted Cat but haven’t heard from her at all. Where is she?
Fern paused. This changed everything. Sixteen million. And she had been the one to do it. Fern had brought the viewers. A few more hours in the cellar wouldn’t hurt Cat, would it? She had to tread carefully here. She couldn’t claim to know where Cat was at this moment in time and then feign ignorance about her whereabouts later. Fern needed a story and had to stick to it, no matter what Cat said when she came out of the cellar.
I just talked to her. She’s locked away in her office working on the next press release.
If you see her, tell her congrats. This is HUGE! And congrats to you too, Fern. You’re famous.
Fern felt her face grow warm. Famous. She had never dreamed that the show would be seen by so many people. Everyone was watching now. Everyone. Maybe there was a way out of this after all. Maybe she wouldn’t have to leave the country. Thanks, she typed. We’re going live with the next challenge at nine.
Sixteen million viewers. Fern had to find something to wear.
TWENTY-EIGHT
THE BEST FRIEND
The Vault
“Anyone would have jumped in the water to try to save someone, don’t you think? Everyone but Ned, that is. He was the one trying to drown me.
“I don’t think I did anything special. Was I scared? Yeah, I was scared—it was terrifying being underwater and not knowing if I was going to make it to the surface. All I could think about was my girls and how I need to get back to them. But I have a job to do here first.
“What do I think of my competitors? Well, you already know how I feel about Ned. But after Camille jumped into the water to save me, it really made me think differently of her. At first, I thought Camille came across as very arrogant, but I don’t think that’s it now. She’s self-assured and seems to have a good moral compass. I’m not going to say I like her, but I respect her.
“On Samuel Rafferty, I have no comment.
“Listen, I don’t need ten million dollars, but I need money. I’m not going to buy a big house, fancy cars, or go on exotic vacations. The only thing I need are my daughters, Keely and Dani. My youngest, Dani, has cystic fibrosis. She’s ten. Some days, she is so sick that she can’t get out of bed.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to cry. I hate it when people cry on these things. But Dani should be going to school and playing outside with her friends. Instead, she spends weeks in the hospital, taking plates full of medication. And some days...some days she has to fight for every single breath she takes.
