Chapter 20 - The Open Door
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As Erin signed the final grant approval, there was a soft knock on her office door.
Her assistant, a bright-eyed woman named Chloe, stepped inside holding a small, unmarked cardboard box.
“Excuse me, Ms. Hale,” Chloe said apologetically. “This was just left at the reception desk by a private courier. They said it was highly urgent and required your personal signature.”
Erin frowned. She wasn't expecting any physical deliveries; everything for the foundation was handled digitally. “Who signed for it?”
“I did, ma'am. The courier left immediately.” Chloe set the box on the edge of the glass desk and quickly retreated from the office, closing the door behind her.
Erin stared at the small brown box. There was no return address, no corporate logo. Just her name, Erin Hale, written in thick black marker across the top.
A sudden, chilling sense of dread crept up her spine.
She reached out with trembling fingers and pulled a letter opener from her drawer. She carefully sliced through the heavy packing tape and folded back the cardboard flaps.
Inside the box, resting on a bed of crumpled newspaper, was a single, pristine silver ice bucket.
Erin’s breath caught in her throat. The blood drained completely from her face.
It was the exact same ice bucket Caroline had dumped over her head in the blue bedroom.
Tucked inside the bucket was a folded piece of heavy, expensive stationery. Erin recognized the embossed crest instantly. It was the Sloan family stationery.
With shaking hands, she unfolded the thick paper.
The handwriting was erratic, jagged, and pressed so hard into the paper that the pen had nearly torn through.
You thought you won, the note read.
But Nathaniel didn't just ruin my life. He exposed my family to the O’Connor syndicate. My father is missing. The men holding our debt are taking collateral, and they blame the maid who broke the wedding for their lost payday.
They know where your mother sleeps, Erin. They know what floor your office is on.
You mistook proximity for safety.
Run.
Erin dropped the note, her heart hammering a violent, sickening rhythm against her ribs. The safety she had felt just moments ago shattered into a million pieces. The billionaire had protected her from the bully, but he had unknowingly dragged her into a war with the monsters waiting in the shadows.
The heavy glass door of her office slowly clicked open.
A man Erin had never seen before stepped into the room. He wore a cheap leather jacket, a flat cap pulled low over his eyes, and he held a suppressed pistol casually at his side.
May you like
He looked at the ice bucket on the desk, then looked up at Erin, a cold, dead smile touching his lips.
“Ms. Hale,” the man said softly, stepping fully into the room and closing the door behind him. “The O’Connors send their regards.”
