Chapter 7 - Preparing the Penthouse
The penthouse looked exactly as Elena remembered.
Cream curtains framed the skyline. The chandelier reflected against the marble floor. Garrett’s favorite chair remained angled toward the windows.
Yet the apartment no longer felt like a home.
It felt like a stage.
Investigators placed cameras inside decorative fixtures and microphones beneath the furniture.
The black evidence case was positioned in the center of the living room.
Inside it, Hale arranged copies of prescription records, photographs, financial transfers and the hidden recorder.
The originals remained secured elsewhere.
Elena changed into her champagne-gold gown.
Maya watched from the doorway.
“You do not have to wear that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
Elena fastened her bracelet.
“Garrett told me this dress made me look expensive. He said it as though I were another object he had purchased.”
She looked at her reflection.
“Today he will understand that he never owned me.”
Detectives hid near the side rooms.
Maya remained in the building’s security office with the foundation board watching a live feed.
The plan was simple.
Garrett had to enter with the suitcase.
Investigators would allow him to speak long enough to confirm his intentions.
Then they would arrest him and secure the documents.
At two forty-five, the private elevator began moving.
Elena’s pulse quickened.
She placed two fingers against her wrist.
Steady.
Seventy-four days earlier, she had been unable to stand without Garrett’s permission.
Now he was walking into a room she controlled.
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
May you like
Footsteps approached.
Elena knelt beside the evidence case and waited.
