Chapter 7 - The Night Before the Oath
The night before the inauguration, Damian came home carrying a bottle of champagne.
He found Nora packing a suitcase.
He placed the bottle on the dresser.
“Where are you going?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“You are my wife.”
“Not for much longer.”
Damian laughed quietly.
“You think you can divorce me the night before I become mayor?”
“I think I can file whenever the courthouse opens.”
He stepped between Nora and the door.
For a moment, she remembered the man from the charity dinner. The man who thanked kitchen staff and spoke about service. She wondered whether any part of him had been real.
Then he said, “Your brother cannot protect everyone who works for you.”
The last doubt disappeared.
“What does that mean?”
“It means the health department can close your kitchen. Immigration authorities can question your workers. Banks can review your loans. Accidents happen to delivery vehicles.”
Nora activated the recorder on her smartwatch.
“Are you threatening my employees?”
“I am explaining consequences.”
“Move away from the door.”
Instead, Damian reached for her suitcase and threw it open. Clothes spilled across the floor.
“You will attend tomorrow. You will tell the press that the purchase order was an accounting misunderstanding. You will confirm that Red Maple donated every meal.”
“There are no meals.”
“My mother hired another catering company.”
“Then why do you need me?”
“Because voters trust you.”
Nora looked at him.
“You used my company because families trusted me. You used our marriage because donors trusted us together. Now you need my face to protect your lie.”
Damian’s voice lowered.
“Tomorrow is bigger than our marriage.”
“You are right.”
She stepped closer.
“It is about every family whose hunger you turned into an invoice.”
Damian raised his hand, not striking her, but pointing toward her face.
“You will kneel before my mother tomorrow if she asks you to.”
Nora did not flinch.
The smartwatch recorded every word.
A knock sounded downstairs.
Damian turned.
Lucas stood at the front door when Nora came down.
He was not alone. Tasha waited in a car near the driveway.
Lucas studied Nora’s expression.
“Are you ready?”
Nora nodded.
She walked past Damian with her suitcase.
“You cannot leave,” Damian said.
She stopped at the doorway.
“I already did.”
Nora spent the night at Lucas’s house, reviewing the final plan.
The federal warrant had not yet been signed. Investigators expected approval the following afternoon, but they still needed evidence that the ledgers were on the estate and at risk.
Damian’s recorded threat strengthened the case.
The inauguration itself created an opportunity. Campaign staff would gather in the guesthouse to process donations and settle vendor payments.
If the blue ledgers appeared, Nora would send the phrase.
Lucas would be present undercover as part of the event security coordination team.
“You do not have to attend,” he told her.
“Yes, I do.”
“You could remain protected off-site.”
“If I disappear, Damian may hide the ledgers.”
Lucas looked at his sister for a long moment.
“Then promise me one thing. Do not try to be brave for the cameras. The moment you feel unsafe, walk toward me.”
Nora picked up the red satin gown Celeste had chosen.
“I am not wearing this for their cameras.”
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“Then why wear it?”
“So they recognize the woman who refused.”
