Chapter 5 - THE BRACELET FROM THE PAST
Sloane closed the staff room door behind her. The lock clicked.
She looked nothing like the polished socialite from dinner. Her makeup was smeared, her hair plastered to her cheeks, and her blue gown was ruined with mud.
“Give me the ticket, Erin,” she said, holding out a shaking hand.
I backed up against the lockers, slipping the ticket into my apron pocket. “How did you get past the gate?”
“I know the blind spots on this property better than security does,” she snapped. “I forgot my coat. Hand it over.”
“No.”
Sloane let out a bitter, exhausted laugh. “You think you’re protecting him? You think Gabriel is a good man? He destroys everything he touches. I’m just taking what I’m owed.”
“You tried to ruin his daughter’s life tonight,” I said, gripping the handle of a mop bucket beside me, ready to throw it if she lunged.
“Lauren is weak. She would have lost that money to Eric eventually anyway.” Sloane stepped closer, her eyes flashing with a desperate kind of cruelty. “Do you really want to play this game, Erin? Because I know exactly who you are.”
I froze.
Sloane pointed at my left wrist, hidden under my long sleeve.
“I ran a background check on every employee in this house the day I moved in,” Sloane whispered. “I know about the silver bracelet you wear. The one with the broken clasp. I know where you got it.”
My blood ran cold.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I said.
“You changed your last name when you moved to Philadelphia,” Sloane smiled, a terrible, victorious smile. “But eight years ago, you were Erin Collins. You worked as a clerk at the downtown courthouse in Chicago. And you stole that silver bracelet from an evidence locker before a trial.”
My lungs seized.
“It wasn’t evidence,” I choked out. “It belonged to my sister. The police took it when she died and refused to give it back.”
“Theft is theft,” Sloane said coldly. “If Gabriel finds out he has a felon raising his grandson—oh, wait. Gabriel doesn’t know about your son, does he?”
“Leave my son out of this.”
“Then give me the ticket.”
Before I could move, the heavy oak door of the staff room suddenly burst open, shattering the lock.
Gabriel stood in the doorway.
He didn’t look at the broken wood. He looked straight at Sloane.
“Martin found your car parked a mile down the road,” Gabriel said, his voice deadly quiet. “I figured you’d double back.”
Sloane’s confidence vanished instantly. She backed away, her hands raised. “Gabriel, darling, please listen—”
“Don’t call me that.”
Gabriel walked into the room. He towered over her. “Eric told me about the marina. You were there the night my wife died.”
Sloane shook her head frantically. “No! I wasn’t! Eric is lying!”
Gabriel looked at me. “Erin. What does she want from this room?”
I reached into my apron and pulled out the airport locker ticket. “This fell out of her coat. It’s dated the weekend your wife passed away.”
Gabriel took the ticket. He stared at the faded red ink.
Sloane panicked. She lunged for the door, but Gabriel caught her arm without even looking up from the paper.
“Martin!” Gabriel called out.
Two security guards appeared instantly.
“Take her to the library,” Gabriel ordered. “Do not let her leave.”
As they dragged Sloane away, she twisted around, her eyes locking onto mine with pure venom.
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“You think you won, Erin?” she screamed down the hallway. “I knew Gabriel would come back for the ticket! So while you were driving around playing hero, I sent someone to your sister’s apartment. You should check on your little boy.”
TITLE: THE MAN IN THE APARTMENT
