"Has the transfer come through?"
"Yes, Ms. Kaufman."
My lips curved upward.
"Wire everything to the offshore account. Immediately. Then call the police and report the company for suspected illegal fundraising. File for bankruptcy protection."
Back at the apartment, I swept every matching couple's item Stan had so carefully arranged into the trash. Then I booked the earliest flight out of the country.
I was reaching for the door handle when it slammed open from the other side.
Stan stormed in, seized my throat, and pinned me against the wall.
"Jade Kaufman, you played me!"
A vein pulsed at his temple. His eyes were wide, bloodshot. "You moved the money? And filed for bankruptcy yourself?"
My head was forced back against the wall. I stared at him through the suffocating pressure on my windpipe.
"That's right."
"Your money disgusts me, Mr. Delgado."
His grip tightened.
"You have a death wish!"
I managed to drag a smile across my face.
"Then kill me."
"Kill me, and you'll never see a cent of it."
His hand released all at once. I slid down the wall and crumpled to the floor, clutching my throat, coughing so hard my vision blurred.
He crouched down and gripped my jaw, forcing my face toward his.
"Jade. You think you can run?"
"Your father's ashes are still at the cemetery. Try me. I'll have someone scatter them by morning."
I couldn't stop the trembling.
In my last life, that was exactly the threat he'd used. My father's ashes, held hostage, to force me into donating bone marrow to Annette.
I lunged forward and slapped him across the face with everything I had.
"Stan Delgado, you're an animal!"
His head snapped to the side. He ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek where I'd struck him.
When he turned back, his face was pure fury.
"Fair enough."
"Since you won't behave, don't blame me for what comes next."
He stood and pulled out his phone.
"Cancel Jade Kaufman's flight. Freeze every bank account under her name."
A pause.
"And send someone to watch the cemetery. Around the clock."
He hung up and looked down at me, towering, absolute.
"Starting today, you don't go anywhere without my permission."
I was placed under complete house arrest. My phone and ID were confiscated, and I was locked inside the villa with no way out.
Stan went to the office during the day. At night, he came home and found new ways to torment me.