Chapter 3

Jessica immediately points at me.

“Who else would I mean?”

“Watch yourself around her. This woman is the shameless little bitch who’s been throwing herself at my husband.”

My mom blinks, clearly caught off guard.

“What? No, you’ve got it wrong. She could never—”

Jessica cuts her off.

“How could she not?”

Her voice rises.

“She’s nothing but a slut trying to get her hands on my husband!”

“And no wonder she was so eager to march straight into his office earlier!”

My mom’s face drains of color.

“Enough. Don’t you dare talk about my daughter like that.”

Jessica stares at her, then laughs.

“Your daughter?”

“She’s still a homewrecker. Just some shameless little tramp!”

Jessica raises her hand.

I barely have time to react and my mom lunges in front of me.

“Don’t touch my daughter!”

The slap cracks across my mom’s face.

She lets out a small gasp, then grabs her chest.

“Mom!”

I catch her before she can fall.

Jessica immediately steps back.

“She came at me! I didn’t touch her!”

Then she looks at me.

“So now you and your mom are ganging up on me?”

She looks between us, narrowing her eyes.

“Oh, please. You’re both putting on a show.”

“She’s faking it just to make me look bad.”

“Do you really think I’m stupid enough to fall for this?”

My mom can barely breathe.

I catch her before she collapses and ease her down onto the floor.

Her lips are already turning blue.

My heart drops.

My mom has a heart condition. She can’t handle stress like this.

“Mom! Mom, look at me. Are you okay?”

She looks like she’s in agony, but she can’t get a single word out.

Then I remember the medical cabinet near the entrance. There’s an AED inside.

I don’t even think. I get up and rush over.

Jessica grabs my arm.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“My mom has a heart condition, she needs the AED right now! This can’t wait, so get the hell out of my way!””

She pauses for half a second, then lets out a cold laugh.

“Absolutely not.”

I freeze for a second, then turn back to her.

“What?”

“That’s bank medical equipment. It’s for our customers.”

“She’s not a customer, is she?”

Jessica folds her arms.

“So why should she get to use our equipment?”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing.

“Are you fucking insane? She needs it! Who cares whether she banks here or not?”

“Well, it matters today.”

She smiles.

“My husband owns this bank. I can set whatever rules I want.”

I snap.

“You don’t get to decide who lives or dies!”

A weak, painful sound comes from my mom behind me.

“Mom!”

I turn toward her, then spin back to Jessica.

“Call 911, now! And get out of my way. I need the AED!”

Jessica doesn’t budge.

“No.”

She looks down at my mom with pure contempt.

“If you want to put on a show, take it outside. You’re not wasting our medical equipment.”

One of the employees looks nervously toward my mom.

“Jessica, she really doesn’t look okay. Her lips are turning blue.”

More employees start speaking up.

“Yeah. We should call 911.”

“She needs the AED!”

Jessica’s face hardens.

“I said stay out of it!”

“She’s faking it. Can’t you people see what she’s doing?”

She points at the employees.

“And anyone who gets involved can start looking for another job.”

“I’ll have my husband fire you. Go ahead. Try me.”

The employees immediately fall silent.

No one dares say another word.

My hands are shaking.

I pull out my phone and dial 911.

“My mother is having a medical emergency!”

“She has a heart condition! She can barely breathe!”

I give the dispatcher the branch address.

“Help is on the way,” she says.

Once the dispatcher hangs up, I start taking pictures.

The lobby.

Mom on the floor.

Jessica.

The AED cabinet.

Everyone standing around watching.

I get pictures of all of it.

Then I post everything online.

Jessica catches me in the act. She storms over.

“What are you doing?”

Before I can react, she snatches it from me.

“What the hell are you taking pictures of?”

She slams my phone onto the floor.

The screen goes black.

“Are you trying to make this bank look bad?”

“As long as I’m running this branch, you’re not going to drag us through the mud.”

“Delete those pictures.”

I stare at my broken phone.

For a second, I almost laugh.

Who exactly is making this bank look bad?

Then Jessica’s phone rings.

She looks at the screen, her whole attitude changes.

She answers at once.

“Hey, honey. When are you coming back?”

Gavin’s voice comes through the phone.

“Is everything okay? Did your client finish her transaction?”

Jessica’s face tightens. “I was just about to tell you.”

“I was helping Linda with her transfer.”

“Then a woman came in and refused to wait her turn. And she started yelling at me!”

“Gavin, come back. I’m seriously so pissed off right now.”

Gavin's voice softens. “Baby, forget about them.”

“They’re not worth getting worked up over. I’ll make it up to you.”

“How about that island trip you wanted? And I’ll get you that bag you liked.”

Linda, standing nearby, nudges Jessica.

“An island trip?”

“Wow! Mr. Cole really spoils you.”

A cold laugh escapes me. Then I walk straight toward Jessica.

“Gavin Cole.”

“You’ve got ten minutes.”

“Get your ass back here. Now!”

The other end falls completely silent.