Until now.
The Mercedes slowed and stopped on the shoulder. Rain intensified, pounding the roof.
Devon leaned across her body and unlocked the door.
“Get out.”
The click echoed.
“I’ll call you an Uber,” he added. “I’m not making Vanessa wait because you’re emotional.”
Patricia clapped once, delighted.
Elena didn’t move. She felt her daughter kick—hard.
She glanced at the doorframe. At the VIN number. At the invisible web of ownership Devon had never bothered to notice.
“All right,” she said.
She stepped into the storm.
Mud swallowed her heels. Rain soaked through her coat. Devon drove away without a backward glance.
Elena stood still—not stunned, not broken. Listening.
Then she reached into her purse and retrieved a phone no one knew she carried.
“Thomas,” she said calmly. “Initiate Protocol Seven.”
Her attorney hesitated only a moment. “Once started, there’s no reversal.”
“He abandoned his pregnant wife on a highway,” Elena replied. “Proceed.”
