Chapter 4 - THE GIRL WHO NEVER ASKED FOR ANYTHING
Nora woke twelve hours later.
The first thing she noticed was pain.
The second was the steady beeping of a hospital monitor.
The third was Raphael Corsetti sitting beside her bed.
He wore the same black shirt.
The sleeves were rolled to his elbows.
His hair was disheveled.
And his eyes looked as though he hadn't slept in days.
Nora blinked.
“Mr. Corsetti?”
Raphael stood so quickly his chair scraped the floor.
“Nora.”
She tried to sit up.
Pain exploded through her ribs.
She gasped.
Raphael immediately reached for the nurse-call button.
“Don't move.”
Nora squeezed her eyes shut.
“My ankle.”
“I know.”
“Is it broken?”
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“How badly?”
Raphael hesitated.
“The doctors repaired the fractures. They expect a long recovery, but they're optimistic.”
Nora looked down.
Her right leg was immobilized.
Her ribs were bandaged.
There were stitches above her eyebrow.
She closed her eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
Raphael stared.
“For what?”
“The report.”
He frowned.
“Nora.”
“I was supposed to finish it yesterday.”
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he sat beside her.
“Look at me.”
She opened her eyes.
“Your report doesn't matter.”
Her expression changed.
“But—”
“Neither does the meeting.”
She stared.
“Or the quarterly projections.”
Raphael's voice broke.
“Or any other damned thing you think you owe me.”
Nora's eyes filled.
He leaned closer.
“You nearly died.”
She looked away.
“I know.”
“Why didn't you go to a hospital?”
She swallowed.
“Because they took my phone.”
Raphael's jaw tightened.
“And?”
“They said they'd kill me if I went to the police.”
He waited.
Nora looked at him.
“But they didn't know about the emergency stairwell.”
Raphael felt sick.
“You climbed forty-two floors.”
She nodded.
“With a broken ankle.”
Another nod.
“And broken ribs.”
She looked embarrassed.
“I didn't know they were broken.”
Raphael stared at her.
Then asked the question that had haunted him all night.
“Why?”
May you like
Nora's eyes filled.
“Because if I didn't reach you, Victor would kill you next.”
