ONE YEAR PREVIOUSLY -- NEW YORK CITY WONG FAMILY MANOR PENTHOUSE
It all went neatly into the toilet her morning sickness. No, Ellie realized with a pang, this was just normal vomit now. There was sticky black residue around her legs as her miscarriage was splattered across the floor like a true crime scene. Her body was streaked with what had been life and her own tears. It was all her fault that this had happened.
Her sobbing continued as the salt-crusted on her face was from the full four hours that she had been holed inside Henry"s bathroom. She knew people outside were incredibly concerned with why she had been inside so long. But she couldn"t let the outside world know of this tragic mistake of hers.
Outside the crew of cleaners and staff looked terrified as they were frozen with fear. No one wanted to get fired. No one also wanted to be sued by Wong Industries for wrongful death so they had a stalemate as even the most experienced of their rank, Michael did not have access to the master"s bathroom.
It was an odd habit of Henry"s from when he was a child that he liked to only have access to one private area. The master had preferred such a setup since the father had pa.s.sed on to have a quiet moment. To think that his wife would pull such a stunt was terrifying to all.
Michael had a phone cord wrapped around his leg from the wall phone that he had glued to his ear for the last thirty minutes. The line finally picked up and the old man cursed loudly to the shock of all those around him. The butler cleared his throat and tried to compose himself. "I"m afraid this is one problem that I can"t solve sir. The staff is frightened here, sir. I"m afraid you"ll have to come home as soon as possible and probably cancel all your engagements if you"d like to stay married that is."
Henry"s voice was cold. "Should I come with an ambulance or a SWAT team to raid my own house?"
"It"s your personal bathroom, sir. I"m not even sure how she came to know of its unique significance to the house unless you told her."
"I did. It"s perfectly fine for her to be there. Did she ask for me?"
"No, but she has been sobbing and there is some type of liquid leaking out and staining this carpet."
"Oh."
"No. No. It"s nothing to suicide in there so I"m afraid."
Henry pulled the phone away from his mouth. He barked orders to the cab driver and rea.s.sured Michael that he would be there right away. Michael nodded as he cradled the phone in his hands as the line went dead. The butler put the phone back on his hook on the wall before turning to the a.s.sembled group. "I think today we won"t be needing your services in Master Henry"s room. I"m not sure what is going on between husband and wife, but I do know that they are best suited to dealing with their own issue. I hope as serving staff the confidentiality agreement is not discarded because we are in an unforeseen circ.u.mstance. It would be highly unprofessional for any of you to speak of what has happened here today and it would be grounds for suspension without monthly payroll. We do not tolerate any disrespect here. Thank you for your work today and I hope to resume normal activity by tomorrow or the day after. Please disperse to other areas that require your services and have an early day without penalty."
The crew was sluggish as they were obviously wary that these words held no wait, but as the distance between them and the butler grew their chatter returned to normal levels. Michael sighed as he looked to the light under the door. He had a hunch of what it was but knew it was the end of his tether to console her. Michael could, but he prayed silently Henry would do the right thing this time . . . or that would be the h.e.l.l of a mess to clean up.
=//=
Speaking of messes, Henry spilled his latte down his pants as his nerves shattered what control left was in his hands. In rush hour, there was no give for traffic in the heart of the city. It was b.u.mper to b.u.mper and bound to give even the ambulance a tight squeeze to get to the patient. Henry had already called a non-emergency crew as he knew they could operate with the equipment already in stock in his building. Now it was just making sure he himself could get there and be present for the woman he loved. He checked the time again as the driver"s eyebrows met.
The driver slammed the steering wheel and pointed all around him at the encroaching cars. "What do you want me to do buddy? I can"t make this car fly. I"m not some harry potter?"
Henry threw cash onto the front pa.s.senger seat and got out. He used some napkins to try to wipe the brown stain off his shirt from the setting, but he knew it was too late. Henry Wong looked like he had taken a big c.r.a.p on himself in the middle of gridlock traffic. Someone would probably have it somewhere so consciously he loosened his blazer and folded it. He held it across his body as he crossed the street quickly to get to the metro. His taxi driver was shouting behind him about change, but Henry was too single-minded to care.
His wife . . . his wife . . .
He paid the metro card operator and continued to move mindlessly as his next actions were a series of steps to get him to where he wanted to go. The stop was deserted apart from him as he felt the life drain out of everything. The realization of what he was coming home to suddenly hit him in full force as he sprinted up the stairs. He smashed into the lobby where the frightened reception man looked at the possessed Henry with a shaking hand to the phone.
"No," Henry said trying to gather himself. His voice cracked even as he was trying to keep it level. "Don"t call security. I have I.D. I��m the Wong family. It"s an emergency. I need to get to my house. I have to see my girl."
He practically threw his wallet at the boy who opened it and stared at the driver"s license in disbelief. "You? You"re CEO Wong?"
"Yes."
"I don"t want to get in trouble. I just got this job and getting fired means--"
Henry rolled his eyes as he s.n.a.t.c.hed back the wallet and reached over the desk to hit the override which opened the executive elevator. Before the boy could even open his mouth, Henry had closed the door in his face. His breathing was erratic as he steadied his head against the steady vibrations of movement which accelerated as he punched in the code for the top floor.