Chapter 1
Aurelia
Shoving the key into the lock of her rental house, Aurelia winced. The pain in her chest was back. As she pushed the door open with her shoulder, her other hand went to her upper chest, trying to rub the pain away, but it wasn't easing. Gritting her teeth, she kicked the door closed behind her and managed to get it locked before dropping her purse and keys to the hardwood floor as she gripped the wall with her other hand.
The pain had been coming off and on for weeks now, but she hadn't been to the doctor. She couldn't go, not yet. Her finances had been strained ever since she'd made the move from Portland, Oregon to White Plains, New York. She'd luckily been able to get on with Fuller and Hoffman, a prominent accounting firm in White Plains, as a junior accountant.
At thirty you would think she'd have made a better title than junior accountant, but she'd basically given up her career for the last six years because her ex hadn't wanted her working. She'd been pretty damn successful too, before she'd quit, but Marcus had insisted that she didn't need to work, and he wanted her at home.
In reality, Marcus had wanted her isolated and alone, without any resources. It had just taken her forever to realize that and finally get herself out of the relationship and out of the state. She'd secretly applied for the position with Fuller and Hoffman, as well as a few other places far from Los Angeles. Fuller and Hoffman were the first to reach out. They'd conducted an interview via Skype and once they'd made their offer, Aurelia had jumped at it. It didn't pay a ton, but it was enough to afford the three-bedroom, one bath rental and still allowed her to have a few necessities. Luckily, the place came furnished too, so she hadn't had to lug a bunch of things across the country. Not that she actually had a bunch of things to lug. Just her clothes, a few pictures and mementos, and her laptop. The items she'd been able to fit into two suitcases. She'd written down her contacts, the ones she wanted to keep, then left her phone on the kitchen counter. She'd taken her car to a car lot and sold it for cash, then caught an Uber to the airport. It had all felt very clandestine and dramatic, but she didn't want Marcus tracing her or following her.
She'd worried that she'd have to buy a new car once she got here to White Plains, but it turned out her new rental was close enough to a bus stop. Which meant she was able to use the Bee-Line bus system to get most everywhere, which helped keep her expenses down.
Health insurance had been another worry. Marcus had put her on his policy, but she'd never used it, had never needed to. Besides, he'd kept the insurance cards, so she wouldn't have any idea what the numbers were to use it and she wasn't about to ask him! Of course, she could have gone to the emergency clinic, but without the insurance they were really expensive, and she didn't have the extra funds. She figured she could hold out until she'd been with Fuller and Hoffman for a month, and her insurance would finally kick in. She really just couldn't afford to pay out of pocket for a doctor visit. Thankfully, tomorrow would be her month anniversary and she'd be eligible for the insurance.
Aurelia sank down on the sofa, taking shallow breaths, trying to breathe through the pain. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. "It's just stress," she muttered. "Stupid stress. I can make it one more day. Maybe."
The pain eased a little and her breaths moved back into the normal range. She raked a hand through her dark hair, pulling out the clips she'd worn in it to work. She shook her hair out and tried to relax a little more as she kicked off her heels and put her feet up on the coffee table. Sinking deeper into the sofa, she closed her eyes.
She didn't know how long she sat there, but it must have been at least thirty minutes because when she opened her eyes it was full dark outside. The ringing of her cellphone was what made her finally open them. Turning her head to stare at her purse on the floor near the front door, she debated not answering it. Just as she started to get up, it stopped.
Sighing, she rose anyway. She strode over in her bare feet and picked up her purse and keys, setting the keys in the dish on the table next to the door and then, after pulling out her phone, hung her purse on the coat rack.