“Good,” Adelaide said.

“I’m going back to the board room.”

“Keep your phone on,” I said.

“I will,” she said.

She turned and walked quickly out of the room.

I looked back at my daughter.

“We’re almost there,” I whispered to her.

The nurse wheeled me back to my room.

The waiting was agonizing.

Every minute felt like an hour.

I watched the clock on the wall.

10:15 AM.

10:30 AM.

My phone remained silent.

I gripped the bedsheets, my knuckles turning white.

At 10:45 AM, my phone finally buzzed.

I snatched it off the bedside table.

It was a text from Adelaide.

*The vote is happening now.*

I held my breath, staring at the screen.

A minute passed.

Then another.

Then, the phone began to ring.

It was an unknown number.

I pressed answer.

“Natalie,” a voice said.

It wasn’t Adelaide.

It was a voice I didn’t recognize, cold and sharp.

“Who is this?” I asked, my blood running cold.

“You think you’ve won,” the voice said.

“But Victoria is not the only one who wanted that ledger.”

“Who is this?” I asked again.