The Years Between Signing and Seeing novel Chapter 500

That evening.

Chester called Suzie with an update. He had managed to track down an insider on the client's side of the contract dispute. He emailed her a detailed timeline of the events, promising he was still pulling strings and would get to the bottom of the fraud allegations as quickly as possible.

Scanning the email, Suzie realized Chester's findings lined up perfectly with what Jamie had told her at the hospital. Unfortunately, it offered no new leverage. She and Mia hadn't even been able to get the name of Stella's defense attorney from the precinct staff.

Worse, because of the massive financial scale of the alleged embezzlement, there was no standard "72-hour hold" rule guaranteeing her release. The cops could potentially hold her much longer.

Suzie's chest tightened, and she let out a long, heavy sigh.

***

Three days later.

Suzie woke up at dawn. She had absolutely nothing on her schedule, but she needed to be awake just in case her phone rang. For the past three nights, she hadn't managed more than a few fragmented hours of sleep.

Just as she finished splashing water on her face, her phone began to buzz.

She practically dove across the room to grab it. It was an unsaved number, but the digits felt strangely familiar. Too exhausted to place it, she swiped to answer.

"Have you been holding up okay these last few days?"

The deep, smooth voice belonged to Jamie.

Since the brief encounter at the precinct three days ago, he hadn't shown up. She hadn't given him her new number or added him back on any messaging apps, and he hadn't tried to reach her.

While she was still frozen in shock, he continued, "I'm guessing not. But you should be able to get a good night's sleep tonight. Take care of yourself. I have to go."

The line went dead.

They held onto each other fiercely, completely silent for a long time.

Finally, Stella broke the tension. "Look at you, being entirely too dramatic. It's not a big deal, so stop crying."

Her tone was light and teasing, exactly the same bold, unfiltered Stella she had always been.

Suzie let out a wet laugh, immediately firing back, "You're crying too! What's that on your cheek, morning dew?"

"Wow, aren't we poetic today?" Stella laughed, pulling back slightly to wipe her own eyes. "I'm perfectly fine, okay? Let's get out of here. I need a ridiculously long bath and the biggest meal of my life."

Suzie nodded furiously, swiping at her own tears. "The second I got the call, I booked us a luxury suite. Best service in the city, massive soaking tub. As soon as you're in the bath, I'm ordering everything on the room service menu..."

Suzie kept talking, letting the sheer flood of relief wash away the terror and suffocation she had felt for the last three days.