Innocence (Tales of Olympus #1)(10)

She took a deep breath as the car came to a stop.

Okay. She’d go in, get her money and belongings, and move on from there. She could get a hotel for the night. She almost laughed thinking about the kind of hotel she could afford compared to where she’d stayed last night. She’d have to take the train to the outskirts of the city and look for the cheapest motel she could find, but at least it would get her through the night. Tomorrow she could look for another job and—

“Miss Vestian?” Sharo questioned. “If you’re having second thoughts, I know Mr. Ubeli wouldn’t mind—”

“No.” Cora’s attention snapped back to the present moment and she shoved her door open, hiking her feet to the pavement. She cringed, thinking of how the beautiful heels were probably already getting scratched. She’d wanted to return the clothing in perfect order to Mr. Ubeli along with her thanks.

Oh well, she sighed. It wasn’t like he could return them to the store after she’d worn them.

“Thank you. And thank Mr. Ubeli again for me.” She closed the car door before she could start babbling again.

Sharo had gotten out of the car as well and she looked upwards at his face, so far above hers. “Mr. Ubeli asked me to give you this.” He held out a card. “If you ever have need of him for any reason, any reason at all, you give him a call. You understand?”

She nodded quickly and took the card. She gave a quick smile and turned to hurry down the sidewalk toward the Donahue’s brownstone.

She waited until the black car pulled away and drove down the road before knocking on the door. She didn’t ring the doorbell because she didn’t want to wake Timmy.

It felt weird to knock on the front door rather than letting herself in with her key, but she hadn’t even had time to grab those before Paul had accosted her last night.

She shook her head. Had that really only been last night? Because as much as she’d been shocked to find out that it was evening when she woke up today, the events of last night had already begun to feel very distant, like they’d happened to some other girl. A defense mechanism probably, but she didn’t have another moment to think about it because the door swung open.

“Mrs. Donahue. Hi. I’m here to pick up my things. I don’t know if Paul— If Mr. Donahue told you, but I quit yester—”

“Whore! How dare you show your face back here?”

“Wha—”

But before Cora could even get the word out, the middle-aged woman stepped out onto the front stoop and slapped Cora. Hard.

Cora jerked back and lifted a hand to her face.

Ow.

For such a small lady, Mrs. Donahue packed a mean hit.

“Wait,” Cora held up her hands, “there’s been some kind of misunderstanding here—”

“Did you or did you not try to fuck my husband?” Mrs. Donahue sneered.

“Of course not! I would never!”

But it was clear by the expression on Diana Donahue’s face that she didn’t believe a word coming out of Cora’s mouth. And why would she? It was Cora’s word against Paul’s.

“You’re way out of line,” Cora said, fists clenched, “but you’re never going to believe me and I get it. So just pay me the money you owe me and let me get my things and you never have to see me again.”

Mrs. Donahue made a disbelieving noise. “You’re not stepping one foot inside my house, you homewrecking whore. I had to miss work today to stay home with Timmy. The gods only know what sort of influence you’ve had on my baby.” She shook her head and went to close the door.

Cora shoved her foot in the way and pushed on the door. It startled Mrs. Donahue into stumbling several feet back into the foyer. But that only seemed to anger her more.

“I’m calling the police,” she shrieked.

“All I’m asking for is what you owe me,” Cora said, barely able to believe what was happening. “You have to pay me. I did the job. And I need my things.”

“I burned your things. The second Paul told me what you tried to do after you didn’t come home last night. I threw them in the trash and set them on fire.”

Cora felt her mouth drop open. She’d burned— But that was all Cora had— All she owned in the whole world—

“But—” Cora broke off, biting back tears. Paul stalked into the room behind Diana. “Paul, tell her,” Cora appealed. “Tell her what happened. Please. I need the money for the work I did. I don’t have anything else. I need that money.”

But Paul was stone-faced and when he walked forward, he put an arm around his wife. “You need to go or we will call the police.”

“I’m already dialing,” Diana said, touching her phone and holding it to her ear. “Yes, hello. There’s a psycho intruder in our house. Our former nanny who’s stalking my husband.”

Cora stumbled backwards and pulled the front door shut behind her. It wasn’t fair! They shouldn’t be able to do that to her. She’d been depending on that money.

She heard sirens in the distance. They probably weren’t coming for her. Sirens were a normal part of city life but still, it had her running.

She didn’t have any ID or even a social security number thanks to her mom’s obsession with living off the grid. It was one of the reasons working for the Donahues was so perfect. They didn’t mind paying her under the table in cash.