Called Off the Wedding, Walked Into My New Life

Felix's hand closed around my wrist. Not hard, just enough to make my grip on the cage door slip. "Two minutes for a photo. Don't blow this out of proportion."

Kate seized the chance and dragged the puppy out. It thrashed in pain, its claws snagging the hem of her dress.

Disgust flickered in her eyes, and her fingers suddenly let go.

The puppy hit the marble floor hard. The stitches tore open, and blood welled up fast.

I threw myself down and pressed on the wound, shouting at Rachel. "Gauze, epinephrine, now!"

Kate shrieked and stumbled back, the camera lurching wildly. Before the stream cut out, the comments had already flooded with accusations.

Felix's face went white, but the first thing he did was steady Kate. "Did it scratch you?"

Rachel came running with the first-aid kit, but the faint heartbeat under my hands had already stopped.

I looked up at him, my hands covered in blood. "Felix. It's dead."

He glanced at the blood on the floor, avoided my eyes, and dropped his voice. "Deal with the PR first."

Half an hour later, Kate posted a long statement, implying the shelter had mishandled things and that she'd only been an innocent bystander trying to help.

The abuse poured in online. The shelter's phone rang off the hook.

I went to pull the security footage, but the computer showed the file was corrupted. The tech's face was grim. "Someone got into the backend remotely."

Felix called right after, his tone perfectly even. "Stacy, you posted the statement, right?"

I gripped the mouse. "What statement?"

He was quiet for a moment, like he was coaxing someone who didn't understand. "Kate's about to sign a major brand endorsement. She can't have anything negative attached to her. You take the blame on this one for now."

I opened the shelter's work account and saw an apology posted under my name.

It said I'd been careless, that my training methods were rough, and that I'd frightened the puppy into a fatal fall.

Felix went on. "Once this blows over, I'll buy you a big place downtown. The wedding goes ahead as planned, and I'll change the invitations back too."

I hit record on the call and asked him, "My account. You logged into it?"

He said, "You only use a handful of passwords. I posted it for you. Comes off more presentable than anything you'd write yourself."

I laughed once. "You really think of everything."

Felix thought I'd softened. His voice eased. "Just be good. Once this is over, the position of Mrs. Gilbert is still yours."

The backlash kept building. Someone left a funeral wreath outside the clinic, and a sign was stuck to the glass: "Dog-abusing vet, get out."

Rachel shielded me toward the back door, her eyes rimmed red with worry. "Stacy, lie low for now. I'll figure something out."

I pulled my suitcase behind me and left, tugging out my SIM card on the way, snapping it in half, and dropping it in the trash.

I'd bought the train ticket to Lhasa long ago anyway. It was as good a time as any to go see that highland wildlife rescue project Rachel had recommended.

The train swayed. My phone, connected to the car's public WiFi, suddenly buzzed.

In the dark, someone sent me a high-definition video from an account I didn't recognize.