Chapter 18

• Renee didn’t take the lift back up. She took the stairs, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. Her legs felt weak, but her mind was a tempest of shock, fury, and a terrifying adrenaline rush she hadn't known she possessed. She had faced down the bastard of a lawyer and it was too much to handle.
• When she stepped back onto the main floor of the Leadworth Bank office, the world seemed to have resumed its tedious rhythm—keyboards clicking, phones ringing, the supervisors pacing. But to Renee, the mundane soundscape was deafening, the fluorescent lights too bright.
• She practically stumbled back to the customer service bullpen. She didn't sit down at her desk; instead, she began pacing the narrow carpeted space between her cubicle and the wall, her hands gripping her arms tightly.