Screens and Shadows

The padel court echoed with the sharp crack of racquet against ball, a sound that used to make her feel alive. Now, Elena watched from the sidelines as David laughed with his new partner, some twenty-something analyst with bright eyes and perfect skin. She clutched her iphone in her pocket, its screen dark, no messages worth reading.

Three years of corporate climbing, and she'd reached the top of the pyramid only to find it cold and lonely. The partners' dining room, the corner office—none of it mattered when you came home to an empty apartment. David had called her cunning once, said she moved like a fox through office politics, knowing exactly when to strike and when to wait. That same skill had helped her uncover the embezzlement scheme that should have made her a hero. Instead, it had made her radioactive.

She'd loved baseball once—the summer evenings at Fenway, cold beer, David's arm around her shoulders. Now the game seemed like another life, another Elena who believed in loyalty and happily-ever-afters. She checked her phone again. Nothing from the private investigator she'd hired to find her missing sister, the one who'd disappeared three months ago.

"Elena?" David's voice cut through her thoughts. He stood at the net, sweating, smiling. "Join us? We need a fourth."

She looked at his iphone sitting on the bench beside her, notifications lighting up the screen. Work emails. Texts from someone named Sophie. The new analyst's name was Sophie, wasn't it?

"No thanks," she said, standing up. "I have an appointment."

"With what?" David called after her. "The pyramid scheme's not going anywhere."

She didn't turn around. The fox knew when to leave the hunt.