Chapter4

Victor moved faster than I'd expected.

After I hung up, I texted Jenna: Watch his phone. He's coming for me. Less than half an hour later, his guys showed up.

As they gagged me and shoved me into a car, I thought I heard sirens.

My heart was in my throat.

Too bad.

The cops were a few steps too slow. Victor and his men got away.

Curled up in the trunk, listening to them talk, I felt my heart sink.

I'd gambled. And lost.

Ethan, I thought, probably wouldn't get to see me one last time.

I pictured him and Lily laying flowers on my grave.

Honestly, that wasn't so bad.

This was my third day locked up.

In a basement with no light.

He still liked hitting me. Humiliating me. Same as always.

When he drank, it got worse.

I was stupid enough to laugh at him, so he hit harder.

When I bled, he poured whiskey on the wounds.

I curled up on the floor, shaking, and he chuckled.

"Look at you. You could've just been a good girl and lived the life. But no, you had to drag me down to hell with you. Stupid fool.

"You're thinking about Hale right now, aren't you? Too bad he's got a girlfriend. Young. Gorgeous.

"You put me away, and what—you two ride off into the sunset? Nora, sweetheart. How old are you?"

I stared at nothing. There wasn't much of me left.

It came back to me. My twenty-fifth birthday.

I was in my last year of law school, interning in the legal department at Kane Holdings. Victor said he wanted to talk about a job offer after graduation. He put something in my drink.

When I woke up, I was in a hotel bed.

"Nora," he said, "I like you. Be with me. What do you say?"

To this day, it still feels like a nightmare.

The kind, fatherly mentor who'd written my recommendation letters had finally shown me his real face.

He swiped through the photos on his phone, one by one, so I could see.

"Should I send these to your boyfriend? Or to the bar's character and fitness committee?"

All the calm I'd been holding together shattered. "Go to hell! Go to hell!"

He lounged in his chair like he'd already won.

If those photos got out, my reputation, any shot at a law license—everything would be gone.

I was shaking with rage. But I didn't give in.

I was a law student. I knew how to use the law to protect myself.

I went to the police.

The detective who took my report was very polite. Two hours later, Victor walked out. On his way past me, he gave me a slow, knowing smile.

That report was never seen again.

A few days later, Ethan went missing. For seventy-two hours.

Then Victor called.

"Break it off with him, and he comes home without a scratch.

"Or I can sink him to the bottom of Lake Michigan, and nobody will ever find him.

"I'm forty-four, Nora. Half the cops in this district are on my payroll. Going up against you kids? It's a game to me.

"Oh, and one more thing. I've got more than your pictures. I've got a file—airtight—that'll make sure Hale never wears a badge again. And every deal the Hale family's real estate company ever did with me. Clean or dirty doesn't matter. Under RICO, touch it and you're in on it."

He laughed softly. "Don't make me angry."

I wasn't going to take it lying down.

I threatened to kill myself. I went over the local department's head. I tried everything I could think of.

And every time, Ethan paid for it. Framed. Suspended. Jumped in an alley one night, ribs broken.

He was frantic, circling me, and he had no idea why.

He was fresh out of the academy back then. Too young, nowhere near as sharp as he is now.

We couldn't beat that old fox.

So. Fine.

Bitterness and hatred surged up.

Victor's hand reached for me again.

With everything I had left, I bit down on his finger.

How could anyone hate someone this much?

Victor slapped me. "What good does loving him do you? You're still stuck here with me, like a good little wife."

I screamed, "I love him anyway! I love him. Only him!"

Victor didn't get angry.

He smiled.

That slow, chilling smile.

He held up his phone. "You get all that, golden boy?"

Dead silence on the other end. Just someone breathing, hard.

I lunged for the phone.

He stomped me back down, his face lit up with the thrill of revenge.

"Does it hurt, Hale? Bet you didn't see that coming. She never cheated on you. She only ever loved you. And now she's going to die for you."

His voice went cold. "I want you both to suffer for the rest of your lives."