Chapter 4

The long flight finally ended. The Gulfstream touched down smoothly on the runway at JFK Airport in New York.

Charlene unbuckled her seatbelt. She followed Columbus down the stairs and out into the humid New York air.

A bulletproof black Cadillac SUV was waiting for them.

She climbed into the back. The doors locked automatically. The SUV sped out of the airport, merging onto the highway, heading straight for the Gay family estate in the Hamptons.

Over two hours later, as the late afternoon sun began to dip below the horizon, the massive, black wrought-iron gates of the estate loomed ahead. As the SUV approached, the gates slowly swung open.

The tires crunched loudly against the crushed gravel driveway. The car pulled up to the front steps of the sprawling, multi-story mansion.

The driver put the car in park.

Charlene pushed her door open. She stepped out. Her flat shoes hit the familiar gravel.

A sharp, piercing whistle echoed from the front porch. It was loud and full of mockery.

Charlene looked up.

Antwan Gay, her second brother, was walking down the wide stone steps.

He was swinging a custom titanium golf club in his right hand. He wore a smug, arrogant smirk.

He stepped off the last stair and moved sideways, planting his body directly in her path to the front door.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Antwan sneered. "The crazy stray dog is back from the pound."

Charlene felt a dull ache behind her eyes. She didn't have the energy for this. She didn't even look at his face.

She turned her shoulders, trying to walk around him.

Antwan scoffed. He shuffled his feet, blocking her again.

Charlene slowly raised her eyes. She looked at him with a gaze so exhausted, so utterly empty, it was like looking at a piece of trash on the sidewalk.

That look of pure dismissal ignited Antwan's temper. His face flushed red.

He suddenly shifted his weight and kicked his right leg out.

The hard leather toe of his expensive loafer slammed directly into Charlene's stomach.

The impact knocked the breath out of her lungs.

She flew backward. Her feet tangled together. She crashed hard onto the crushed gravel.

Instinctively, she threw her right hand out to catch her fall.

Her palm hit the rocks.

Snap.

A loud, sickening crack echoed in the air.

Blinding, white-hot agony shot up her right arm. The pain was so intense her vision went completely black for a second.

All the blood drained from her face. She curled into a tight ball on the ground, gasping for air. She clutched her right wrist against her chest. The joint was already swelling, bent at a wrong, unnatural angle.

The heavy oak front door banged open.

Columbus sprinted out of the house.

He reached Antwan and grabbed him roughly by the collar of his designer shirt, pulling him close. "Have you completely lost your mind?" Columbus hissed, his voice a lethal, freezing whip devoid of any panic, only pure, unadulterated fury at the loss of control. "Stop embarrassing us out here in the open."

He shoved Antwan aside with a look of utter disgust, smoothing his own suit jacket. He then turned his cold, calculating gaze to the driver. "Bring the car back. Now," he ordered, his tone flat and absolute.

Columbus knelt down in the gravel, his movements stiff and calculated. He reached out and scooped Charlene up into his arms, not out of tenderness, but to swiftly remove the embarrassing spectacle from the driveway.

She groaned, her body trembling violently from the shock and pain.

He carried her to the SUV and laid her carefully across the backseat. He climbed in next to her, slamming the door.

The driver floored the gas pedal. The tires spun, kicking up gravel, as the SUV tore out of the estate toward the nearest private hospital ER.

The pain radiating from her wrist was unbearable. Charlene's breathing grew shallow. The edges of her vision darkened.

She passed out.

When she finally opened her eyes again, the harsh fluorescent lights of an emergency room blinded her.

She turned her head slowly on the stiff pillow.

Columbus was standing right next to her bed. His face was twisted into a mask of deep, sickeningly fake concern.