Chapter 3

"Check his ID," Mac said, his voice still holding a trace of doubt. "If he's who he says he is, he'll have proof."

Rick grinned. "Good idea, Mac."

One of his thugs roughly patted me down, yanking my wallet from my back pocket.

He tossed it to Rick.

Rick flipped it open, then laughed. "Well, well. What do we have here? Ethan White."

He showed the driver's license to Mac.

"And look at this. A diploma from some fancy university in Switzerland."

Rick's eyes glinted with triumph. "I told you he was a fake. Sophia's brother is named Evan Grant. And he sure as hell wasn't in Switzerland."

My heart sank. Sophia, in her effort to protect me, had created a new identity so thorough, so secret, that even her closest people wouldn't know.

She'd told everyone I was in a specialized clinic in South Korea.

My phone clattered to the floor, dislodged during the search.

The screen lit up. My wallpaper. A photo of me and Sophia, smiling, taken last summer by Lake Geneva.

Rick picked it up. "Cute. Photoshop these days is amazing, isn't it?"

"Let me see that," Mac said, his voice tight.

He took the phone. His eyes widened slightly at the photo.

"Unlock it," Mac ordered, holding the phone towards me.

My hands were trembling, one of them probably broken. I struggled, but finally managed to press my thumb to the sensor.

Mac swiped, opening my messages.

"The contact name is 'Sophia'," Mac read, then scrolled. "She calls him 'my dear E'. Talks about this apartment..."

Rick snatched the phone. "See? 'My dear E'! What kind_of brother gets called that? He's her boy toy!"

He scrolled further, his face darkening with fury.

"She even says... 'Can't wait to have you home, darling. We'll never be apart again.'"

Rick's eyes were wild. "She's never said anything like that to me!"

He threw the phone against the wall. It shattered.

"I'll call her," Rick snarled, pulling out his own phone. "We'll see what she says about her 'brother' Evan."

He put the call on speaker.

Sophia's voice, warm and concerned. "Rick? What's wrong?"

"Sophia, honey, just a quick question. When is Evan supposed to be back?"

"Evan?" A pause. "He's due in tomorrow, I think. Why?"

Tomorrow. I'd changed my flight to surprise her.

Rick's smile was predatory. "No reason, sweetheart. Just checking."

He was about to hang up.

"Sophia!" I screamed, pouring every last ounce of strength into my voice. "Help me! It's Evan!"

Rick ended the call.

His face was a mask of pure hatred.

He grabbed a heavy lamp from a side table.

"You really shouldn't have done that, 'Ethan'."

He brought the lamp down on my face.

Agony. Then darkness.