Chapter 7

The words didn't compute. "An incident? What kind of incident?" My mind was a maelstrom of Harrison, Brooke, and the fresh, raw pain of the last few days.

"They're not giving details over the phone," Dustin said, his voice strained. "Just that it's related to one of their encrypted networks. Something you designed. They need you on site. Immediately."

My blood ran cold. This was my other life. The one Harrison knew nothing about. For years, I had worked as a top-tier cybersecurity analyst for a clandestine government agency, the same one my father had served. It was a secret I kept for security, a part of my life I had compartmentalized from my "perfect" marriage.

Another wave of grief washed over me. I had kept my real, powerful self hidden to be a supportive wife to a man who saw me as nothing more than a prop.

I thought of Harrison's constant lies, his manipulations. He had isolated me from Dustin, from my own family, to better control me. He had painted my brother as jealous and volatile. All to hide his sordid affair with Brooke. He wanted me weak, dependent, and alone.

He had almost succeeded.

"I need to see you first, Dustin," I said, my voice thick with unshed tears. "Before I go."

"I'm at the airfield now, Ava. A transport is waiting for you. We'll talk on the way."

I packed a go-bag, my movements swift and automatic. As I was about to leave, Harrison came home. He looked exhausted, but his eyes lit up when he saw me.

"Ava," he said, his voice soft and gentle. "Let's talk. We can fix this."

"There's nothing to fix," I said, my voice as cold as a tombstone.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his expression shifting to one of confusion, then anger. "You're just going to walk away? After everything?"

I laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. "You're having a child with another woman, Harrison. The one who killed my mother. What, exactly, is there to talk about?"

His face went pale. The color drained from his cheeks. "How did you...?"

"It doesn't matter," I said, pushing past him. "None of it matters anymore."

"I'm ending this, Harrison," I said. "Us. Whatever this was. It's over."

He grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my flesh. His face was a mask of fury and desperation. "No," he snarled. "You're not leaving me. I won't let you."

He was stronger than me. He dragged me back into the house, his grip like iron. I saw something in his pocket-a small syringe. Before I could react, he plunged it into my neck.

My body went limp. My legs gave out. The world started to fade at the edges.

"You belong to me, Ava," he whispered, his voice a venomous caress in my ear as he carried my limp body. "You're never leaving me."

Through the haze of the drugs, I heard him on the phone with Brooke. His voice was a low, conspiratorial murmur.

"It's done," he said. "I'm sending her away. To a private facility on a remote island. She needs... help. No one will find her there."

He was framing me as mentally unstable, shipping me off to a prison disguised as a hospital.

"She deserves to know what it's like to be locked away," Brooke's voice purred through the phone. "Thank you, Harrison. You always know how to take care of me."

The last thing I remember was the smell of salt and sea. I was on a boat, the engine rumbling beneath me. The coastline receded into the darkness.

"I'll come for you, Ava," Harrison's voice called from the shore, a final, hollow promise. "When you're better."

My mind was a fog, but one thought burned through the haze. I had to stay awake. I dug my fingernails into the palm of my hand, the sharp pain a grounding anchor in the swirling chaos.

You won't be waiting for me, Harrison, I thought, a cold, hard certainty solidifying in my heart. Because I'm not coming back.

Just as despair threatened to consume me, a black, silent helicopter descended from the night sky. Ropes dropped to the deck, and figures in dark tactical gear rappelled down with silent, deadly efficiency.

Harrison stood on the shore, watching the boat disappear into the horizon. He clutched the railing, a single tear tracing a path through the grime on his face. He looked like a man who had just lost everything.

Brooke came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's for the best, darling," she cooed.

Suddenly, the night exploded. The boat I had been on erupted in a massive fireball, lighting up the sky. The force of the blast knocked them both to the ground.

Harrison scrambled to his feet, his face a mask of horror. "AVA!" he screamed, his voice a raw, animal cry of pure agony.

The boat was gone, consumed by a pillar of fire and smoke. There was nothing left but burning debris on the black water.