Chapter 3

Matthew's sprawling mansion felt like a prison. He had brought me here, along with Nicole, who was now installed in the master guest suite to "recover." He said it was all a terrible misunderstanding that would be cleared up, but I was not allowed to leave.

I was a prisoner in my own home.

Days bled into a week of quiet horror. I watched him dote on her. He fed her soup with his own hands, he sat by her bed and read to her, he let her sleep with her head in his lap while he stroked her hair. They moved around the house with an intimacy that twisted my insides into a cold, hard knot. The love I once felt for him curdled into disgust.

One night, I couldn't sleep. The thought of Stella, locked away in the county jail, was a constant torment. I had to get her a lawyer. I crept out of my room, planning to use the landline in Matthew's study.

I found him there, waiting for me.

"I know this has been stressful," he said, his voice soft. He stepped toward me, his hands reaching for my waist. "But the mess is almost cleaned up. We're still married, Jocelyn. We should act like it."

He tried to kiss me. I turned my head away, my body rigid with revulsion. "Don't touch me."

His grip tightened. As he pulled me closer, something small and metallic fell from his coat pocket, clattering on the hardwood floor.

I looked down. It was a small, heart-shaped locket, engraved with two initials: M & N.

He snatched it up quickly. "It's nothing. A silly keepsake from when we were kids."

Just then, Nicole's hired caregiver burst into the room. "Mr. Scott! It's Nicole! She's having a terrible panic attack! She's calling for you!"

Matthew didn't hesitate. He dropped me and ran from the room, his face a mask of concern. "I'm coming, Nikki!"

In his haste, his office key card slipped from his wallet and fell to the floor.

I didn't think. I just acted. I grabbed the key card and slipped out of the house. The county jail's records office was a place Matthew's power reached, but I knew a back way in from my time as a political aide.

I found Stella in the infirmary. She was barely recognizable. Her face was a swollen mass of purple and blue bruises, one eye was swollen shut, and her arm was in a crude sling. It was a message, sent by Matthew's allies on the inside. A warning.

Tears streamed down my face as I knelt by her cot. "Stella... oh, God, Stella, what did they do to you?"

She tried to smile, a painful grimace. "Doesn't matter... You're safe..."

Suddenly, the infirmary door flew open. Matthew stood there, flanked by two burly guards. His face was stone cold.

"Nicole told me you'd do this," he said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "She said you were just using Stella as a pawn. I see it now. You were behind it all along. Your sister took the fall, but you're the real monster."

He looked at me with pure hatred. "I was a fool to ever believe you were innocent."