Chapter 2

The judge's gavel came down like a hammer blow, not just ending the proceedings, but shattering the last piece of hope I had.

"Case dismissed."

The words echoed in the cavernous courtroom. Brandon Thorne was free. Not just free, but vindicated.

And then the second blow.

"Furthermore, the court finds in favor of Mr. Thorne in his countersuit for defamation. Mr. Miller, you are ordered to pay one hundred thousand dollars in damages for the harm caused to Mr. Thorne's reputation."

A wave of murmurs swept through the gallery. One hundred thousand dollars. They weren't just letting a monster go, they were punishing me for trying to stop him.

The Thornes had done their work well. The media was a frenzy of their carefully crafted narratives. Headlines flashed across my phone screen: "Tech Scion Cleared of All Charges, Accuser's Troubled Past Revealed." "Ex-SEAL's Violent Outbursts Raise Questions."

They painted Lily as a promiscuous, unstable party girl who got what she deserved. They painted me as a violent, traumatized veteran looking for someone to blame. They used my service, the very thing I was proud of, as a weapon against me. The public ate it up. I saw the comments online, the sneering faces on the street. I was the villain. Lily was a footnote in her own tragedy.

As Brandon Thorne and his pack of lawyers walked out of the courtroom, basking in the flash of cameras, a red mist of rage descended over me. I pushed through the crowd, ignoring the bailiffs who shouted for me to stop.

I got right in his face.

"This isn't over," I seethed, my voice low and shaking. "You think you've won? You'll never be free of what you did."

Brandon just smiled, a lazy, arrogant curl of his lips. "I think you'll find I'm very free. Free to do whatever I want. And you? You're less than nothing."

He nodded to the two huge men in suits who were always with him. They grabbed my arms, their grips like iron vices, and slammed me back against the marble wall. My head cracked against the stone, and a flash of white light exploded behind my eyes.

They held me there, helpless, as the crowd watched. Some gasped, most just raised their phones to record.

Sarah appeared at Brandon's side, her face a perfect picture of concern for him. She put a hand on his chest, shielding him from me, the man she married.

"Ethan, stop this right now," she commanded, her voice sharp and public. "You are violating a court order. If you don't leave Mr. Thorne alone, I will have you arrested for harassment."

She looked right through me, as if I were a stranger, a piece of trash on the sidewalk.

Brandon chuckled, a low, ugly sound. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. He peeled off a single hundred-dollar bill and let it flutter to the floor in front of me.

"Here," he said, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "A little something to help with your... financial troubles. Don't spend it all in one place."

The ultimate humiliation. He wasn't just my enemy, he was my benefactor, tossing scraps to the dog he'd just beaten.

He then leaned in close, so only I could hear his whisper. The smell of his expensive cologne was suffocating.

"You know," he murmured, his breath hot against my ear, "Lily talked about you. Right before the end. She cried for you." He paused, letting the words sink in. "And Sarah... she's so much more fun when you're not around. She told me things about you, things a wife should never tell. You have no idea how pathetic she thinks you are."

Something inside me broke. The discipline, the control I had spent years honing as a SEAL, it all evaporated. There was only a white-hot, blinding rage.

With a roar, I ripped one arm free from the guard's grip and lunged, my fist connecting with Brandon's smug face. There was a satisfying crunch of cartilage and bone. He staggered back, blood pouring from his nose, his eyes wide with shock and pain. For one beautiful second, the look of invincibility was gone.

It only lasted a second.

The guards were on me instantly, driving me to my knees. A fist slammed into my ribs, another into my kidneys. Pain shot through my body, but it was nothing compared to the agony in my soul.

"Assault! He's assaulting him!" Sarah screamed, her voice ringing with practiced outrage. She was at Brandon's side, dabbing at his bloody nose with a silk handkerchief, playing the part of the damsel protecting her champion. The cameras flashed, capturing the perfect scene: the violent ex-soldier attacking the innocent victim.

They had me pinned to the floor, my face pressed against the cold, dirty marble. I looked up and saw them standing over me-Brandon, bleeding but triumphant, and Sarah, my wife, looking down at me with nothing but contempt.

I was completely and utterly alone, trapped in a nightmare they had built. How did this happen? How did we get here? Lily was the victim. I was fighting for her. But in their world, in the world they controlled, we were the ones drowning in the mud.