Chapter 5
I left the house.
My chest felt tight, like I couldn't breathe. Lila's words echoed in my head. You don't get to come back from the dead and tell me the man I love is a monster.
She was right. And she was wrong.
I didn't get to come back and just expect her to believe me. But that didn't make Carter any less dangerous.
I got in my car and drove. I didn't have a destination. I just needed to move.
My phone buzzed. Marcus.
"Talk to me," I said.
"Carter's asking questions," Marcus said. "He wants to know where you are. Why you're not at the briefing. He's... nervous. I think he's worried you're going to ruin his career."
"Let him worry," I said. "Marcus, I need you to dig deeper. Those ex-girlfriends. The incident in Bahrain. I need names. I need contact information. I need people who are willing to talk."
"I'm already on it," he said. "Elena... how's your sister?"
"She hates me," I said, and my voice cracked. "She thinks I'm lying to ruin her happiness."
"She doesn't hate you," Marcus said gently. "She's in shock. Her sister just came back from the dead and told her the man she loves is abusive. Give her time."
"I don't know if we have time," I said, watching the road blur past. "Men like Carter don't wait. If he suspects anything... if he finds out I'm Lila's sister..."
"I'll keep him occupied," Marcus promised. "I've got him running drills. So many drills. He won't have time to scratch himself, let alone investigate you."
I almost smiled. Almost.
"Thanks, Marcus."
"Anything for you, Elena. You know that."
---
I spent the rest of the day gathering information.
I found the names of Carter's ex-girlfriends. Three of them. All local. All had been in relationships with him at different times. All had ended abruptly.
I decided to start with the most recent one.
Sarah Jenkins. Twenty-eight years old. Elementary school teacher. Had dated Carter for a year and a half. Broken up six months before he started seeing Lila.
I found her address. Waited until she got home from work.
She opened the door cautiously when I knocked. A pretty woman with brown hair and tired eyes.
"Can I help you?" she asked.
"My name is Elena Vance," I said. "I need to talk to you about Jake Carter."
Her face went pale. She took a step back, like she wanted to close the door.
"I don't want to talk about him," she said.
"Please," I said. "It's important. He's engaged to my little sister. And I'm scared for her."
That stopped her.
She studied me for a long moment, then opened the door wider.
"Come in," she said quietly.
Her house was neat. Warm. Pictures of children on the walls—her students, I assumed. She gestured for me to sit on the couch and brought us both glasses of water.
"How did you find me?" she asked.
"I have... resources," I said. "Sarah, I know this is hard. But I need to know what happened between you and Jake. My sister loves him. She's going to marry him. And I saw a side of him yesterday that terrifies me."
She looked down at her hands. I saw then that her knuckles were scarred. Old scars. Faded.
"He's good at first," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Amazing, actually. Charming. Attentive. He makes you feel like you're the only woman in the world. Like you're special."
She paused, swallowing hard.
"And then... it changes. Slowly at first. Little comments about your appearance. About who you're friends with. About where you go. He gets jealous. Possessive. And if you push back..."
She trailed off.
"What happens if you push back?" I asked gently.
She looked up at me, and her eyes were full of pain.
"He gets angry," she said. "Not yelling. Not at first. That cold, quiet anger that's so much scarier. And then... the first time he hit me, it was because I was ten minutes late coming home from work. Just ten minutes. He said I was cheating on him. That I was lying."
She showed me her arm. Pulled up her sleeve to reveal a faint bruise on her upper arm. Yellow and green. Old.
"This was the last time," she said. "Three days before I left him. He grabbed me so hard he left bruises for two weeks. I told him I was leaving. He laughed. Said no one would believe me. Said he was a war hero. A SEAL. Said I'd be the one who looked crazy."
"Did you report him?" I asked.
"I tried," she said, and tears started falling. "I went to the police. But his command... they protected him. Said it was a domestic dispute. That there wasn't enough evidence. And then Jake... he showed up at my school. Just stood there by the playground, watching me. I got scared. I dropped the charges. I moved. I changed my phone number."
She looked at me, desperate.
"Your sister needs to get away from him," she said. "Before it's too late. Before he does something that can't be undone."
I sat there, cold rage building in my chest.
This wasn't just about an airport incident anymore. This was about a pattern of abuse that had been going on for years. Protected by the system. Enabled by people who should have stopped him.
And my sister was next.
"I need your help," I said, leaning forward. "I need you to talk to her. To tell her what happened. She won't believe me. But she might believe another woman who's been through it."
Sarah hesitated. Scared.
Then she nodded.
"Okay," she said. "I'll do it. For your sister. No one should have to go through what I did."
I stood up to leave.
"Sarah," I said. "Thank you. And I promise you this. Jake Carter is never going to hurt anyone again. Not my sister. Not you. Not anyone."
She looked at me, and for the first time, there was a flicker of hope in her eyes.
"Who are you?" she asked.
May you like
I looked her in the eye.
"I'm the woman who's going to take him down."
