Chapter 3: What Brandon Stole
The shooting stopped as quickly as it began.
Then came silence.
The kind that makes every tiny sound feel enormous.
A chair scraped.
Someone groaned.
I felt Damien's hand move from mine to the small of my back.
“Stay low.””
We crawled behind the heavy conference table.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
“Is Victor okay?””
“He's breathing.””
“Is he hurt?””
“Yes.””
“How badly?””
“Not badly enough to stop complaining.””
From somewhere behind us came Victor's strained voice.
“I heard that.””
Damien almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he looked toward the doorway.
“Three men?””
Victor nodded.
“Maybe four.””
Damien gestured.
Victor pointed toward the emergency exit.
They communicated without words.
I didn't understand how.
But I understood that Damien was used to danger.
Used to men with guns.
Used to rooms going dark.
Used to making decisions while everyone else panicked.
He looked at me.
“Hannah.””
“Yes?””
“When I tell you to run, you run.””
“Where?””
“Down the emergency stairs.””
“Alone?””
“No. Victor will take you.””
Victor pushed himself upright.
A dark stain spread across his shirt near his shoulder.
“You're bleeding.””
“It's nothing.””
“It doesn't look like nothing.””
He gave me a tired grin.
“Lady, I've had worse Mondays.””
Despite everything, a tiny laugh escaped me.
Damien looked at him.
“Can you move?””
Victor nodded.
“Good.””
Damien checked his watch.
“Thirty seconds.””
“For what?””
“Backup.””
I frowned.
“You have backup?””
He looked at me.
“I'm a difficult man to kill.””
The emergency lights flickered on.
Red light filled the room.
The office door was open.
Two bodies lay in the hallway.
One man groaned.
The other didn't move.
I covered my mouth.
Damien stepped in front of me.
“Don't look.””
But I already had.
This was the world I'd stumbled into.
A world where people carried guns into restaurants.
Where men obeyed Damien without hesitation.
Where one calm sentence could make my husband pale.
I should have been terrified of him.
Maybe I was.
But the strange thing was that I felt safer beside him than I had felt beside my own husband for three years.
A phone rang.
Not Damien's.
Mine.
I froze.
My purse was still in the office.
Victor picked it up.
The screen displayed Brandon's name.
Damien held out his hand.
“Give it to me.””
I did.
He answered.
“Hello.””
Brandon was silent.
Then he laughed.
“You really think you can keep her?””
Damien said nothing.
“You don't know what you're protecting.””
“I know what I'm protecting.””
“You have no idea what she did.””
I whispered, “Nothing.””
Damien heard me.
Brandon did too.
“Hannah.””
My blood ran cold.
“You should have listened to me.””
Damien's expression hardened.
Brandon continued.
“Three years ago, you promised you'd never leave.””
“I was afraid.””
“You should still be.””
Damien ended the call.
I stared at him.
“What did he mean?””
“That's what we're going to find out.””
“Why did he say I did something?””
“Because people who lose control often invent reasons.””
Damien handed the phone back.
Then he noticed the old scar along my wrist.
His eyes lingered.
“How long?””
I knew what he meant.
“Three years.””
“Since the beginning?””
“No.””
I sat on the edge of the sofa.
“When we first met, Brandon was wonderful.””
Damien didn't interrupt.
“He remembered everything. My favorite coffee. My mother's birthday. He'd leave notes in my car.””
I swallowed.
“He said I deserved someone who would protect me.””
Victor leaned against the wall.
“People like that usually don't start by showing you the cage.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“They show you the house.””
The words settled heavily in the room.
Damien sat across from me.
“Why didn't you leave?””
I stared at my hands.
“I tried.””
“When?””
“Last year.””
His eyes sharpened.
“What happened?””
“I packed a bag.””
My voice became quieter.
“I waited until he was asleep. I took my passport and some cash.””
“And?””
“He was standing in the driveway.””
I remembered that night.
Rain hitting the windshield.
Brandon leaning against the garage.
Smiling.
He hadn't yelled.
That was the worst part.
He'd simply opened the passenger door.
“Get in, Hannah.””
I had.
Because I knew what would happen if I didn't.
Damien's voice brought me back.
“Did he hurt you?””
“Not that night.””
“Why?””
“He told me he'd make sure my mother lost her house.””
I looked up.
“He knew about the mortgage.””
Damien's expression changed.
“Your mother?””
“She lives in Indiana.””
“Does she know?””
“No.””
“Why not?””
“Because Brandon told me he'd ruin her if I told anyone.””
Damien leaned back.
“What does Brandon do?””
“He owns a construction company.””
“What company?””
“Mitchell Development.””
Victor and Damien exchanged a glance.
“What?”” I asked.
Damien stood.
“Nothing.””
“You know the company.””
“I know the name.””
“From where?””
“Chicago.””
That answer wasn't enough.
But before I could press him, Damien's phone rang.
He listened.
Then his eyes moved toward me.
“Say that again.””
The person on the other end spoke.
Damien's jaw tightened.
“Bring everything.””
He ended the call.
“What happened?””
He hesitated.
Then:
“Your husband isn't just a businessman.””
My stomach tightened.
“What is he?””
“That's what I'm trying to determine.””
Victor walked over.
“Boss, we need to move her.””
Damien nodded.
“Agreed.””
I stood.
“Where are we going?””
“My house.””
I stared at him.
“No.””
His eyebrow lifted.
“I don't want another man's house.””
“Then where?””
“I don't know.””
Damien considered me for a moment.
“You're right.””
I blinked.
He walked to the door.
“I won't force you.””
He looked at Victor.
“Find her a hotel.””
Victor nodded.
I felt relief.
Then Damien's phone vibrated again.
He read the message.
His face changed.
“Hannah.””
“What?””
“You need to see this.””
He turned the phone toward me.
It was a scanned document.
A marriage certificate.
My name.
Brandon's name.
And beneath our signatures was another page.
A legal agreement I'd never seen.
I read the first line.
Then the second.
Then my hands began to shake.
“What is this?””
Damien answered quietly.
“That's the reason your husband doesn't want you to leave.””
I stared at the document.
My name was printed beside a number.
A number so large I couldn't understand it.
And below it was a clause that made my blood run cold.
*In the event of Hannah Mitchell's disappearance, all liability transfers to the Blackwood organization.*
I looked up.
“Why does my marriage contract mention you?””
Damien's eyes met mine.
“Because, Hannah…”
May you like
He paused.
“…you weren't the person Brandon married.””
