Chapter 2

Rivals. Thorne Global Security had many.

They came for Marcus, but I was easier to find.

More visible, less protected.

They grabbed me outside a charity luncheon I was forced to attend for Marcus.

A black van, a cloth over my face.

The first call from the kidnappers went to Marcus.

He was with Vivian.

"She' s having a difficult pregnancy with Leo," he told the negotiator. "Her blood pressure is very high. I can' t leave her side. You understand."

A difficult pregnancy. Leo was already born. He was six months old.

Marcus was lying. Or Vivian was.

He told them he' d pay, but he needed time. He needed to ensure Vivian was stable.

Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months.

A year.

They kept me in a dark, damp room.

They hurt me.

My questions about Marcus were met with laughter.

"He' s busy with his other woman," one of them sneered, showing me a blurry tabloid photo of Marcus and Vivian at a park with Leo. "Looks like he forgot about you."

They broke my leg. It healed wrong.

Scars bloomed on my skin, a permanent map of their cruelty.

I learned to live with pain.

I learned to hate Marcus Thorne with a cold, steady fire.

One night, there was a raid. Not for me. Rival gangs, a turf war.

In the chaos, I saw a chance.

I crawled through a broken window, my bad leg screaming.

I ran, or stumbled, as fast as I could.

For Lily. I had to get back to Lily.

The pain was a constant companion, but the thought of my daughter pushed me forward.

I didn't know how long I was free before a truck driver found me by the side of a deserted road.

He looked horrified.

He took me to a hospital.

"What's your name?" a kind nurse asked.

"Sarah Thorne," I whispered, my voice raspy from disuse. "My husband is Marcus Thorne."

She looked at me with pity.

It took days for them to contact Marcus. Or for him to respond.

Mr. Henderson arrived first. His face was grim.

"Mrs. Thorne. You're alive."

There was no relief in his voice. Only sorrow.