PART 3 — The Woman He Tried to Destroy
For exactly three seconds, I couldn’t breathe.
Grace.
The woman who had risked everything to protect me.
Now she was sitting inside a black SUV because of me.
Margaret took my phone from my trembling hands.
She watched the video twice.
Then she looked at me with frightening calm.
“This wasn’t sent to scare you,” she said.
“It was sent to rush you.”
I frowned.
“They want me emotional.”
She nodded.
“They want you to make a mistake.”
I closed my eyes.
Ethan knew me well.
For years, whenever someone I loved was in danger, I forgot about myself.
I reacted.
I begged.
I surrendered.
Not this time.
I looked at Margaret.
“We’re getting Grace back.”
Margaret reached for another phone.
“No.”
I stared at her.
“No?”
“If we call the police now, they’ll move Grace before anyone can find her.”
“So what do we do?”
Margaret smiled slightly.
“We let Ethan think his trap worked.”
An hour later, I called Ethan.
He answered immediately.
“Olivia.”
His voice sounded almost gentle.
“I’ll sign,” I whispered.
Silence.
Then…
