Chapter 5 - THE ACCELERATED PLOT
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I clicked on the email thread, my heart hammering like a trapped bird against my ribs. The text on the screen was brief, precise, and devoid of any human empathy.
Dominic, Vane had written at 6:15 p.m. The board meeting has been moved up to Friday. If Clare is still legally present as your wife during the shareholder audit, her original foundation capital will be subject to independent valuation. We cannot allow her legal team to freeze the maritime assets.
Dominic’s response, sent just three hours later from his phone, made my blood run entirely cold.
We move tonight, Dominic had replied. I will administer the sedative in her night water after the Halston gala. By 3:00 a.m., the transport team will arrive at the penthouse. She will be admitted to the St. Jude Private Pavilion under emergency hold before dawn.
I looked at the clock on the wall of the nursery.
It was 12:42 a.m.
I had less than two hours before a medical transport team arrived to drag me away in handcuffs and restraints.
Panic clawed at my chest, threatening to drown me, but I looked down at the soft white crib sitting in the center of the nursery. My baby gave another strong kick against my palm.
“Not today,” I whispered to the empty room, my voice trembling but sharp as steel. “He will never touch you.”
I closed the laptop, wiped the browser history, and logged out of the cloud account. I stood up carefully, my mind calculating every move with military precision.
I couldn't call the police; Dominic owned half the precinct captains in Manhattan. I couldn't call a lawyer yet; Vane would have my location flagged the second my name hit a legal database.
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I had to vanish into the night before the clock struck three.
I walked silently back to the master bedroom, avoiding the squeaky floorboards near Dominic’s study, and pulled a small leather overnight bag from the top of the closet.
