Chapter 5 - A Ghost from the Past
With the recording secured,
saved onto the cloud through the hospital's public Wi-Fi,
I needed an ally outside these walls.
I needed someone vicious,
someone who didn't care about Daniel's charming smiles,
someone who knew the law better than the devil himself.
My fingers trembled over the cracked screen of the burner phone,
navigating to the keypad.
I dialed a number from memory,
a number I hadn't called in three excruciating years.
Marcus.
A ruthless divorce attorney,
a shark in a tailored suit,
and my best friend from college.
Daniel had forced me to cut ties with him shortly after the wedding,
claiming Marcus was secretly in love with me,
manipulating my guilt until I blocked his number.
It was step one in building my cage,
cutting off my fiercest protector.
The phone rang once,
twice,
three times.
My chest tightened,
panic rising in my throat.
What if he didn't answer?
What if he hated me for abandoning our friendship?
"Marcus Hale,"
a deep,
gravelly voice answered on the fourth ring.
Tears spilled down my cheeks,
the sound of his voice breaking the dam of my suppressed terror.
"Marcus,"
I sobbed,
clutching the phone so tightly my knuckles turned white.
"It's Elena."
Silence stretched over the line,
a heavy,
shocked silence.
"Elena?"
he finally said,
his professional tone vanishing instantly,
replaced by raw urgency.
"Where are you?
Are you okay?
I've been trying to find you for years,
Daniel blocked me on everything."
"I'm in St. Jude's Hospital,"
I whispered,
glancing nervously at the door.
"I'm in the burn unit.
Marcus,
they tried to kill me,
and he took all my money."
I heard the sharp intake of his breath,
followed by the sound of a chair scraping violently against the floor.
"I'm leaving the office right now,"
Marcus growled,
his voice vibrating with a terrifying,
focused rage.
"Who did it?
Was it him?"
"His mother,"
I cried,
the relief of finally telling the truth overwhelming me.
"She poured boiling oil on my back,
and Daniel covered it up.
He told the doctors I'm crazy,
he drained my bank accounts yesterday."
"Listen to me very carefully, El,"
Marcus said,
his tone shifting into full attorney mode,
sharp,
commanding,
precise.
"Do not confront them.
Do not act angry.
You need to smile,
nod,
and play the battered,
obedient wife until I get there."
"I have a recording,"
I told him,
my voice shaking with adrenaline.
"Vivian came in today,
she admitted she did it on purpose,
she threatened me."
Marcus let out a low,
dark chuckle,
the sound of a predator spotting bleeding prey.
"Send it to my encrypted email right now,"
he ordered.
"I am going to freeze his assets by tomorrow morning,
and I am going to have a restraining order drafted before I reach the hospital lobby.
We are going to destroy them, Elena."
"They think they won,"
I whispered,
staring at the closed door,
imagining Daniel sitting in his office,
thinking his cage was completely locked.
"Let them think that,"
Marcus replied.
"The best time to stab a man in the back,
is when he's busy taking a bow."
He hung up,
and I lowered the phone,
sliding it back under the pillow.
For the first time since the oil hit my skin,
I didn't feel like a victim.
May you like
I felt like a soldier,
waking up on the battlefield,
