Chapter 2 - The Man Who Never Asked for Payment
Megan woke at 5:17 the following morning with her heart pounding and her hand searching for a door that wasn't there.
For several seconds, she didn't recognize the room.
Soft gray curtains moved beside tall windows.
The ocean stretched beyond a balcony.
A thick blanket covered her legs.
Nothing resembled the narrow apartment she'd recently rented or the house she had shared with Rick.
Then she remembered.
The table.
The debt.
Damian Caruso.
She sat upright.
Her coat lay folded across a nearby chair.
The mysterious paper was still inside its lining.
Megan reached for it immediately.
She had carried the document for weeks without understanding why Rick had hidden it.
Now she knew the signature at the bottom wasn't merely decorative.
It belonged to someone connected to Damian's past.
She unfolded the paper carefully.
Under the heading PRIVATE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT, she found Rick's name, the amount of forty thousand dollars, and a numbered reference.
Below that was a sentence she'd avoided reading closely because its meaning frightened her.
The subject will remain in the receiving party's custody until satisfaction of all obligations.
The word subject referred to Megan.
Her hands began shaking.
Someone had written a document describing her captivity as if it were an ordinary commercial transaction.
A gentle knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Megan? It's Moren."
Megan hid the paper.
"Come in."
Moren entered carrying fresh clothing.
"Breakfast is downstairs whenever you're ready. Mr. Caruso asked me to tell you that transportation can be arranged anywhere you'd like."
"Anywhere?"
"Anywhere safe that you choose."
Megan studied her.
"Am I supposed to believe that?"
Moren set the clothes on the bed.
"No. You're supposed to decide for yourself."
It was a strange answer.
Megan was accustomed to people demanding trust before offering proof.
Moren seemed satisfied to let time provide it.
An hour later, Megan found Damian in a smaller breakfast room overlooking the gardens.
He was reading a newspaper beside an untouched cup of coffee.
Two security men stood outside, but neither entered.
Damian looked up.
"Good morning."
She remained near the doorway.
"Did you sleep?"
"A little."
"Would you like breakfast?"
She nodded.
He gestured toward a chair.
"Sit wherever you're comfortable."
Megan chose the seat nearest the exit.
Damian noticed but didn't comment.
A server brought eggs, toast, fruit, and tea.
Megan stared at the food.
Rick had often monitored what she ate, telling her that she was wasting money or gaining weight.
Now a man she barely knew had provided breakfast without even asking what she could contribute.
"Mr. Caruso—"
"Damian is fine."
"Why am I here?"
"Because you needed somewhere safe last night."
"And today?"
"Today is your decision."
She looked directly at him.
"Nobody gives something away for free."
His expression remained steady.
"Then you've spent too long around people who charge you for breathing."
The words were so unexpected that Megan almost smiled.
Almost.
Damian slid a folder across the table.
It contained bank records.
Payment dates.
Transaction references.
And an official statement showing a zero balance beside Rick Delaney's name.
Megan examined the pages.
"These are my payments."
"Yes."
"I thought I was paying our credit card."
"Rick routed the transfers through a financial services company tied to the account holding his debt."
"How did you find out?"
"My financial controller flagged the final payment. I requested the supporting records when Rick contacted my office about a settlement."
"Why?"
Damian took a moment before answering.
"Because I dislike people being used as bargaining chips."
Megan wanted to believe him.
But she remembered something else.
"Rick said Victor Kade arranged the meeting."
Damian's face hardened.
"He did."
"Who is Victor?"
"A man who used to manage part of my family's financial operations."
"Used to?"
"I dismissed him."
"Why?"
"Because he was moving money through companies I hadn't authorized."
Megan stared at the account statement.
"Then why did Rick think he could make arrangements on your behalf?"
"That's a question I'm trying to answer."
She considered his words.
"Are you dangerous?"
Damian didn't smile.
"Yes."
The admission startled her.
He continued.
"I've made decisions I'm not proud of. Some of the men around me have done worse. You should know that before deciding whether to trust me."
Megan hadn't expected honesty.
"Then why should I stay?"
"You shouldn't, if you don't want to."
He leaned back.
"But someone persuaded Rick that bringing you here would accomplish something. I'd like to know what that something is."
Megan thought of the folded paper.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of her sleeve.
Damian noticed.
"There's something you haven't told me."
She looked away.
"Maybe."
"You don't owe me the details."
"Even if they're important?"
"Especially then. Important things should be yours to decide."
Megan studied him for several seconds.
Then she reached into her coat.
She placed the document on the table between them.
Damian didn't touch it immediately.
"May I?"
She nodded.
He unfolded the paper.
His eyes traveled down the page.
The moment he reached the wax seal, something changed.
He stopped breathing for a heartbeat.
"Where did you get this?"
"Rick's jacket."
"When?"
"Almost a month ago."
"Has anyone else seen it?"
"No."
Damian stood.
Not suddenly.
Not angrily.
But with the controlled movement of a man who had just discovered a threat larger than expected.
He walked to the window.
Megan watched him.
"Is it real?"
"Some of it."
"What does that mean?"
"The debt information is genuine. The arrangement isn't."
She swallowed.
"Who made it?"
Damian turned.
"Victor Kade."
"How do you know?"
"Because he used the same seal seventeen months ago."
"On what?"
Damian looked at the document again.
"Another woman's file."
Megan's stomach tightened.
"What happened to her?"
He didn't answer immediately.
That was enough.
"She disappeared?"
Damian nodded.
Megan felt the room move around her.
"How many?"
"Three that I can connect to this mark. Possibly more."
She pressed a hand against her mouth.
Rick hadn't simply tried to escape a debt.
He had delivered her into something far darker.
"Why would Victor send me here?"
"I don't know yet."
Damian folded the document carefully.
"But this paper proves Rick was working with someone who never intended to settle a debt."
Megan reached for it.
Damian returned it immediately.
"It's yours."
She looked surprised.
"You don't want to keep it?"
"I'd like a copy. But you found it. You decide what happens to the original."
A sound interrupted them.
Damian's phone vibrated.
He examined the message.
The color disappeared from his expression.
"What is it?" Megan asked.
He turned the screen toward her.
A photograph showed the entrance of the flower shop where she worked.
The front window was shattered.
May you like
Across the glass door, someone had painted three words in red.
BRING HER BACK.
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