Chapter 1 - DON'T LEAVE ME
Ryan Cole grabbed Claire Bennett by the throat and drove her backward onto the bed.
“LET ME GO!”
Claire clawed at his wrist.
Kicked against the mattress.
Twisted toward the edge.
Ryan yanked her back.
“You’re mine.”
Her blouse tore at the shoulder.
Claire shoved at his chest and tried to crawl toward the bedroom doorway.
Ryan caught her again.
Her hands slipped.
“I… can’t… breathe…”
Then her body went limp.
Ryan froze.
The bedroom door burst open.
Ethan Bennett saw Claire motionless beneath him.
“GET OFF HER!”
He crossed the room in seconds.
Dragged Ryan away.
Hit him once.
Ryan stumbled into the bedframe.
Ethan immediately dropped beside Claire.
“Claire!”
No response.
He pulled her upright.
Tapped her cheek.
“CLAIRE! WAKE UP!”
Her head fell against his chest.
Panic replaced rage.
He scooped her into his arms and ran for the door.
“Claire… please. Don’t leave me.”
At the hospital, Claire woke with pain in her throat and a memory that arrived in fragments.
Ryan.
Bedroom.
His hand.
The words:
You’re mine.
Police took statements.
Ryan was arrested.
Ethan sat beside Claire until sunrise.
Then Detective Laura Chen asked:
“How did Ryan get into the house?”
Ethan answered automatically.
“He has a key.”
Claire turned toward him.
“What?”
Ethan froze.
“He had one from when we moved.”
Claire stared.
“That was two years ago.”
“I thought he gave it back.”
“He didn’t.”
Then Laura opened an evidence bag.
Inside was a brass key recovered from Ryan’s pocket.
Not the original spare.
A duplicate.
May you like
Freshly cut.
And the key tag had Claire’s address written on the back in Ryan’s handwriting.
