Chapter 18
Chapter 18:
The evening air hit her face — crisp, smelling of damp earth, pine needles, and the distinct mineral scent of the lake. It was grounding. She moved past the infinity pool and across the manicured lawn, her feet carrying her instinctively toward the water. The sun was setting, casting long bruised shadows across the grass.
She reached the old wooden pier. It was the only part of the estate Dallas hadn’t modernized. The planks were weathered and grey, groaning softly under her weight as she walked to the end. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the dark water below. This was hers. The water, the trees, the silence.
The low rumble of an engine — too aggressive for these quiet country roads — cut through the peace. It grew closer, then abruptly died.
Eliza froze. The hair on the back of her neck rose.
“Dallas?” she called out, her voice thin above the sound of the lapping water. But she already knew it wasn’t his car.
𝖱е𝘢𝗱 𝖿𝗿𝘦𝖾 𝗇𝗈𝘃e𝘭𝗌 𝗈𝗇 ѕ.𝖼o𝗆
A door slammed. Footsteps crunched on the gravel path from the main road — not the driveway. Whoever it was had come from outside the gates.
A figure emerged from the shadow of the trees. He was wearing a bespoke navy suit ruined by mud up to the knees, his tie loose, his collar unbuttoned. He looked as though he had waded through the shallows and trekked through the forest to get here.
Anson Hyde.
Eliza stepped back. Her heel caught on a gap between the planks, and she grabbed the wooden railing to steady herself, her heart hammering against her ribs. He looked manic — eyes bloodshot and rimmed with red, his usually immaculate hair falling into his face.
“You shouldn’t be here, Anson,” Eliza said. Her voice shook, but she forced volume into it. “This is private property p>
Anson laughed. It was a hollow, scraping sound with no humor in it.
“Did you really think a new car would be enough to disappear?” he asked, stepping onto the pier. “I have people, Eliza. When you vanished from the gala, my investigator tracked Koch’s helicopter. There’s only one place he flies to for ‘privacy.’ Connecting the dots wasn’t hard p>
He took a step closer, positioning himself between her and the path to the house. Eliza was trapped — water on one side, the man who had been her jailer on the other.
“That was a lifetime ago,” she said, her knuckles white on the railing.
“You think a piece of paper makes you safe?” Anson sneered, gesturing toward the house where the lights burned warmly. “You think signing a marriage license with that machine makes you safe p>
Eliza squared her shoulders. She thought of the deed. She thought of her name on the paper.
“It makes me the owner,” she said, her voice dropping an octave. “And it makes you a trespasser p>
Anson’s face shifted. The sneer dissolved into twisted, desperate pleading — the expression he used when he wanted her forgiveness. The gentle mask.
“Eliza, please,” he said, extending one hand. It was dirty. “I’m trying to save you. Koch is a monster. He destroys companies for sport. He’ll destroy you p>