---- Chapter 5 Charlotte Jennings POV: The voice on the other end of the line, the voice of Antony Dean, was quiet for a long moment. When he spoke again, all the calm authority was gone, replaced by a raw, trembling emotion. "Charlotte? Is it really you?" "Yes," | sobbed, relief and terror warring inside me. "I' m sorry to call like this. I'm in trouble. | need help." "Tell me where you are," he said, his voice instantly shifting, becoming sharp and focused. "Don't say anything else. Just the address." | gave him the address of the penthouse "We' re on our way," he said. "Don't talk to anyone. Don't agree to anything. Just hold on. We' re coming." He hung up. The line went dead, but for the first time in weeks, | didn' t feel alone. A fragile tendril of hope unfurled in my chest. We. He had said we. | spent the rest of the day in a state of suspended animation, feigning compliance. | ate the food they brought me. | sketched designs on my laptop, pretending to be absorbed in ---- my work. | was playing the part of the broken but obedient wife. It seemed to be working. Gabe looked relieved, Eleanor looked satisfied, and Harper looked smug. They thought they had won. That evening, Gabe came to my room again. He was dressed to go out, looking handsome and carefree in a tailored suit. "Harper isn' t feeling well," he said, avoiding my eyes. "The doctor recommended a change of scenery. Less stress. We' re going to fly to the Hamptons for a few days. Just until the... appointment on Monday." He was leaving. He was going on a romantic getaway with his mistress while | waited for the appointment he had arranged to end our child' s life. The casual cruelty was staggering. "Okay," | said, my voice a monotone. He seemed surprised by my lack of reaction. He stepped closer, reaching out to touch my cheek. "I' Il be back Sunday night, Lottie. |' Il be here with you on Monday. You won' t be alone." A hollow promise from a hollow man. | forced a small, sad smile. "Go. She needs you. Don' t worry about me. ' Il be fine." My compliance seemed to unnerve him more than my anger had. He frowned, searching my face. "You're... being very calm about this." ---- "I' m just tired of fighting, Gabe," | said, letting my shoulders slump in feigned defeat. "You were right. The family, the company... it' s what' s important. | understand now." He pulled me into a hug, burying his face in my hair. | stood stiffly in his arms, feeling nothing. His embrace was no longer a comfort; it was the cage. "| love you so much," he whispered. The words were meaningless. An echo from a life that no longer existed. As he was leaving, Harper appeared in the doorway, clinging to his arm. She gave me a triumphant little smirk over his shoulder. "We' Il see you Monday, Charlotte," she chirped, a singsong threat. | just nodded and closed the door. | waited. | listened until | heard the front door of the penthouse close, until the sound of their laughter faded down the hall. And then | went to the window. | watched until a black town car pulled away from the curb below and disappeared into the river of traffic. They were gone. | let out a breath | didn' t realize ' d been holding. The first stage of my escape was complete. ---- | immediately called the number again. This time, a woman answered. Her voice was warm and gentle. "Charlotte, my darling girl. This is Genevra. Your mother." Hearing those words, your mother, broke something open inside me. The dam of control | had so carefully constructed crumbled, and | began to sob, deep, gut-wrenching sobs of fear and grief and a desperate, childish longing for a comfort | had never known. "It's alright, my love," she soothed, her voice a lifeline in the darkness. "We know everything. Antony has people everywhere. We know what they' ve done to you. We know what they plan to do. It' s not going to happen. Do you hear me, Charlotte? We will not let them harm you or our grandchild." Her fierce certainty was a balm to my shattered soul. "Your father has already set things in motion," she continued. "The Sullivan family is about to learn what happens when they cross a Dean. But first, we need to get you out of there. There will be a car waiting for you at the service entrance in ten minutes. Can you get there?" "The door is locked," | whispered, a fresh wave of panic rising. "It won't be," she said with absolute confidence. "Just go. Now.' My heart hammered against my ribs. | grabbed my purse and my laptop-my work, my identity, the only things that were still ---- truly mine. | crept to the door of the guest room and turned the handle. It clicked open | slipped out into the hallway. The penthouse was silent and dark, a mausoleum of my dead marriage. | didn't look back. | moved quickly, silently, through the service corridors and down the back stairs, my mind a blank slate of pure, animal instinct. Flee. Survive. Just as Genevra had promised, a sleek black car was idling by the service entrance. The back door opened as | approached. Aman ina sharp suit stepped out. He looked vaguely familiar. "Ms. Jennings," he said with a respectful nod. "l' m Ethan Stokes. | work with your father. You' re safe now." | slid into the plush leather interior, and the car pulled smoothly away from the curb, melting into the New York night. As we turned the corner, | looked back at the glittering tower that had been my prison. From the street, it looked beautiful. A beacon of wealth and power. But | knew the truth. It was a hollow shell, built on a foundation of lies. And | knew, with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, that Antony Dean was about to bring it all crashing down. Just before the tower disappeared from view, my phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number. ---- They' re here. | looked up from my phone. We had pulled up in front of a private hospital. My blood ran cold. This wasn't the plan. Before | could react, the car doors were pulled open. It wasn't Ethan Stokes. It was my adoptive father, Robert Jennings, and two heavy-set men | didn't recognize. On the other side of the car, Eleanor Sullivan and Harper' s mother, a woman with the same greedy eyes as her daughter, stared in at me. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" Eleanor sneered, her face a mask of triumphant cruelty. "Gabe may be a fool for you, but | am not. | had your phone bugged the moment he gave it back to you." My blood turned to ice. It had all been a trap. "Get out of the car, Charlotte," Robert Jennings ordered, his voice hard. "You' ve caused this family enough trouble." They dragged me out of the car and into the sterile, unforgiving light of the hospital.