Chapter 3 - THE HOUSE WITH NO UNLOCKED DOORSSarah had imagined many places she might end up after leaving St. Vincent's Hospital.
“She doesn't exist anymore.”
A second voice answered.
“You can't erase a civilian because it makes security easier.”
“I didn't erase her.”
“You announced to four hundred witnesses that she was your wife.”
Sarah opened her eyes.
Pain arrived immediately.
Her chest burned.
Her shoulder felt nailed to the mattress.
Even breathing hurt.
She stared at the white ceiling until memory returned in violent flashes.
A boy.
A gun.
Blood.
Adrian Vale.
She is my wife now.
Sarah groaned.
The argument stopped.
The door opened.
Adrian entered first.
He wasn't wearing the tuxedo anymore.
Black trousers.
White shirt.
Sleeves rolled to his forearms.
No tie.
No jacket.
He looked exhausted.
Behind him came a silver-haired man carrying a leather folder.
Sarah tried to sit up.
Pain stopped her.
“Don't.”
Adrian crossed the room.
Sarah glared at him.
“You.”
“Yes.”
“You told people I'm your wife.”
“Yes.”
“Are you insane?”
The silver-haired man coughed into his hand.
Adrian didn't blink.
“Possibly.”
Sarah stared.
“That's your defense?”
“No. It's an observation.”
She reached for the nurse button.
“I'm calling someone normal.”
Adrian caught her wrist gently.
“Before you do, you need to understand what happened.”
“I understand perfectly. Somebody shot me, and then a billionaire apparently suffered a psychotic break.”
The older man failed to hide a smile.
Adrian looked at him.
“Leave.”
The smile vanished.
“Of course.”
When the door closed, Sarah looked back at Adrian.
“How's the boy?”
That changed him immediately.
“Ethan is unharmed.”
Sarah exhaled.
“Good.”
“He hasn't left this hospital.”
“Why?”
“He refuses to go home until he sees you.”
Her expression softened despite herself.
Adrian pulled a chair beside the bed.
“The shooter is dead.”
Sarah went still.
“He was killed by your security?”
“Yes.”
“Then this is over.”
“No.”
Something in his voice chilled her.
Adrian leaned forward.
“The man who fired at Ethan was wearing a catering uniform, but he was not employed by the catering company. His credentials were forged. He bypassed three security checkpoints using codes that were changed twelve hours before the event.”
“So?”
“So someone inside my organization gave him those codes.”
Sarah swallowed.
“And because I saw him…”
“He saw you.”
“He's dead.”
“The person who hired him isn't.”
Sarah looked toward the door.
Suddenly the guards outside didn't seem excessive.
Adrian continued.
“You became the only civilian close enough to potentially have noticed something important.”
“I noticed a gun.”
“You may have noticed more without realizing it.”
Sarah looked at him.
“So your solution was marriage?”
“It created a message.”
“To who?”
“Everyone.”
His face became unreadable.
“In my world, employees can be bought. Witnesses can disappear. Strangers can be dismissed as collateral damage.”
“And wives?”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“Touching my wife means declaring war.”
Sarah stared at him.
“You don't have a wife.”
“I do now, apparently.”
Despite the pain, she almost laughed.
“You can't just announce a marriage like you're ordering room service.”
“No.”
He placed the leather folder on the bed.
“That's why my attorney prepared an alternative.”
Sarah looked down.
A protection agreement.
Medical expenses.
Housing.
Private security.
Compensation.
Then she saw the number.
Five million dollars.
Her breath caught.
Adrian watched her carefully.
“This isn't payment for saving Ethan.”
“It looks like payment.”
“It's payment for the disruption to your life.”
“My life wasn't worth five million dollars yesterday.”
“It was to you.”
The answer unsettled her more than arrogance would have.
“You know nothing about my life.”
“I know your rent is nineteen hundred dollars a month.”
Sarah froze.
“I know you're two months behind.”
Her face hardened.
“I know you work forty-eight hours a week between the Marlowe and a diner in Queens. I know you send three hundred dollars every month to your younger brother in community college.”
“Stop.”
“I know your mother died four years ago and left medical debt you're still paying.”
“Stop.”
Adrian became silent.
Sarah's cheeks burned.
“You investigated me while I was unconscious?”
“I investigated the stranger who took three bullets for my child.”
“You had no right.”
“In my world, rights don't prevent funerals.”
“I don't live in your world.”
“You do now.”
The words settled heavily between them.
Sarah turned toward the window.
Rain streaked Manhattan beyond the glass.
“I want to go home.”
“You can't.”
She looked back.
“You don't own me.”
“No.”
His voice stayed calm.
“But the doctors say you need another six days here, minimum.”
“Oh.”
“And your apartment was searched last night.”
Sarah's blood went cold.
“What?”
“Nothing was stolen.”
“How do you know?”
“My men were watching it.”
“You put men outside my apartment?”
“I put men everywhere.”
Adrian stood.
“Whoever ordered that shooting already knows your name.”
Sarah stared at him.
“Why would they search my apartment?”
“We don't know.”
A soft knock came at the door.
A tiny face appeared.
Ethan.
Sarah's anger vanished.
The boy stood holding a small bouquet of crushed daisies.
His father looked at him.
“You're supposed to wait outside.”
“You said when she was awake.”
Adrian glanced at Sarah.
She nodded.
Ethan hurried toward the bed.
He stopped just short of touching her.
“Do you hurt?”
“A little.”
His eyes filled.
“You were bleeding everywhere.”
Sarah reached slowly for his hand.
“But you're okay.”
“Because you jumped on me.”
“Bad habit.”
“I thought you died.”
“I didn't.”
Ethan carefully placed the flowers beside her.
“I picked these.”
“They're beautiful.”
“They got squished in the car.”
“I like squished flowers.”
He smiled.
For the first time, Sarah saw Adrian Vale smile too.
Barely.
For half a second.
Then Ethan looked between them.
“Are you really Daddy's wife?”
Sarah nearly choked.
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Ethan.”
“What? Everyone on TV says it.”
Sarah looked at Adrian with murder in her expression.
He almost smiled again.
“No,” Sarah said gently. “Your daddy panicked.”
“Daddy doesn't panic.”
“I've noticed.”
Ethan considered this.
“Can you be my friend anyway?”
Sarah squeezed his fingers.
“I think I can manage that.”
The door opened suddenly.
One of Adrian's guards entered.
His face was tense.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found something in Miss Miller's apartment.”
Adrian's entire posture changed.
“What?”
The guard glanced at Sarah.
“A photograph.”
“Of what?”
“Ethan.”
Sarah stopped breathing.
Adrian went completely still.
The guard continued.
“Taken yesterday morning outside his school.”
On the back, someone had written four words.
Sarah saw Adrian's face turn murderous before the guard even said them.
“She saved him once.”
May you like
He paused.
“Let's see her do it twice.”
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