Chapter 12
Linda tried to save herself the next morning.
She asked to speak with James alone.
He refused.
Emily stayed in the room.
That irritated Linda immediately.
“This is adult business.”
Emily looked at her.
“I’m twenty-four.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes.”
Emily understood perfectly.
Linda wanted the version of her who lowered her head when older people told her pain was immaturity.
That woman was gone.
Linda took a breath.
“Caleb told Ryan your father would destroy him if he ever tried to leave the arrangement.”
James looked at Ryan.
Ryan stared at the floor.
“Arrangement?” Emily asked.
Linda hesitated.
Then admitted there had always been a second purpose to the marriage.
Ryan was meant to stay close enough to James’s daughter to learn when Sarah’s old secrets resurfaced. If Emily ever mentioned the Red Room, he would tell Caleb.
“And if she never did?” James asked.
Linda looked toward Emily’s stomach.
“The baby changed things.”
Emily went cold.
Linda continued carefully.
“Caleb said grandchildren make old men easier to control.”
James’s face emptied.
“What was the plan?”
“No plan.”
James said nothing.
Linda lasted eight seconds.
“He thought once the baby was born, you’d become more cautious.”
Emily stared at her.
Linda tried to soften it.
“Nobody was going to hurt him.”
Ryan suddenly laughed bitterly.
“You told me Caleb wanted the baby at the Bennett house.”
Linda turned.
“Shut up.”
Emily stopped breathing.
James’s voice became quiet.
“Why?”
Ryan looked at Emily, then James.
“He wanted you choosing between the organization and keeping Emily and the baby close.”
There it was.
Not kidnapping.
Not ransom.
Control.
Caleb intended to turn love into permanent leverage.
Emily looked at Linda.
“And you agreed?”
Linda’s answer was almost worse than yes.
“If you had learned to behave, none of it would have been necessary.”
James saw Emily’s expression change.
Not fear.
May you like
Finality.
Whatever marriage remained between her and Ryan ended in that moment.
