CHAPTER THREE

                                                        Ghost in the Walls

The morning sun was an unwelcome intruder.

Natasha woke with the taste of fear still lingering on her tongue.

The memory of Lucas cradling that old photograph was burned into her mind.

Sixteen. He had known her, watched her since she was sixteen.

The knowledge sat heavy in her chest, making it hard to breathe.

She rolled out of bed, ignoring the luxurious amenities, the silk robe, the fresh breakfast tray delivered silently to her room. All of it felt poisoned now, all gilded chains.

Her phone buzzed against the nightstand.

Unknown Number:
You’re not safe there. Trust no one. Not even him.

Natasha’s blood ran cold.

She sprang from the bed, checking the windows, the door. But everything was locked, pristine.

Who is sending these messages?
And how do they know so much?

Was it someone inside the Salvador estate?

Or worse, someone Lucas knew about but was choosing to ignore?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile across the Estate

Lucas leaned against the balcony railing of his private office, sipping black coffee, watching Natasha’s window from afar.

She was restless. He could feel it.

He had pushed too fast, shown too much.

He hadn’t meant for her to see that photograph last night. It was stupid, reckless and entirely unlike him.

Lucas Salvador didn’t make mistakes.

Except where she was concerned.

There was something about Natasha that unraveled the cold control he had spent years perfecting.

Something that made him forget why he had started this whole game in the first place.

He wasn’t supposed to want her.

He was supposed to destroy her.

And yet, all he could think about was the way her lips had trembled last night. The way her eyes burned when she thought no one was looking.

He slammed the coffee cup down on the railing, shattering it.

Blood pooled from a cut across his palm, but he didn’t flinch.

Pain was easy but love was terrifying.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

At Silver Point Medicals

Later that afternoon, Natasha couldn’t ignore her instincts anymore.

She needed answers.

If her father’s cancer was worsening and if Lucas had been watching her for years then there had to be records, documents. Something tangible that could make sense of the chaos her life had become, maybe a conversation with her father could just be it.

And maybe someone she could trust.

She pulled the scarf tighter around her hair as she walked briskly into the private wing of Silver Point Medical.

It was a sleek, state-of-the-art facility, one she now knew was partially funded by Lucas Salvador himself.

A sobering thought.

Natasha checked in under her maiden name again, keeping her head low.

“Ms. Raymond?” the receptionist called.

She looked up to see a man in a lab coat walking toward her, clipboard in hand.

For a second, the world tilted on its axis.

“Derrick?” she whispered.

He froze.

Then a slow, disbelieving smile spread across his face.

“Natasha? God it’s really you.”

She barely managed a nod before he swept her into a hug, careful and respectful but so achingly familiar that it made her chest ache.

She hadn't realized how much she missed having someone who knew her. The real her.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” Derrick said, stepping back. “You look incredible.”

A blush crept up Natasha’s neck despite everything.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, voice thick.

“I’m a resident physician now," he said with a grin. "Assigned to oncology. I saw your father’s name on the intake forms.”

Her heart clenched, sweat formed on her fore head, the possibility of an even greater storm raging inside her body.

Derrick’s smile faded when he saw the worry cloud her eyes.

“Come with me,” he said gently. “Let’s talk somewhere private.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the Consultation Room

Natasha perched on the edge of the examination table, wringing her hands.

Derrick sat opposite her, scanning through some files on his tablet.

"You look unwell ",  what’s going on Tash?” he asked, voice low starring deep into her eyes and the sweat forming profusely on her head.

Tash.

No one called her that anymore.

She hesitated. Then, something inside her cracked open.

“It’s complicated,” she said finally. “I think someone’s manipulating my family. And I don’t know who to trust anymore.”

Derrick’s jaw tightened.

“You can trust me," he said simply.

The sincerity in his voice almost broke her.

He glanced down at the tablet, frowning.

“I actually pulled up your father’s records when I saw the admission notice. I hope that’s okay.”

Natasha nodded quickly. “Please, go ahead”

Derrick swiped through a few screens. Then his face went pale.

“What is it?” Natasha asked, heart thudding.

He hesitated then turned the tablet toward her.

“Your father’s emergency contact forms, they're not normal. Take a look.”

Natasha leaned closer.

Beside her father’s name, under ‘Next of Kin,’ two names were listed.

Amelia Jr. Raymond.
Lucas Salvador.

Her blood ran cold.

“What the hell does this mean?” she whispered.

Derrick shook his head. “It gets worse.”

He tapped another screen, her father’s private insurance forms.

“There’s a secondary beneficiary listed on his policy. Someone who would receive a payout if your father... if something happens to him.”

Natasha’s stomach twisted.

She already knew the answer before he said it.

“Lucas Salvador.”

The walls seemed to close in around her.

Nothing about this marriage had been an accident. Nothing about Lucas Salvador’s interest in her family was coincidence.

He had been orchestrating everything, maybe even her father’s sickness for years.

But why?

And more terrifyingly, who was Amelia Jr. Raymond?