Chapter 0004

•ISOLDE•

The following morning, I waited until Caleb left for work before I got out of bed.

I headed to the shower first without the wheelchair that helped me get around when I was still blind.

I dressed quickly in the grey clothes I had tucked beneath the mattress two nights ago. I pulled my hair back and tied it at the nape of my neck, and I didn’t look at myself in the mirror.

I didn't have time to grieve the woman looking back at me.

Sylvan's nursery was three doors down, and I moved through the corridor in my socks, pressing close to the wall.

I opened Sylvan's door.

He was awake, lying on his back, watching the mobile above his crib spin slowly in the morning air.

His dark eyes found me the moment I stepped inside, and his little mouth curved into a smile, so I had to press my fist against my lips to keep from making a sound.

"Good morning, my love," I whispered, reaching into the crib and lifting him against my chest. "We're going to go on a little trip today. Just you and me."

I changed him quickly, tucked him into the carrier strapped across my chest, and zipped my coat over both of us.

Then I stepped into the corridor and called my brother.

Edan answered on the second ring. "Isa?" His voice was rough. "It's barely seven. What's wrong?"

"I need you to come and get me," I whispered. "Come to the side gate. The one by the garden. Don't call or text when you get here. I'll be waiting outside for you."

"Are you safe right now?"

"For the moment." I swallowed. "Please, Edan. I'll explain everything when I see you. All of it. Just come."

"I'm already putting my shoes on," he answered before hanging up the call.

I breathed.

Sylvan made a small sound against my chest, and I pressed my lips to the top of his head and held them there for a moment.

"I've got you," I muttered. "I've got you, and I am not letting go."

I tucked my phone into my coat pocket and turned toward the staircase.

The corridor was empty.

I descended the stairs one at a time, my hand trailing the banister, and my ears were open to every sound the house made around me.

The kitchen was empty. Linda didn't arrive until eight, and the security team rotated at seven-fifteen, which left a ten-minute window near the garden entrance where the camera angle shifted.

I had counted the days until I knew it precisely.

The side door was ahead of me. Twelve steps, maybe fifteen. But it didn't matter. All I wanted was to be out of the house before I could lose my mind.

I couldn't even sleep a wink after Caleb had tried to make me sign over my company to him. I had spent two years in marriage with him, thinking he loved me.

But when he made me sign our divorce papers because he thought I couldn't see, it broke my heart and made me realize that he probably never loved me.

I was wrong about him, about our marriage, and everything else that we built together. He never cared for any of those things.

He never cared for me.

I crossed the entrance hall and reached for the door handle.

"Well."

The voice stopped me cold.

I turned slowly.

Caleb was standing at the far end of the corridor, one shoulder leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest. He was still in his suit. He had never left.

Beside him, Talia stood with her arms crossed, her head tilted, wearing an expression I had never seen on her face before.

"I told you," she laughed, turning to Caleb. "I told you there was something off." She gestured toward me with one hand. "She's been hearing every word, and seeing everything we did. She's been watching us this whole time."

Caleb pushed off the wall and sighed as he leaned toward me. My chest tightened.

He stopped close enough that I could smell the coffee on his breath, and I held Sylvan tighter beneath my coat.

"Did you honestly think," he muttered. "That you could walk out of my house? Without giving me what belongs to me?"

"Let us go," I murmured. "Let us go, Caleb. I won't fight you on anything. The company, the shares, the house. Take it all. I only want my son."

"You want me to let you walk away?" He studied my face. "After everything I've built? After everything I've done for you while you were pretending not to see or hear?"

"I won't remove you from the company," I answered. "You'll keep everything. I swear it. Just let me take Sylvan and walk out of that door, and you will never hear from me again."

"She saw us, Caleb," Talia murmured as she leaned closer. "And I've known Isolde for ten years to know that she won't let this go. She will do something to make us pay. One way or another."

"I've been your wife for two years," I muttered, and Caleb looked at me. "I gave you a son. Please, let me go with him and I won't stand in your way with Talia. I forgive you both for betraying me."

"Do you see?" Talia scoffed, pointing at me. "She won't let us go, Caleb. She will get back at us. She never lets anything slide."

Caleb looked at me for a moment and I really thought he could see just how much I wanted to ensure that our son was safe.

But before I could say anything else, Caleb pulled out a knife from his pocket and plunged it into my side.

I looked at the knife at the side of my stomach and at him. My lips parted and before I could ask why he was doing this to me, I dropped to my knees.