All Chapters of Gone Beyond Her Reach: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Thunder cracked across the night, and Damon Westbrook's world blew apart.He stood frozen behind the half-open balcony door. His hands and feet had gone ice-cold, and his ears rang.She planned it herself?The nightmare that had destroyed his life wasn't an accident?Eleanor Carrington had arranged the whole thing herself, just to help Marcus Keane finish his research?Marcus's voice drifted in through the glass, light and careless."The next phase of treatment is going to be hard. It's the core of the entire study. Will Damon cooperate?"Eleanor answered evenly, "Don't worry. He does whatever I tell him now.""And if he ever finds out it was you..."Eleanor took the cigarette from his fingers and drew on it deeply."By then, all anyone will see is how you cured a man with severe PTSD. No one's going to dig into what happened to him. It'll be over for good."Ha.A laugh escaped Damon before he could stop it.Three full months of endless hard labor, beatings, and confinemen

The next morning, Damon came downstairs and immediately saw Eleanor and Marcus sitting on opposite sides of the breakfast table.Eleanor pulled out the chair beside her."Damon, sit here."Damon pulled out a chair on the other side instead and sat down.Marcus smiled and poured him a glass of milk. "Damon, Eleanor and I have finalized your next treatment plan."He pushed a thick stack of documents in front of Damon. "Once these sessions are over, you'll never have another nightmare."Damon took a sip of milk and began reading carefully.Marcus looked a little surprised.After all, for the past few months, Damon had never once looked at a treatment plan.Damon turned page after page, and the further he read, the further his heart sank.This wasn't treatment. This was abuse!He fought down the urge to tear the plan to shreds on the spot. "Dr. Keane, this is the treatment plan the two of you came up with? I'm sorry. I won't go along with it."He stood to leave, but Eleanor cau

When Damon woke, Eleanor was keeping watch beside him.The slightest movement made his body feel like it was being torn apart."Damon, you're awake?"Eleanor hurried to help him sit up and poured him a glass of water.Damon didn't take it. He looked at her coldly."Why didn't you come in and save me? Do you have any idea..."A flicker of pain crossed Eleanor's eyes and was gone in an instant."I know, Damon. I know. I've had Wade Briggs locked up. He's going to pay for this. Marcus feels terrible about it, too.""Terrible?"Damon's mouth twisted into a cold smile."Does he feel terrible, or does he feel pleased with himself?"He groped around for his phone. When he found it, he dialed 911."I'm calling the police. I'm calling the police...""You can't call the police!"Eleanor snatched his phone away and gripped his wrist."Do you want to ruin Marcus?"I'll hold on to your phone for now. You'll get it back when treatment's over."Damon tried to grab it, but Eleanor bac

Damon turned around slowly, trembling.It was the monster. Wade Briggs!"Eleanor had you locked up. Why are you here?"Damon swallowed nervously, his stomach churning.He doubled over, retching, but nothing came up except bile.Briggs patted the roll of fat on his belly and picked his teeth with a pinky nail."You'll have to ask Dr. Keane about that. He paid me good money to take real special 'care' of you."He strolled toward Damon, rubbing his hands together."Tsk, tsk. Bet you never thought you'd see me again, huh?"Damon went rigid, his back pressed hard against the door."Stay away! Stay away from me!"Help! Somebody help me!"Briggs lunged. "Nobody's coming to save you. Don't waste your breath."It was exactly like three months ago!"Get away! Get away from me!"But the sedative hadn't fully worn off. He had no strength to fight back.He closed his eyes in despair.Suddenly, Damon remembered the day Eleanor had proposed to him.She had held the diamond ring in h

In the rearview mirror, Eleanor saw Marcus being shoved into the police car with his hands cuffed.He was struggling, and she could faintly hear him shouting her name.She looked away, floored the gas, and raced toward West Channel Bridge on the west side of the city.The streetlights flew past. She didn't see any of it. The only thing in her mind was Damon.All the strange things Damon had done lately came flooding back at once, pressing down on her until she could barely breathe.She didn't dare think about it too hard. Her stomach cramped, and her palms were slick with cold sweat.She kept her foot heavy on the gas. Reason told her to watch the road, but her heart held only one thought: faster, faster.She tore all the way to the north end of the bridge, and from a distance she saw police lights flashing beside it.Several squad cars were parked on the shoulder, and police tape held back the onlookers.The wind off the water was strong, and the surface was pitch-black.The