Chapter 2 - The Woman at the Bottom of the Stairs
The servants' balcony ended beside a narrow staircase almost completely hidden by ivy.
I descended quickly, clutching the railing with one hand and my backpack with the other.
Inside the house, Derek was shouting my name.
I heard doors opening.
People were moving through the hallway.
His relatives were searching for me.
When my shoes touched the ground, I headed toward the rear garden.
I had almost reached the trees when someone stepped from behind the greenhouse.
I stopped so fast my backpack swung forward.
It was Derek's cousin, Emma.
She was thirty-two, quiet, and one of the few people at the wedding who had treated me like a human being instead of an acquisition.
"Don't scream," she whispered.
"I wasn't planning to."
"They're looking for you."
"I noticed."
Emma glanced at the house.
"You can't use the front gate."
"Why?"
"Derek told Uncle Marcus to park the SUV across it."
My stomach tightened.
"They're blocking the property?"
Emma nodded.
"He told everyone you're emotional and might do something irrational."
I almost laughed.
Fourteen hours.
That was how long it had taken Derek to transform me from bride into prisoner.
Emma stepped closer.
"Did Olivia contact you?"
I stared at her.
"How do you know Olivia?"
Emma closed her eyes.
That was when I understood.
"You knew."
"Not everything."
"You knew he was married."
"I knew there had been someone before you."
"Allison?"
Emma's face changed.
"You know her name."
"Olivia found her."
Emma grabbed my arm.
"Then you need to leave now."
I pulled away.
"Why?"
Her eyes filled with something I hadn't seen in the dining room.
Fear.
"Because Allison wasn't the first woman they did this to."
For a moment, the garden seemed completely silent.
"What does that mean?"
Emma swallowed.
"Derek doesn't marry women because he loves them."
The back door slammed open.
"Derek!" someone shouted.
"I saw movement by the greenhouse!"
Emma looked toward the trees.
"Come with me."
We ran behind the greenhouse and crossed a strip of wet grass toward an old storage cottage.
Emma unlocked it with a key from her pocket.
Inside were gardening tools, broken chairs, and boxes covered in dust.
She pulled me behind a shelving unit.
Thirty seconds later, footsteps passed outside.
A man's voice called my name.
Another voice laughed.
"She'll come back when she realizes she has nowhere to go."
Emma waited until they were gone.
Then she reached behind a toolbox and pulled out a small plastic folder.
She handed it to me.
Inside were photocopies of checks.
Bank transfers.
Marriage licenses.
And photographs of three different women.
One of them was Allison.
I looked at Emma.
"What is this?"
May you like
Her answer made every hair on my arms rise.
"Insurance."
