CAUGHT
287 Words
The figure stepped into the faint light spilling from the desk lamp.
Nathaniel.
Only… this wasn’t the calm, collected Nathaniel I’d grown used to. His jaw was tight, eyes sharp as steel, scanning the photos scattered across the floor.
“You weren’t supposed to see all of them,” he said quietly.
My voice came out in a whisper. “What are they?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he closed the study door and leaned against it, blocking my only exit. The shadows clung to him, making him seem larger, more dangerous.
I swallowed hard. “If these are what I think they are, then Ryan—”
“Ryan isn’t the only one involved,” Nathaniel cut in, his voice low but edged with urgency. “This goes deeper than you realize. Deeper than I’ve told you.”
My pulse pounded in my ears. “Then tell me now.”
For a long moment, he just stared at me, as if deciding whether I could handle the truth… or whether knowing it would get me killed.
Finally, he stepped forward, closing the distance between us. He crouched down, picking up the photograph I’d dropped, his fingers brushing mine.
“These bundles,” he said, his tone grim, “aren’t just shipments. They’re people. Disappeared. Bought. Sold.”
The room seemed to tilt. “And Ryan—”
Nathaniel’s gaze locked with mine. “—is one of the top names keeping the trade alive.”
I felt the floor vanish under me. The man I’d married… was a monster.
But before I could speak, the sound of footsteps echoed in the hall. Slow. Deliberate.
Nathaniel’s expression hardened instantly. “Hide the photos. Now.”
- Writer
