Chapter 3I Spat Out the Coin and Won My Freedom

The night before I was set to leave for the mission, I happened to pass by the study and overheard their conversation.

"Honey, do you think Nelly is angry at me?"

After a long silence, Clark finally spoke.

"Don't worry. She owes you. Just wait until we're married. Then I'll hand Nelly over to you, and you can do whatever you want with her."

My fists clenched at his words, my nails digging into my palms.

I'd already paid with my life once.

This time, I had to get away from Clark for good.

Fortunately, I received a text from Dad.

"Come to Bayport the day after tomorrow. Matthew has agreed to see you."

The assassination mission was unusually dangerous. The target was a politician.

Clark had plenty of men he could have sent, so I knew exactly why he'd chosen me. He wanted to put me in my place.

His message was clear: if I didn't submit and spend the rest of my life as the woman he kept on the side, childless, he could make me disappear in a thousand different ways.

I killed the target during his emergency evacuation, slipping into his room and taking him down in hand-to-hand combat at the last possible moment.

While checking the data on his phone, I made an unexpected discovery. He had dirt on more than just the Family.

Evidence against several rival families was stored in a single encrypted file.

A direct transfer would trigger the file's self-destruct protocol, so I had no choice but to risk my life by disabling the phone's tracking system and carrying the device out with me.

It cost me precious escape time.

I was nearly caught by the arriving security team on my way out.

I managed to escape by diving into a drainage canal, but I was hit by a poisoned bullet in the process.

I hid the phone in a secure location, then fought through the dizziness of the toxin spreading through my body to rendezvous with the extraction team.

Acute heart failure nearly killed me.

On my third day in the hospital, the Family's best cardiopulmonary specialist was checking on me when one of Clark's men suddenly showed up.

"Caroline got spooked by some gunfire. Her heart's been racing ever since. Can you come take a look?"

The doctor stared at him in disbelief. "Nelly just came out of critical condition. Several of her readings are still unstable. She needs me here."

He smiled, pulled the doctor aside, and handed him a paper bag.

"Someone asked me to bring you lunch."

The doctor didn't open it, but I could tell it was stuffed with cash.

No one was going to cross the Family's underboss for a soldier who hadn't made a name for herself yet.

The doctor made his decision immediately.

"Nelly's condition has actually stabilized enough for a transfer to a regular ward. The doctors there can handle it."

A nurse was called in, and I was wheeled out of the ICU.

As I passed the next room, I saw Clark sitting with Caroline.

He heard the gurney roll by and didn't even turn his head.

Matthew, on the other hand, quietly sent someone to check on me when he learned I was in the hospital.

The visitor brought Matthew's message. Matthew was willing to help me leave once I recovered.

I thanked him. Just as the visitor stood to go, Clark made a rare appearance in my room.

"Who is that?"

His guard went up immediately.