Chapter 2 - The Judas KissThe county jail was a damp, miserable fortress. Grace sat shivering on the concrete bench, her shoulder screaming in agony from the hockey stick blow. She clutched her knees to her chest, sobbing silently for Lily. Nathan had betrayed her. He had stood there and watched them drag her away in handcuffs.

Suddenly, the heavy iron door clanked open. The lights flickered and died, plunging the cell block into total darkness.

A hand clamped over Grace’s mouth.

“Don’t scream. It’s me,” a deep, familiar voice whispered.

Grace gasped as the beam of a tiny flashlight illuminated Nathan’s face. He was dressed in all black, holding a set of master keys.

“You gave me to them,” she hissed, tears of anger springing to her eyes. “You let them take my baby!”

“I had to,” Nathan whispered fiercely, pressing his forehead against hers. “Victoria owns the police chief. If I had defended you in that kitchen, you wouldn't have made it to the station alive. Lily is safe. I have my personal security team guarding her at the estate. But we are out of time.”

He pulled the blood-stained note from his pocket and pressed it into her hands. Grace read it in the dim light and gasped.

“My father didn't send you away because he hated you, Grace. He sent you away to hide you from Victoria’s family. They are a cartel, and they’ve been slowly consuming my company from the inside.”

Before Grace could process the revelation, a slow, chilling clap echoed from the end of the cellblock corridor. The emergency lights flared to life.

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“How romantic,” Victoria purred, a silencer-equipped pistol in her hand. “A family reunion. Too bad it’s going to be a murder-suicide.”