Chapter 12 - The Ghost of the PastOur honeymoon lasted exactly one week—a quiet, secluded cabin tucked away in the snowy peaks of Aspen, far away from Wi-Fi, board meetings, and reporters.
It was bliss. We cooked together, walked through the crisp mountain air with Annie bundled up like a tiny polar bear, and talked about everything under the sun. For the first time, Marcus laughed freely, a sound I had never heard during our initial frantic days in Chicago.
But fairy tales, as it turns out, always have a final shadow waiting in the wings.
On our eighth morning, while Marcus was downstairs brewing coffee, a sharp notification chimed on his corporate tablet left on the dining table.
I glanced over, intending to ignore it, but a sender’s name froze my blood: SEC-Investigations / Special Agent Vance-External.
Out of pure instinct, I picked up the tablet. The screen displayed an encrypted email report regarding Greg, my ex-husband.
My heart slammed against my ribs as I read the words: “Subject has violated restraining order parameters. Traced attempting to access confidential offshore legal filings regarding Emily Carter’s custody agreement. Furthermore, financial records show a mysterious third-party wire transfer originating from overseas, funding Greg’s recent legal appeals.”
Overseas? Greg didn’t have a passport, let alone foreign bank accounts.
Before I could process what it meant, footsteps echoed on the stairs. Marcus walked into the room holding two steaming mugs of coffee, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw the tablet in my trembling hand.
The warmth instantly drained from his face.
“Emily,” Marcus said softly, his voice dropping an octave. “Put that down.”
“Who is funding Greg, Marcus?” I demanded, my breath hitching as I looked up at him. “Who is helping my ex-husband come after me while we’re hiding out here?”
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Marcus closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, a muscle ticking in his jaw. When he opened them, the cold corporate titan was back, but his gaze was filled with deep, protective agony.
“Someone who wants to hurt me by taking everything I love,” Marcus replied grimly. “And she just landed in Aspen.”
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