Chapter 3 - The Secret in the PocketOutside, the heavy upstate New York rain lashed down in sheets, turning the gravel drive into a muddy trap. Emily sprinted toward the security gatehouse, clutching her abdomen as sharp cramps threatened to slow her down. She needed to reach the landline, to call the police, to scream for help.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel behind her. A gloved hand clamped over her mouth, dragging her backward into the shadows of the overgrown rose arbor.
“Going somewhere so soon, darling?” a voice hissed in her ear. It wasn’t Richard—it was Marcus, Richard’s personal fixer and corporate enforcer, who had been waiting in the perimeter SUV.
Emily thrashed wildly, driving her heel down onto Marcus’s shin. He grunted in pain, loosening his grip just enough for her to break free. As she stumbled forward, something fell out of Marcus’s jacket pocket—a heavy, velvet-lined jeweler’s box that popped open upon hitting the wet mud.
Inside gleamed a pair of identical antique heart pendants, jaggedly split down the middle as if torn apart by force. One half was embedded in the mud; the other was clutched tightly in the lining of Marcus’s coat as he reached for it.
Emily froze. Her breath hitched.
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That pendant design... it was identical to the half her dying adoptive mother had given her decades ago, claiming it was the only link to her true birth family.
Before Marcus could grab her, the glass of the greenhouse shattered behind them. Elena vaulted through the opening, landing squarely on Marcus’s back and bringing the heavy man crashing down into the mud.
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