“In the last few days, you’ve opened up about things which were not in those files. I’m hoping you’ll finally fill in the blanks and let me help you.”
“He won’t let me live, you know.” Her voice sounded distant. “Men like that, Luke… you don’t know what they’re capable of.” Her eyes met mine, and I was taken by how much fire still danced behind those chocolate orbs.
“He can try prying you from me, but I warn you, I’m pretty possessive over what’s mine.”
Reaching up, I tucked a stray curl behind her ears. She let out a small gasp, her eyes fluttering closed for a second. What I said should freak me out. Internally, it did.Fuck, I can’t believe I let it slip!
“Luke, you’re the kind of guy any woman would be honored to have at her side, and I am grateful for all you’ve done for me, but I’m—”
“Alyssa, I understand,” I said, and I really did. She was not ready to start something with me. Her last relationship ended disastrously. “Gracie is your priority right now. I’m not going anywhere. I just want you to know that.”
Alyssa smiled at me sadly. I wished I could take away everything that hurt her fucking heart. She didn’t deserve any of this.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Alyssa
A Week Before The Murder
The Discovery
Mal was away, which meant I didn’t have to hear his begging and promises to make it up to me for a whole weekend. I’d had enough and was seriously considering divorce. My therapist said to do what was best for Gracie and me, and Mal’s actions were contrary to healthy. Being a divorce attorney and witnessing the destruction of marriages on a daily basis, I promised myself I’d never stay in a marriage because it was convenient, but I had done just that. Maybe I was weak. That was the only way to explain it. I became the woman I swore I’d never be.
Everything else had changed, but here I was, stagnant.
Mal had always been different, always getting into trouble at school, having no regard for authority, but I loved that about him. He was a rebel, and he complimented my need for order. That is what made us, us. He was the risk-taker, the socialite, and I was the bookworm who did things according to plan.
Sometimes I wondered if I had seen what he was then, would I have walked away?
He’d moved into the guest room. There was no need for us to pretend and continue sharing a room. Gracie was sleeping over at her friend, Hayley’s, which meant I could get the job done without stressing her out about it. I pulled out his expensive suits and shirts and laid them on the bed. Then I walked back to the cupboard for what seemed like the umpteenth time.
“Why the hell do you have to have so many clothes?” I mumbled to the empty room.
“This is so—” I struggled with a suit bag which was obviously stuck to something. Pulling harder, I managed to untangle it, spotting a dial, the kind on a safe. Pushing against the wall, I realized it was drywall. Sliding it back, it revealed a large safe. I had no idea what the combination could be or if there was an alarm on it.
How could I not know this existed?
Then it hit me.
It was a secret, another one of Malcolm’s secrets.
None of the combinations were working. Then I remembered something that happened a few months ago. The strange thing about this safe was that there were no numbers. I tried the combination of letters, R_E_D_R_I_B_B_O_N, and sank to the floor when it opened, my stomach sinking with me.
Standing unsteadily, I opened the heavy door, entering a darkened, strange room, feeling against the wall for a light switch. There was none. I felt in front of me and came across a string, which turned on the lights when I tugged on it.
The room was large, and there was even a small flight of stairs going down. At first, it looked like a bunker of sorts. Several houses had these, but I was not aware that we had one. But on closer inspection, I saw that there were several screens. At least twenty of them and a laptop on a desk in front of the screens were set up. It looked like a security room. I didn’t understand why we would have something like this.
I walked down the stairs and toward the laptop. I knew what the code would be and got in on the first try. The screens came to life. The laptop screen displayed several folders, one titledcameras.I opened it, and each one must have been linked to a screen. Turning them on one by one, I was taken aback by the images which popped up.
“What the fuck is this?” I sank into the chair.
There were videos of girls, young girls, too-fucking-young girls tied up on bunk beds. The cameras could obviously be accessed remotely because the images were not too clear, but I could tell they were starved and afraid. My hands started to tremble.
What was this? Why did Malcolm have footage like that?
One screen caught my eye. A man had a girl on her knees, she was naked, shivering, and the image looked familiar. Then it hit me. The night at the club, when I tried a line with Marley, I walked in on something like this. I’d completely forgotten about it, but now it was clear as day. Older men were sitting around the girl, laughing and performing unthinkable acts as a man whipped her.
When the man turned to me, horror and fear filled his eyes, and I felt like passing out.
