Chapter 3 - The Sanctuary and the Vow
I woke up hours later in a sprawling, sunlit bedroom that smelled of lavender and clean linen. It was Gabriel’s private estate—a heavily fortified mountain compound guarded by state-of-the-art security and men who moved with military precision.
My shoulder was neatly bandaged, my face treated with soothing ice packs, and a warm, nutritious breakfast sat on a tray beside the bed. I sat up slowly, resting my hand on my belly, feeling the gentle flutters of my baby once again.
The door opened, and Gabriel walked in, wearing a simple grey t-shirt that highlighted the intricate Ranger tattoos along his arms. He was holding a sleek tablet.
"How are the pain levels?" he asked, pulling up a chair beside the bed.
"Manageable," I replied, my voice steadier than it had been in months. "Gabriel... Marcus is going to call the police. He's going to tell them I was kidnapped or that I'm mentally unstable. His family has connections in the city."
Gabriel let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Let him try. In fact, he already did."
He handed me the tablet. On the screen was a live surveillance feed of my own house. Police cruisers were parked in the driveway, but they weren't arresting anyone for kidnapping. Instead, forensic investigators were taking photos of the shattered kitchen tiles and the bloody iron poker Marcus had dropped.
"While you were sleeping, my tech specialist hacked into Lucas's cloud storage," Gabriel explained coldly. "That little idiot was livestreaming your assault to a private group chat of his fraternity brothers. We downloaded the entire footage in 4K resolution before he could hit delete."
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I stared at him, stunned. "You have the video?"
"We have everything," Gabriel said, leaning forward and taking my hands. "I am not just going to send them to prison, sis. That's too easy. I am going to strip them of their money, their reputation, their pride, and their freedom. By Friday, the name Vance will be toxic in this state."
