Chapter 3 - The Ghost Protocol
I woke up to the harsh glare of fluorescent lights and the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor.
My throat burned like fire, and a thick plastic tube was taped to my mouth.
A large, imposing figure stepped out of the shadows of the hospital room.
It was Carter, my personal head of security and the only man in my life I truly trusted.
“You flatlined in the ambulance, Madison,” Carter said, his voice unusually strained.
He explained that my neighbor had found Ethan crying over my unconscious body and immediately called my security detail instead of the police.
“The doctors pumped your stomach and administered a massive dose of charcoal to absorb the neurotoxin,” he continued.
I tried to sit up, a burning fury replacing the residual weakness in my muscles.
“Where is my son?” I rasped, my throat raw from the intubation.
Carter assured me Ethan was in a heavily guarded safehouse across the city.
“Brandon called your phone six times playing the panicked husband,” Carter warned.
I realized Brandon and Nicole were waiting for me to come home, expecting me to be a drooling, compliant vegetable.
“They wanted a weak, poisoned wife to sign away my empire,” I whispered, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.
“What are you doing?” Carter asked, stepping forward to stop me.
“I am going to give them exactly what they want,” I said, pulling the IV from my arm.
Carter drove me back to my mansion, leaving me at the front door to maintain the illusion that I was alone.
I stumbled through the grand entryway, deliberately dragging my feet and slurring my words.
Brandon rushed out of the living room, a perfectly constructed mask of false concern plastered on his face.
“Darling, you look terrible, let me help you to the sofa,” he cooed, practically carrying me to the expensive leather couch.
He handed me a silver pen and slid a massive stack of legal documents onto my lap.
“I hate to ask when you feel sick, but the distribution center deal closes in an hour and I desperately need your signature,” he smiled warmly.
I took the pen with a shaking hand, ready to execute my first act of revenge.
May you like
But as I looked down at the documents, the name of the purchasing LLC made my blood run instantly cold.
The company acquiring my assets was not registered to Brandon or Nicole at all.
