Scott’s fists slammed against the precinct’s front counter so hard that the officer behind the glass flinched. “I want the security footage from yesterday. Every single second. And the names who signed her out? Who the hell took Nadine?”
The young officer kept his eyes trained on the paperwork in front of him, trying not to meet Scott’s furious glare.
“Mr. Jones, like I told you, you have no legal right to that information. You’re not listed as her spouse, family, or emergency contact. There’s nothing we can do.”
Scott’s jaw flexed so tightly his teeth might crack. “Don’t play games with me! I’m her husband. Check again.”
The officer flipped the file open. “Sir, according to this, you’re not. Miss Smith has no legal ties to you. Please calm down or we’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Scott grabbed the folder, scanned the forms for the hundredth time. The cold words didn’t change. No marriage certificate. No next of kin. No ties.
He staggered back from the desk, eyes wild, and ripped his phone from his pocket. He dialed his lawyer, pacing a hole into the cheap linoleum floor.
“Look –” he barked the moment the lawyer answered, access. Pull some strings. I need to know where she is, where they took her.”
“– I need you to fix this. Get me There was a pause, then a sigh on the other end. “Scott… I can’t. You don’t have any standing. You forged the papers, you know that better than anyone. Legally, you’re no one to her.”
A roar ripped from Scott’s throat. He ended the call and slammed his phone against the wall, pieces scattering like shrapnel. Jasmine, who had been hovering by the door, shrieked and rushed over.
–
“Scott! Are you insane? Look at you, punching walls, smashing phones Jasmine’s voice trembled with an edge that was part fear, part fury. “She left you. Me, us, over her?” this house! We should be celebrating that she’s gone for good. Why are you losing your mind over her?!”
Scott turned on her, eyes bloodshot, hand dripping a thin line of blood from where it had scraped the brick. “She can’t just leave. I was supposed to decide when she leaves, when she’s done. Not her. Not whoever took her. I was supposed to…” His breath came out ragged, broken.
Jasmine stared at him for a moment, lips curling with disgusted disbelief. “No, Scott, you weren’t supposed to do anything. She did what you could never do – what now, huh? You’ll chase her like a dog? Or is it something else?”
she walked away. So
He froze. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb with me.” Jasmine crossed her arms, her manicured nails tapping against her forearm like knives. “Maybe you actually love her. Maybe you’re so sick in the head you didn’t even know it. That’s why you can’t stand her being gone. Tell me I’m wrono
Chapter 7
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Scott. Go on. Look me in the eye and say it.”
Scott recoiled as if slapped. The word love tasted like poison in his mouth.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jasmine. You’re my wife. You know what she is a pawn, that’s all. A name on paper to protect you. I pity her, that’s it. I just want to know who the hell thinks they can touch what’s mine.”
Jasmine’s eyes narrowed to slits. “What’s yours? Or who’s yours? There’s a difference, Scott.”
He clenched his bloody hand into a fist. “This is about power, Jasmine. She’s nothing but a loose thread that someone tugged on. I want her found, and I want whoever touched her to
pay. That’s it.”
“Better be the only reason,” Jasmine hissed. “Because if you’re doing this for her – you’re worse than scum.”
–
for love
Scott laughed — a harsh, humorless sound. He cupped her face, pressing his forehead to hers.
“Don’t be stupid. You’re the only one who has my heart. Always have. Always will.” He kissed her roughly, as if trying to drown out the nagging doubt echoing in the back of his skull.
She didn’t kiss him back at first, but when he pulled away, her lips curled into a thin smile. “Good. Then prove it to me. Punish her if you find her. Make her regret ever breathing your name.”
“I will,” Scott murmured, voice hoarse. “I’ll find her. I’ll make her pay. Then she’ll know, nobody walks away from me.”
“Good boy,” Jasmine whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. “Now come on. Let’s go buy something pretty for me. Something to celebrate, our real life together.”
Scott forced a smirk, grabbing his coat and draping an arm over her shoulders. They walked out into the night, flashbulbs popping at their backs. From the outside, they looked perfect, the golden couple, untouchable, wrapped up in each other.
But hours later, when they were tangled in the sheets of their king–sized bed, Jasmine’s perfume cloying the air around him, Scott lay awake staring at the ceiling.
Jasmine’s breathing softened beside him, her body pressed close like a satisfied cat. But Scott’s heart pounded, a dull ache twisting beneath his ribs.
Why does it feel like something’s missing? he thought, eyes burning in the dark. Why does it feel like she took something with her when she left?
–
and Scott Jones, for the first time in
Outside their window, the city hummed with secrets his carefully curated life, felt the unfamiliar chill of a loss he couldn’t control. And it terrified him more than anything.
Chapter 8
