I stand outside the building of the address he sent me in the text message. The Landmark Group is etched in the glass door in front of me. That’s the name of the investment banking company my soon-to-be ex-husband works for. His father’s company. But this can’t be right. They don’t have a branch here. They only have two locations. One in downtown Memphis and the headquarters is located in Nashville.

Blake mentioned his father wanted to open a third location, but the talk was always Dallas, Texas; not one town over . . . I’d remember something like that. Maybe Dallas fell through? Where did this come from? And when? I’ve only been gone from his life for six-weeks. Well, gone as much as I can be anyway. We’ll unfortunately always be connected because of Emersyn.

Raising my cell phone to my ear, I call his phone once again. And once again there is no answer.

What the hell is he playing at?

What stupid point is he trying to make?

I pull on the heavy, steel door handle. It opens, but all is dark inside. I can still see, but there aren’t any lights on. It’s not open for business that’s clear.

“Blake,” I call out, hearing my voice echo in the emptiness. I pause a moment to take in the construction. There’s plastic everywhere, covering the concrete flooring and what I presume will be a large welcome desk in the center of the lobby. The smell of fresh paint wafts up my nose, making the bridge crinkle at the pungent aroma. “Everly,” I say louder.

Where is my daughter?

I’m hit again with silence.

“Blake!” I bark. “Dammit, where is she? This isn’t funny.”

I turn in a circle, my eyes scanning every nook and cranny before the sense of being watched creeps up my spine. But from where? There’s a glass elevator to my left. Looking right, I see a wide set of steel stairs. My eyes glide up, taking in the offices above me encased in more glass. The walkways and railing are all hard, steel and I can see everything. The flooring above me has an industrial feel. Nothing about this place says banking. At least not to me.

When I get to the third floor, I see him.

He’s dressed in his usual: black suit, white dress shirt, and silk tie. His jacket is unbuttoned and opened with his hands positioned on his hips as he stares down at me. I think I see a bit of a wicked gleam in his eyes, but anger engulfs me so quick I don’t have to think about it.

How dare him? How dare he think he can get away with this? Whatever the fuck this is. He’s gone too far. He has to realize this isn’t okay.

I dart right, taking the stairs two at a time. Adrenaline propels me upward. My legs are quickly tiring. I haven’t run in years, and the burn in my calves lets me know how out of shape I am, but determination won’t allow me to slowdown. I’ll get my child, and he’ll be lucky I don’t push him over the railing before I leave.

He watches every step I make, not moving from his position behind that glass wall. I still haven’t seen—I stop just before the last step. Everly. That’s when I see her sitting off to his right. She looks so small sitting in one of the chairs at a vast, empty table. Conference room? Maybe. Probably. Her backpack is in front of her on top of the table—also glass. She’s hugging the material, scared I imagine.

There are two entrances leading into the room. I take the one closest to me—closest to my daughter.

Up here there is no plastic covering things. No dust. Everything I’m seeing is already finished and cleaned as though the construction is being completed from top to bottom.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I ask, not looking at him as I step toward my daughter. “Are you okay?” I wrap my hand around her head, gently pulling her into my chest as I meet his eyes from where he’s still standing.

“Step away from her.” His body twists around, facing us. I glare, getting angrier by the second.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do. Or her.” I squeeze Everly tighter. “I’m here to get my daughter. We’re leaving. When I get home, you better bet—” He cuts me off.

“I thought I told you to bring my daughter with you. Where is Emersyn?”

“Not here. And I’m pretty sure I just told you I don’t take orders from you.” I drop my hands and take a step backward, giving Everly room to get up. “Let’s go, Ev.”

“I don’t think so, Wife.”

I ignore the “wife” term he refers to me as, not wanting to drag Everly into more drama than he already has. There’s no telling what’s going through her head. It hasn’t been that long ago that she learned he wasn’t her father. I still haven’t explained why that is. She’s ten. What am I supposed to tell her? Eventually, I will. When she’s older. When she doesn’t still have her innocence of the evil that plagues our world still intact, I’ll tell her everything. That innocence is probably waning at this very moment.

“I do think so. Pull this shit again and I’ll—”

My body steps sideways the same moment Everly gasps for breath as I try to block her from his view.

“You’ll what?” The small gun he pulled out from the pocket of his slacks rises in the air, pointing in our direction. “Give me your phone.” My cell phone is still clutched in my hand. “Place it on the table and slide it this way.” When I don’t do it or say anything, he yells, “Do it now!”

I quickly comply. “Blake? What do you—”

“Shut up. When I want something out of your mouth, I’ll tell you when you can speak.”

He steps toward the table, the gun trained on me—or us. He picks my phone up without taking his hateful eyes off me, turning it off.

Why didn’t I tell Shane? Or fuck, call the police. Why the hell didn’t I? He did kidnap my daughter after all. That’s a crime.

God, this is bad.

He’s lost his mind.

What do I do? I have to do something? I have to protect my child.

“Get over here.” He flicks the gun, motioning for me to come toward him. I don’t. I’m not stepping away from shielding Everly. I can’t. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

“What do you want, Blake?”

“I. Just. Told. You. Now get your ass over here.”

“I’m not leaving my daughter.” Everly wraps her arms around my middle, squeezing. “Blake, put the gun down. You’re scaring her.”

“Her?” he snarls. “She ruined everything.” His words startle her. I feel her body jump slightly against my back.

How do I get us out of this? Think, Whitney. Do something. You have to do something. But what? He has a gun. What if it’s loaded? Blake hates guns. Always has. So maybe . . . it is possible it’s not.

“No,” his words draw out in a whisper, as if they’re meant for his ears only. “This is more your fault, than hers, isn’t it? They promised me you. And you violated what was supposed to be mine when you screwed him, producing her.”

What the fuck is he talking about? I was promised to him? What in God’s name does that even mean?

“Let her leave, Blake. She’s scared. This is about me, right? Not about her, so let her go,” I plead. God, please let her leave. But where is she going to go? No one knows we’re here.

His eyes squint before he huffs out air and steps forward. Before I can make any move my cell phone slips from his fingers, then he grabs my forearms, yanking me into his chest and away from Everly.

“No!” I yell, attempting to push him off so I can get back to her.

“Momma,” she calls out, but I can’t look at her in fear that taking my eyes off Blake could . . . No no no. I can’t think that. I can get him to stop this madness. He wants me after all. I’m his end game, right?

“I said come here. Dammit, you come here.”

I shove as hard as I can. “Get off.” My body shakes with fear for my daughter’s life, but I’m momentarily blinded when pain slices through the side of my head. Fuck that hurts. My hand releases him to reach up to my skull. To the pain stinging the side of my head.

“No! Leave her alone,” Everly yells.

The gun. He hit me with the side of the gun. At least he didn’t pull the trigger. At least his attention is on me.

I blink rapidly, seeing him waving his arm wildly in her direction. “She’s not leaving here. Neither are you.”

Cupping my head, I look over at my daughter. The sullen demeanor that’s been gone for weeks is suddenly marring her beautiful face again. If looks could kill, the one she is giving him would.

It breaks my heart knowing I’m the one that allowed Blake’s disdain for her to go on so long. Even though I didn’t know he wasn’t her father, I shouldn’t have put up with it. I should have left. I knew back when I was pregnant with her I didn’t love him.

“Now, where were we?” He’s still holding the gun, his arm stretched out, toward my baby girl. “Sit your ass on the table behind you. We’re going to have a little family discussion.”

I take one step backward, my butt hitting the hard edge of the glass, but instead of sitting on top of it, I perch myself against it. He says nothing, so neither do I. My mind is racing with a million things at once. I have to get him to point the gun at me. Not her. He’s so angry he could accidentally pull the trigger. I can’t let that happen. I’m responsible for her protection.

“Blake, please just stop pointing the gun at her. Point it at me. You’re mad at me, not her.”

“You’re right, wifey. I am.” The gun slowly moves. Relief floods me, even though now I’m in danger of him accidentally shooting me.

“No.” Everly scream-cries this time. “Don’t hurt my mom.”

“Shut up.” His eyes cut to her just for a second and I see the devil. I see the evil coursing through him. How have I never seen it before? He did, after all, play a huge part in convincing me I was someone I wasn’t. Only someone or something evil would do that. My parents. His parents. The doctors. Who else had a part in keeping me from the life I should have had?

“Blake. Honey.” I call, trying to get his attention solely on me. Maybe she can run out of here.

“Don’t fucking Honey me. Remember, I know your memory is back, Whitney. Heard it loud and clear when you told the judge what a sick fuck I was to do what I did. You. Were. Promised. To. Me. You’re mine. And I’m a sick fuck?”

“I shouldn’t have said that.” Is that what set him off? Were my words to the judge what caused this? “I’m sorry, Blake. Please let—”

“Stop. Talking.” He breathes in deep.

“How did you get a different judge anyway? Your golden-boy, the good doctor, is too good to blackmail a judge. I’m not though. So.” His head cocks to the side. “How did you get a different judge to preside over the hearing? You don’t have any money. I made sure you had to depend on me all these years. SO HOW?”

“You blackmailed the other judge?” Shane mentioned Jacob thought something fishy had to have happened for him to be awarded joint custody. He blackmailed a judge?

“You know, Wife, it’s a wonder what some people—influential people—keep in safety deposit boxes. They think they’re burying their dirty little secrets and no one would be able to touch them. I can though. And it just so happens our judge has a box at my bank in town. And he didn’t want messy things leaked to the public. He was very happy to help me.” His smile is sickening, making my stomach roll. “Many people have secrets they think they can keep hidden. Not from me, though. Not when they pay me to house their dirty laundry. Doctors. Lawyers. Judges. And not just people in Memphis. People from all over the United States. And you of all people should be grateful. It’s how we got Emersyn after all.”

My spine straightens.

“What are talking about?”

“You and your damn birth control. So thorough. Had to feed you fake pills for nearly a year before you became pregnant with her.” I gasp, shocked. I have no words. My birth control didn’t fail like I thought. He planned it. He made it happen. And I let him. I’ve let him pick up my prescriptions all these years. “This time though, when we have our next child, there’s no need for secrets. No need for you to continue taking those fake pills you’ve been on.”

My eyes widen. He was trying again. Holy hell, that’s why I got—

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I’d completely forgotten about my doctor’s visit a few hours ago. The positive result.

I have to do something. He’s crazy. Crazy people do crazy things. He’s talking about when we have another child like I’m going to go back to him.

He’s going to do something bad. I feel it. I feel it in my soul. And I can’t allow him to hurt my daughter that’s already here, breathing, alive, and scared only a few feet away from me.

She has to be my number one priority. I can’t think about anything else—or anyone else. Not until she is safe.

I react, doing the only thing I can think of that might get her out of this unharmed and away from him. I have to do something. Surely anything is better than doing nothing at all. Something has snapped inside of him, and there is no talking my way out of this situation. I’m just praying in the end, that she’ll be okay after this.

“Run, Everly!”

I don’t look at her. Instead, I leap forward, pushing and knocking Blake backward as hard as I can while trying to reach for the weapon. His back hits the glass wall behind him. The gun goes off. Loaded. It was loaded. I stumble, falling onto him, my ear ringing.

No. Nooooo. Everly.

I push up, trying to see where she is. But I don’t see her. She isn’t in the spot she was before. I look out the entrance, still seeing nothing.

“You bitch.”

A sting to my face both stuns me and makes me fall off him, to the side, landing on the carpeted floor.

He slapped me.

Please get to safety, Ev. Please, God, get her to safety.

That’s all that matters. If this is it, if he shoots me and I die, all that matters is that she gets to safety.