Chapter 1 - The Night Mason Forced Claire Out
Claire crossed the living room slowly, one hand supporting the curve of her seven-month pregnancy.
The house was quiet except for the soft hum of the refrigerator from the connected kitchen.
Mason stood near the sofa watching her.
Then, without warning, he kicked the lightweight ottoman hard across her path.
It slid directly in front of Claire’s feet.
Claire jerked backward, threw out her right arm for balance, and bumped sideways against the sofa.
Her eyes locked on him.
“Mason… what are you doing?”
She gripped the sofa and pushed herself upright.
Mason stepped directly in front of her.
His open palm slammed against the wall beside her head.
Claire flinched.
“Get out of my house.”
Something in her expression changed.
Fear hardened into anger.
She turned away from him and headed into the kitchen.
Mason followed.
Before Claire could understand what he intended, he grabbed a large metal pot, lifted it, and dropped it over her head without striking her body.
Claire ripped it off immediately.
“Have you lost your mind?!”
She hurled it sideways.
The pot crashed into a stack of bowls and utensils on the counter. Bowls toppled onto the floor. Spoons and forks scattered across the tile.
Claire grabbed her handbag.
Mason did not stop her.
That hurt almost as much as everything else.
She moved quickly toward the front door, turned once, and stared at the man she had married.
“We’ll talk divorce when you come to your senses.”
Then she stepped outside and slammed the door.
The frame rattled.
Inside, Mason remained still.
One second.
Two.
Then his entire body changed.
His shoulders dropped.
His right hand began trembling.
The anger disappeared from his face so completely it was almost as if someone had switched him off.
His phone rang.
Mason pulled it from his pocket.
“Hello?”
A digitally altered voice answered.
“You got Claire out. Good. Fail again, and everything falls apart.”
Mason looked toward the small security camera mounted above the doorframe.
His face went pale.
He stared directly into its lens.
Then his phone went dead.
Outside, Claire was already walking toward her car.
She did not see Mason sink onto the edge of the sofa.
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She did not see him cover his face with both hands.
And she had no idea that the man who had just terrified her had spent the entire confrontation watching the security camera instead of watching her.
