Chapter 3 - Marks of an Unseen Cruelty
Break the paralysis that gripped his limbs, Nathan rushed across the driveway, his expensive leather dress shoes splashing through the deep puddles. He sprinted onto the muddy lawn and dropped hard onto his knees directly in front of Emma, completely unconcerned with the rain ruining his tailored coat or the mud soaking into his trousers. He was operating purely on a father's instinct to protect.
He reached out and gathered her small, freezing hands into his broad, warm palms. Her skin felt like ice, shivering so violently that her teeth clicked together.
"Emma! What are you doing out here?" Nathan pleaded, his voice thick with rising panic and confusion. He brought her small hands toward his chest, trying to share his body heat with her. "Why are you out in the rain? Where is your coat? Why aren't you inside?"
Emma lowered her head immediately, refusing to meet his eyes. She stared down at the soaked grass beneath her muddy bare feet, her shoulders hunched as if trying to make herself as small as possible.
"Mrs. Grayson said I had to finish before dinner," Emma whispered softly, her words choked with cold and fear. "She said if I didn't get the trash out before you got back, I wouldn't get any food."
Nathan’s blood ran cold. Mrs. Grayson was the thirty-five-year-old live-in caregiver he had hired through a prestigious, high-end agency in Atlanta. She came with flawless recommendations, hired specifically to manage the house and ensure Emma’s safety while Nathan was overseas managing his firm's European expansion. Hearing her name associated with such cruelty sent a wave of sickness through his stomach.
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As Nathan adjusted his grip to warm Emma's arms, the sleeve of her oversized, soaked dress shifted upward slightly. Beneath the warm yellow glow of the estate's floodlights, Nathan’s eyes caught a striking visual detail. Circling Emma’s small, pale wrist was a distinct, raised red mark—a cruel ring of bruised, inflamed skin that looked unmistakably like the outline of a harsh restraint or a violent grip.
Nathan’s breathing stopped. His expression instantly shifted from frantic worry to a dark, terrifying focus. The confusion vanished, replaced by an instinctual, protective fury.
