Chapter 2 - The Woman Before Me
I read Naomi’s message three times.
My pulse barely changed.
My thinking did.
What woman?
The response came immediately.
Former fiancée. Claire Donnelly. Disappeared from San Diego social circles eighteen months ago.
I remembered the name.
Barely.
Gregory had once mentioned a college girlfriend named Claire.
He said she became obsessed with him and moved overseas after their breakup.
I typed quickly.
Can you reach her?
Naomi replied.
Trying. Save everything. Don’t confront him about her.
Gregory knocked again.
“Ashlynn.”
I deleted the notification preview and tucked the phone inside the lining of my toiletry bag.
Then I opened the door.
Gregory stood there holding two glasses of champagne.
The bat was gone.
His smile had returned.
“I overreacted.”
I said nothing.
“My father raised me in a very traditional household.”
“With baseball bats?”
His jaw tightened.
“I said I overreacted.”
“That isn’t an apology.”
He placed the glasses down.
“You humiliated me too.”
“I stopped you from attacking me.”
“A wife should never put her hands on her husband.”
“A husband should never corner his wife with a weapon.”
His eyes hardened.
Then he smiled again.
“You’re tired.”
There it was.
The transformation.
Threat.
Charm.
Threat.
Charm.
The rhythm of control.
I had trained Marines to recognize patterns in hostile environments.
I had somehow failed to recognize one inside my own relationship.
Gregory walked toward the balcony.
“We have dinner with the captain tonight.”
“I’m not going.”
“You are.”
“No.”
He turned.
“You don’t understand how my family works.”
“I’m beginning to.”
Gregory studied me for several seconds.
Then he reached into his jacket and placed a folder on the dining table.
“What’s that?”
“Just paperwork.”
I opened it.
A postnuptial financial agreement.
The language was dense, but the intention was obvious.
Joint accounts.
Shared ownership rights.
Medical decision authority.
Power of attorney provisions.
One clause caught my attention.
In the event I became medically incapacitated, Gregory would gain broad authority over my personal and financial affairs.
I looked up.
“You brought legal documents onto our honeymoon?”
“My father’s attorneys prepared them.”
“I’m not signing.”
“You haven’t read everything.”
“I read enough.”
Gregory stepped closer.
“You will sign them before we return to Florida.”
“No.”
His face changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
Then he leaned close.
“Claire said no too.”
Every nerve in my body sharpened.
He smiled when he saw my reaction.
“Oh.”
“You know the name.”
I kept my expression neutral.
Gregory picked up his champagne.
“That makes things much more interesting.”
My hidden phone vibrated inside the bathroom.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Emergency pattern.
Naomi.
Gregory’s eyes moved toward the sound.
“What was that?”
I smiled.
“Probably your ship reminding us that dinner starts soon.”
But as he turned away, I realized something terrifying.
I had not told Naomi about Claire out loud.
May you like
And Gregory already knew someone had.
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