After Gregory was taken away, I sat alone in the cabin.
The ship continued moving through the dark water.
The honeymoon suite looked exactly as it had an hour earlier.
Champagne.
Flowers.
A bed covered with white rose petals.
And a baseball bat lying on the floor.
I picked up my phone.
There was one person I hadn’t called.
My former Marine instructor.
Captain Elena Ward.
I hesitated.
Then called.
She answered on the third ring.
“Ashlynn?”
I laughed softly.
“Hi.”
“You sound strange.”
“I need help.”
There was silence.
Then her voice changed.
“What happened?”
I told her.
She listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she said,
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Another pause.
“Do you want me to come?”
I looked through the window.
The ocean stretched endlessly beyond the glass.
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there.”
I closed my eyes.
For years, I had believed leaving the Marines meant leaving that life behind.
But the truth was different.
I hadn’t left the woman I became.
I had simply stopped needing her every day.
Until now.
Part 6 — The Father’s Secret
The next morning, the ship’s security director came to my cabin.
“We found something else.”
He placed Gregory’s second phone on the table.
“We reviewed the messages.”
I looked at the screen.
Most were between Gregory and his father.
Then I saw one from the night before the wedding.
She has no idea what’s coming.
His father had replied:
Your mother was stronger than her. Break her early.
I felt sick.
Then another message appeared.
Once the honeymoon is over, move her accounts under your control.
The director looked at me.
“Mrs. Hartman, we have contacted authorities.”
“Thank you.”
“There is also a question about the photographs.”
“What question?”
“Some were taken before you met your husband.”
I stared at him.
“How long had he been watching me?”
“We’re still determining that.”
My hands tightened.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice spoke.
“Your husband made a mistake.”
I froze.
“Who is this?”
“Someone who knows what Gregory was planning.”
“What do you want?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why call?”
“To warn you.”
“About what?”
A pause.
Then:
“Your husband wasn’t the first man in his family to do this.”
The call ended.
I looked at the security director.
“Can you trace it?”
He nodded.
“We’ll try.”
Part 7 — His Mother
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