Chapter 7: Truth and Connection
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As we rounded a cliff overlooking the ocean, my breath caught. The vast blue expanse both terrified and called to me.
"I was in the water," I whispered. "Not swimming. Drowning."
Jack pulled over, turning to face me. "What else do you remember?"
"A push. Someone pushed me." My voice trembled. "Why would someone want me dead?"
Jack's jaw tightened. I could tell he'd been revealing information in small doses, protecting my fragile psyche.
"I think it's time you knew more," he said quietly.
In his beach house, he spread photographs across the table—newspaper clippings, social media screenshots, corporate profiles.
"Your name is Rachel Williams. You married Michael Davis five years ago." His voice remained gentle as he continued, "The night you were found, you were on a cruise ship celebrating your anniversary."
My fingers traced a wedding photo. The woman—myself—smiled with empty eyes beside Michael Davis.
"And this woman?" I pointed to another photo showing Michael with his arm around a brunette.
"Mia Brown. His assistant."
The truth crashed over me like a tidal wave. My chest constricted, vision tunneling as panic consumed me. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think—
"Rachel. Rachel, look at me." Jack knelt before me, his hands warm against my ice-cold ones. "Breathe with me. In… out…"
When I finally calmed, tears streaming down my face, Jack asked the question that would change everything.
"What if we could make him pay? What if we could take everything from him, just like he tried to take everything from you?"
I looked up, something dangerous awakening in my eyes.
"How?"
Jack's expression was both tender and resolute. "Marry me. A contract marriage. Together, we'll destroy Michael Davis."
