Page 96 of What Comes Around

I looked up.

“This was targeted,” he said.

I already knew.

He continued anyway.

“From one of the burner phones we recovered, we found messages. Photos of you. Notes about your schedule. When you finished work. Where you parked. The instructions were clear.”

Knox’s hand tightened around mine.

“If the abduction had succeeded,” the detective said, “he would have been paid five hundred thousand dollars in bitcoin.”

“Who hired him,” I asked.

“We do not know yet,” the detective said. “The other party used a burner phone as well. It will take time to trace.”

Anger simmered low and sharp in my chest.

I didn’t need a name or proof.

Apple. Of course it was her. This was exactly her style.

“What was he supposed to do with me?”

Detective Jackson went quiet. He looked down at the file, then back at me.

“In the end,” he said slowly, “he was supposed to get rid of you.”

I understood the part he didn’t say. Before that, I would have been taken to the brothel. Like in my past life.

Knox’s voice cut in. “Is she still in danger?”

Detective Jackson did not soften it. “Until we identify who hired him, we have to assume there is still a threat.”

Knox’s grip on my hand tightened.

I squeezed back. Not from fear. From anger.

The detective went over procedures, next steps, what would happen with the case, what they needed from me.

I answered everything, but my mind was already elsewhere.

When the meeting ended, Knox stood first, helping me up gently. His hand stayed at my back as we walked out of the room. His whole body was tense, coiled, barely contained.

The cold air outside hit my face.

I inhaled slowly.

Apple would pay for this.

For all of it.

Chapter 31: The Bodyguard

The next morning I went to the doctor to have the nasal splint removed. The adhesive tugged a little as the doctor peeled it away, but the relief afterward was immediate. He examined the bridge of my nose, nodded approvingly, and told me everything was healing beautifully. The bruising under my eyes was still faintly yellow, nothing a little makeup couldn’t hide.

For the first time since the attack, I almost felt like myself again.