Chapter 75
“Issac!” Evelyn shouted, rolling down the window of the white sedan as it passed by.
Amanda Jones sat silently beside her, perfectly composed.
Issac heard her. He saw her too. But he kept his eyes forward, his expression glacial and disturbingly intense.
“That’s Evelyn calling you,” Charlotte said quietly. “Didn’t you hear her?”
Issac didn’t react at all.
Watching their car pull away, Evelyn yelled for her driver to stop. She flung the door open and took off running after them, frantically dialing Issac’s number as she ran.
She chased them all the way to the iron gates, screaming after the disappearing car like a woman possessed. Passersby stared, clearly thinking she’d lost her mind.
In the car, Amanda remained motionless. She didn’t tell the driver to stop, nor did she go after Evelyn. She just sat there, her face a blank mask, as still as a frozen lake.
Ben, the family driver, glanced in the rearview mirror, completely baffled. Why had Mrs. Jones agreed to let Miss Grantham visit today? She’d even picked her up personally, knowing full well that Mrs. Whitmore would be coming…
Issac’s car had vanished down the road.
Evelyn collapsed at the roadside, staring at the distant speck with raw jealousy and manic determination in her eyes.
She wanted to destroy Charlotte Whitmore.
She’d worked so damn hard to keep Issac with her these past few days, only to discover he was back with Charlotte. They’d gone home together, left together… they looked like they were getting back together…
No. Absolutely not.
Issac belonged to her. She would get him back, whatever it took.
Near the trees along the road, an unmarked van discreetly followed Issac’s car.
Three minutes later, Zarek Weasley’s phone buzzed with a voice message: “Mrs. Whitmore’s been taken by her husband. Still following. Want me to stop him and get her out?”
Taken?
Zarek’s brow furrowed.
After a moment’s thought, he texted back: “Keep following. Don’t engage.”
He had no idea what headspace Issac was in right now. Intercepting could be dangerous.
The operative sent back a thumbs–up.
On the highway, Charlotte watched the speedometer climb toward 140 mph with no sign of slowing.
She gripped her seatbelt tighter. “Could you maybe slow down a bit?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
“What’s wrong? Scared?” Issac’s voice was ice. “I thought nothing scared you.”
Charlotte mentally cursed him six ways to Sunday.
But she wasn’t stupid enough to pick a fight now. Forcing a nervous smile, she said, “We’ve only got one life, Issac. I’d like to keep mine intact. Yours
too.”
“Life’s long, you know? Everything passes eventually. Let’s not do anything… rash.”
10.02
The Moment I Let Go My Uncle: Escaping the Forbidden Past.
66.1%
Issac jerked the wheel suddenly, veering off the highway onto a narrow side road.
Charlotte’s heart slammed against her ribs.
Steadying herself, she glanced out the window. The road was barely wide enough for two cars, with dense treas pressing in from both sides.
The sky was darkening rapidly.
Blue hour. The witching hour. Combined with the tense, eerie atmosphere, it made the man beside her seem like a stranger–possessed by something cold and vengeful.
“Mind telling me where we’re going?” she asked carefully.
“No idea.” Issac replied flatly.
Charlotte fell silent.
After five excruciating minutes, she tried again. “Look, we don’t actually hate each other, right? You made a mistake plenty of men make, and I’m just… stubborn. We had something good once. Time wore it down, that’s all. We followed where our hearts led. I don’t hold anything against you now, You shouldn’t hold anything against me either.”
Issac turned to look at her, his eyes unreadable in the dim light. “You’re really afraid of dying, aren’t you?”
Charlotte’s grip on her seatbelt tightened reflexively.
What the hell did that mean?
Was he this angry because she wanted a divorce? Or because she’d threatened to play those recordings of him with Evelyn in court? Angry enough to
Her mind raced through options for getting help. Strangely, her first thought wasn’t the police but Zarek Weasley–that impossibly capable man
But why should he rescue her, time after time?
“Who are you thinking about?” Issac’s voice cut through her thoughts, edged with barely contained fury.
It’s not just women who have intuition. Men sense things too.
Charlotte glanced at him. “Just wondering when you’ll finally stop driving. If we’ll run out of gas. How we’ll get back to civilization.”
Deliberately mundane concerns. Safe territory.
Issac didn’t respond.
Charlotte carefully slipped her hand into her purse. The phone Issac had grabbed earlier was her new one. She kept everything important on her old phone, which was why she hadn’t fought him for it.
In her pocket was a backup.
She didn’t message Zarek. Instead, she sent her location to Summer Spears every five minutes, adding what she hoped was a coherent message despite her shaking fingers.
Last time she’d tried to text for help, she’d somehow sent “xoxo” instead of “SOS“…
Summer, seeing these random orchard locations popping up on her phone, was confused at first. Then she made out the words “taken” and understood immediately.
She grabbed her keys and headed out.
She didn’t call the police, assuming Issac just wanted to talk to Charlotte alone. He wouldn’t actually hurt her… right?
The car left the orchard, driving for another hour down increasingly remote highways. They passed through the outskirts of a small town, then nothing but countryside… deeper and deeper into nowhere until Charlotte had completely lost track of where they were.
Checking the time, she realized they’d been driving nearly three hours. It was after 9 PM.
Charlotte was now counting on the car running out of gas.
and
66.4%
Chapter 75
Finally, at the foot of a mountain in the absolute middle of nowhere, the engine sputtered and died.
Spring insects chirped loudly in the darkness, punctuated by the occasional frog.
Looking out, she saw nothing but blackness, with only the faintest pinpricks of light visible miles away. A cold realization settled in her stomach. Was he actually planning to kill her?
“Just us now,” Issac said, rolling down his window and lighting a cigarette. In the orange glow, his sharp features looked otherworldly–handsome from dangerous.
He took a long drag, loosening his tie with one hand and pushing his dark hair back from his face. The castral had hoy gesture somehow made him even more intimidating.
Women saw him as the sexy, powerful heir to a fortune, whose simple act of loosening his tie radiated raw masculinity. But when Charlotte had first met him, he’d been a clean–cut, earnest young man who blushed when they held hands. She missed that Issac–the one who seemed long dead now.
“So what now?” Charlotte asked, her voice resigned. “What do you want?”
Issac blew smoke rings while studying her face. Even in the dim light, her beauty was undeniable. The nude colored dress hugged her figure perfectly–delicate in some places, lusciously curved in others. When she was passionate, legs wrapped around him, nothing in the world compared..
He leaned closer, his smoke–tinged breath warm against her face.
“I think I know why you’re being so cruel to me,” he said softly. “It’s because we never had children.”
