Erin let the duffel bag hit the floor and closed the distance in three long strides. She didn’t bother asking what had happened. She didn’t have to. Her sharp eyes instantly cataloged the fading, yellowish marks blooming across Emily’s cheek, the painful stiffness in her posture, and the thoroughly defeated look her sister was fighting so hard to conceal.
She reached out and pulled Emily into a fierce embrace. Emily hadn’t even realized she was holding her breath until it ripped out of her in a jagged, agonizing sob against Erin’s shoulder. She clung to her twin, her fingers digging desperately into the fabric of Erin’s shirt, allowing months of suffocating terror and grief to finally pour out.
“It is okay,” Erin murmured, her voice an unwavering anchor in the storm. “I am right here.”
Emily shook her head frantically, choking on her own tears. “I never should have called you. I didn’t want to drag you down into this nightmare. I just didn’t know who else to turn to.”
“You called the exact right person,” Erin corrected her firmly. “And I showed up. That is the only thing that matters.”
Emily pulled back just a fraction, aggressively scrubbing her wet cheeks with the heel of her hand. “I really didn’t want you to see me like this.”
Erin studied her twin’s battered face. There was no pity in her gaze. Instead, her eyes darkened with something sharp, dangerous, and incredibly cold—a violent anger she was struggling to keep on a leash.
“What did he do to you?” Erin demanded.
Emily’s breath stuttered in her chest. “It is fine. I really don’t want to talk about…”
“No.” Erin’s tone softened slightly, but the pure steel beneath it remained intact. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
Emily hesitated, dropping her gaze to the floor. She couldn’t stomach looking her sister in the eye.
“It has been terrible, far worse than I ever admitted to anyone. I truly believed I could fix it, but…” Her voice fractured completely. “He does not want me anymore. I know that for a fact. I feel it in my bones every single day. He is so cruel, Erin. He makes me feel like I am absolute garbage.”
Erin’s jaw locked tight.
Emily forced herself to swallow. “And Grace… she constantly tells me I need to be a better servant to him. That I am the root of all the problems. Mom and Dad…” Her fragile shoulders slumped forward in defeat. “They ordered me to endure it. They need his family’s money too much.”
Erin stared at her, the initial disbelief curdling into a dark, terrifying fury. “They knew he was treating you like this?”
Emily offered no answer. Her devastating silence spoke volumes.
Erin let out a slow, measured exhale, clearly trying to ground herself before she did something permanent. “You are not staying in this house alone ever again,” she declared. “Absolutely not after this.”
Emily shook her head in rapid, panicked bursts. “No. No, you do not understand how this works. If Mark discovers you are hiding here… This entire situation will explode. I cannot survive making things worse.”
“You honestly believe this is as bad as it gets?” Erin asked, her voice dropping to a low whisper.
Emily stared at her twisting, nervous fingers. “I lost the baby last night.”
Erin turned to stone. She didn’t blink. She stopped breathing entirely.
Emily kept her eyes glued to the floorboards because speaking the words aloud felt like pouring acid over an open wound.
“I collapsed in the hallway. I begged him to help me. He… he refused to open the door. He stayed locked in the guest room. I had to drive myself to the emergency room.” Her voice dissolved into a pathetic whisper. “I went through the entire nightmare completely alone.”
For an eternity, Erin said absolutely nothing. When she finally found her voice, the terrifying calmness of it sent a shiver down Emily’s spine.
“He let you lose your baby by yourself?”
Emily flinched at the bluntness, but she offered a pathetic nod.
Erin paced across the kitchen. Once. Twice. Her hands flexed repeatedly at her sides, as if she were violently suppressing the urge to break something in half.
“What else, Em?” Erin demanded, her composure returning too perfectly. “What else are you hiding from me?”
Emily swiped at her fresh tears. “He completely cut me off financially. Every account is locked in his name. He refuses to sleep in our bedroom. He spends hours whispering to another woman on the phone. He does not even look in my direction anymore. It feels like I am already a ghost.”
Erin halted her pacing. “Emily,” she started slowly. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because you have your own demanding life,” Emily whispered brokenly. “You have your high-stakes job. Your overseas missions. I didn’t want you to fly back here and see me as a failure. I didn’t want to take away from the incredible life you built for yourself.”
Erin closed the distance and gripped her twin by the shoulders. “You are my sister. There is absolutely nothing on this earth more important than you.”
Emily felt her throat seize up all over again. Erin’s sharp eyes swept across the pristine kitchen, taking in the suffocating tension, the unwashed coffee mug, and the yellowish bruises scattered across Emily’s skin.
“He left you here in this state and didn’t even check on you.”
Emily couldn’t muster the strength to reply. Erin gently hooked a finger under Emily’s chin, forcing her to make eye contact.
“I am not going to let him do this to you again. I am staying.”
Emily gripped Erin’s sleeve in sheer panic. “No, you can’t do that. If he catches you…”
“He won’t.”
“Erin, please…”
“He won’t,” Erin repeated, layering absolute authority into her tone. “You are not alone anymore.”
Emily shook her head miserably. “I do not want you dragged into their web. You have no idea how these people operate. Grace watches absolutely everything. Mark… Mark flips a switch and becomes cruel without any warning. They will crush you if you step into their crosshairs.”
Erin offered a cold, humorless smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Let them try.”
Emily squeezed her eyes shut. “Please do not fight him. Please. I cannot survive the blowback.”
“I am not here to fight him.” Erin’s voice finally softened. “I am here to protect you.”