Chapter 2 - The House With No Locked Doors
Nebula expected Gilbert to take her to his estate.
He didn't.
Twenty minutes later, the SUVs stopped outside a private medical clinic.
She looked at him.
“You said we were leaving.”
“We did.”
“Why are we here?”
“Because your jaw is swelling.”
Nebula immediately reached for the door handle.
Gilbert noticed.
“You don't have to go inside.”
She stared at him.
“I don't?”
“No.”
“You brought three SUVs.”
“For security.”
“That doesn't make me feel less trapped.”
Gilbert became quiet.
Then he spoke to the driver.
“Everyone stays outside.”
The driver nodded.
Gilbert looked at Nebula.
“If you want the doctor, I'll wait in the car.”
Nebula studied him.
Three years earlier, Gilbert had loved by deciding.
Which restaurant.
Which driver.
Which security detail.
Which risks she was allowed to take.
He had never hit her.
Never insulted her.
Never deliberately frightened her.
But eventually Nebula had realized that being protected could become another kind of cage.
“Come inside,” she finally said.
Gilbert nodded.
The doctor documented bruising along Nebula's jaw, upper arm and thigh.
Gilbert remained in the hallway.
Afterward, Nebula found him staring through a window.
“The doctor says nothing is broken.”
Gilbert turned.
“Good.”
“That's all?”
“What do you want me to say?”
Nebula folded her arms.
“The old Gilbert would already have six men dragging Richard into a warehouse.”
“Seven.”
Despite everything, she almost smiled.
Gilbert didn't.
“I was different then.”
“You were controlling.”
“Yes.”
The answer stopped her.
No excuse.
No argument.
Just yes.
Gilbert continued.
“You told me that before you left.”
“And you told me I didn't understand the danger.”
“You understood perfectly.”
Nebula stared at him.
“Why admit that now?”
“Because losing you gave me three years to discover that being powerful doesn't make me right.”
A woman in a navy suit approached.
Gilbert introduced her.
“This is Rebecca Shaw. Attorney.”
Rebecca handed Nebula a card.
“Mr. Mercer asked me to explain your options.”
Nebula's eyes narrowed.
“Asked you?”
Rebecca nodded.
“He specifically instructed me that you are the client if you choose to hire me. Not him.”
Nebula looked at Gilbert.
“You planned this?”
“On the drive.”
“You assumed I wanted a lawyer.”
“I assumed you might want information.”
“And if I don't?”
“Rebecca goes home.”
Rebecca smiled slightly.
“I really would.”
Nebula took the card.
“Thank you.”
Gilbert drove her somewhere else afterward.
A small furnished townhouse.
Not his estate.
Nebula stared at it.
“What is this?”
“A property my company owns.”
She looked sharply at him.
Gilbert anticipated the question.
“There's no security inside. No cameras. No staff. The locks can be changed tomorrow, and only you will receive the new keys.”
“And you?”
“I won't have one.”
Nebula stared at him.
“Where are you sleeping?”
“My house.”
“You're leaving?”
“Yes.”
Rainwater dripped from his hair.
Nebula suddenly remembered another night years ago.
She had tried to leave a party alone.
Gilbert had ordered his driver to follow her.
She had been furious.
He had called it protection.
Now he stood outside a door he could easily control and waited for permission.
“Gilbert.”
He stopped.
“Why did you really come tonight?”
His answer came immediately.
“Because you asked.”
“That's it?”
“No.”
His eyes held hers.
“I came because I've spent three years hoping you'd call.”
Nebula's throat tightened.
Gilbert stepped backward.
“But hoping you call me isn't the same as having the right to keep you.”
He handed her the key.
“Lock the door after me.”
Then he left.
Nebula stood alone in the hallway.
May you like
For the first time in years, silence did not feel dangerous.
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