Chapter 5 - The Snake in the Grass
While the sanctuary seemed peaceful, the reach of Allison’s malice was not easily severed. Even behind the cold, gray walls of the women’s correctional facility, she remained a spider spinning webs.
Ryder began to notice odd occurrences. Delivery trucks that never delivered anything, strangers lingering near the perimeter of the estate, and threatening, anonymous messages appearing on his private phone. It was clear that Allison had used her remaining assets to hire outside help—men who didn't care about the law, only about the paycheck.
The tension spiked when a private investigator approached the estate, trying to bribe the security staff to gain entry. Ryder handled it with the cold, ruthless efficiency he had learned in the oil fields of Saudi Arabia. He didn't just fire the weak link; he tracked the source of the funds back to a burner account Allison was using to smuggle letters out of prison.
He confronted the lawyer overseeing the harassment. "Tell her that every time she makes a move, I will double her sentence. I will ensure she dies in that cell."
But the real fear wasn't for himself; it was for Jade. One evening, he found her in the garden, looking pale. A man had cornered her at the local market, warning her to retract her statement.
"I'm not afraid of her, Ryder," Jade told him later, though her hands were shaking as she poured the coffee.
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"You don't have to be afraid," Ryder said, stepping closer, his presence shielding her. "Because I am here. And I will never let her shadow touch you again."
The shift was palpable. He took her hands—rough from work, calloused, and real. In that moment, the power dynamic vanished. There was no master, no maid. There were only two people against a ghost that refused to stay buried. He started teaching her self-defense, not because he wanted her to be a soldier, but because he wanted her to feel the strength that he saw in her every single day.
