Chapter 2 - The Engagement Trap
I did not sleep that night.
By midnight, I was back in my apartment, sitting in the dark with my phone in both hands, replaying the video I had recorded through the opening in the gate.
Naomi raising the stick.
Brianna on her knees.
Gavin saying, Alyssa trusts me.
The voice belonged to the man who had brought me flowers after difficult client meetings. The man who had held my hand at my grandmother’s funeral. The man I had planned to marry in six weeks.
I watched it until the battery warning appeared on my screen.
Then I made copies.
I uploaded the video to a cloud account Gavin did not know about. I sent it to a private email address. I forwarded it to my best friend, Tessa Morgan, with one message:
If anything happens to me, go to the police. Don’t call Gavin.
Tessa called immediately.
“What happened?” she demanded.
I told her everything.
For several seconds, she did not speak.
Then she said, “Alyssa, you need to leave Atlanta tonight.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“No, Tessa. Brianna is still there.”
“Alyssa, that family is violent.”
“I know.”
“And Gavin knows they’re violent.”
“I know.”
“You could be next.”
I stared at the engagement ring on my finger.
A three-carat diamond. Elegant. Expensive. Carefully chosen.
Now it looked like a handcuff.
“I’m not going to marry him,” I said. “But if I run now, they’ll destroy the evidence and say Brianna is unstable.”
Tessa exhaled sharply. “Then what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to make them believe I’m exactly who they think I am.”
The next morning, Gavin arrived at my office with coffee and pastries from my favorite bakery.
He kissed my cheek.
“You look tired,” he said.
“So do you.”
He smiled. “Long night.”
The words made my stomach twist.
Behind him, my employees moved through the open office, preparing for a product launch for one of our biggest clients. My company—Wellman Creative—had become my pride over six exhausting years.
Gavin had always said he admired that.
But now I knew the truth.
He admired it the way a thief admires a locked house.
“I was thinking about what your mother said,” I told him.
His eyes sharpened almost imperceptibly.
“About what?”
“About us getting married sooner.”
A smile spread across his face.
“I thought you wanted a spring wedding.”
“I did,” I said. “But maybe your mom is right. Maybe we should stop delaying our future.”
He took my hands.
“Alyssa…”
“I’ve been so focused on work. Maybe I need to trust you more.”
For one second, I saw it.
Greed.
Not love.
Not relief.
Greed.
Gavin leaned closer. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
I smiled at him.
“I thought you’d be happy.”
He did not notice that I had stopped wearing my engagement ring.
It was in the small pocket of my blazer.
He also did not notice the second phone on my desk, recording our conversation.
That afternoon, I met with my attorney, Helen Price.
Helen had helped me incorporate Wellman Creative when I was twenty-three. She was sharp, direct, and impossible to intimidate.
When I showed her the video, she went quiet.
Then she locked her office door.
“This is criminal assault,” she said. “Possibly unlawful imprisonment, financial coercion, and attempted theft.”
“I want Brianna out first.”
Helen nodded. “That has to be the priority.”
“She’s terrified.”
“Do you know if she has children?”
“No.”
“Do you know where Damian is?”
“Gavin said he was traveling.”
Helen opened her laptop. “Let’s see if that’s true.”
Within an hour, we found something disturbing.
Damian Herndon had not been traveling for weeks.
He had been arrested in South Carolina six months earlier under a different name for fraud and assault. The charges were dropped after a witness refused to testify.
The witness was Brianna.
And according to court records, Damian was currently supposed to be under supervision.
“He’s not away on business,” I whispered.
Helen looked at me.
“He’s hiding.”
My phone buzzed.
A text from Gavin.
Mom wants you at dinner tonight. Family only. We have something important to discuss.
I looked at Helen.
“They’re moving faster,” I said.
“Because they think you’re agreeing to the marriage.”
I stared at the message.
Then I typed back:
Of course. I’ll be there.
Helen’s eyes narrowed.
“Alyssa, do not go alone.”
“I won’t.”
That night, I drove back to the Herndon residence in Buckhead.
But this time, I was not just carrying a hidden phone.
I was wearing a tiny audio recorder inside the pendant around my neck.
And parked two streets away, Tessa sat in her car with instructions to call 911 if I did not text her within thirty minutes.
As I walked toward the front door, Gavin opened it before I could knock.
His smile was warm.
His hand settled at the small of my back.
And I had never been more afraid of someone pretending to love me.
“Come in,” he said.
Behind him, the house gleamed under soft golden lights.
Naomi sat in the living room with a glass of wine.
Elijah stood near the fireplace, his expression unreadable.
And at the far end of the room, I saw Brianna.
She wore a long-sleeved dress despite the Georgia heat.
Her eyes met mine for one second.
Then she looked down.
Gavin squeezed my hand.
“Tonight,” he said, “we become a real family.”
I smiled.
Because they still believed they were setting a trap for me.
May you like
They had no idea I had come to set one for them.
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