Chapter 3
Bethany was on a flight bound for Zarwick.
Outside the window, the plane was 33,000 feet up. There were thick layers of clouds. Not a single star in sight.
She held a cup of water, her fingers slightly pale.
The truth was, she'd been planning her escape for half a year.
From the moment Edison's first love returned to the country, Bethany had started preparing.
She closed out the studio's books, put every cent she owed Edison onto a card, and left it next to the key on the nightstand. She sold off all the properties he'd given her. Even if they were in her name, she didn't want to owe him anything.
As for her father and brother...
She showed a bitter, self-mocking smile.
They were the weak spot Edison used to keep her in line. But he never understood that even an Achilles' heel can go numb.
Her father had died a month ago in a drunk-driving accident.
Her brother's surgery had gone well, and she'd used her own savings to send him to a care facility abroad.
Now, Bethany was all alone, as light as a feather.
A flight attendant came by, her voice soft. "Ma'am, would you like a blanket?"
Bethany shook off her thoughts and shook her head. "No, thank you. Just a glass of wine, please."
The red wine went down her throat, slightly dry.
She remembered the first time she met Edison, four years ago.
She'd just graduated from college, desperate and out of options, working as a waitress in an exclusive club. Edison sat at the head of the table, idly spinning a lighter in his hand, watching her through a haze of smoke.
"Name?" he asked.
"Bethany Marsh," she replied.
"Look up," he said.
She lifted her eyes and met his. They were utterly indifferent, almost heartless, as cold as ice.
"Be mine, and I'll clear your debts," he said.
It was a transaction, plain and simple. Both got what they needed.
He wanted an obedient replacement. She needed money to save her brother.
But then, the substitute caught feelings, and the man in control started craving more than just a stand-in. That was when the whole act turned ugly.
At least Bethany had realized the truth before it was too late.
The plane hit turbulence and shook.
Bethany gazed out at the dark night beyond the window and quietly whispered, "Goodbye."
*****
Three days later, Edison sat in his office.
The tension in the room was thick enough to cut.
Jason Reed, his assistant, stood nervously in front of the desk, cold sweat trickling down his back.
"Still nothing?" Edison asked, flipping through papers without bothering to look up.
"Mr. Shaw, we tracked Ms. Marsh's departure. She went to Zarwick. But after that... no hotel check ins. No spending records. Nothing. It's like she vanished off the face of the earth," Jason stammered.
Edison stopped flipping through the papers, his hand suddenly still.
"Zarwick?" He echoed.
"Yes. And..." Jason hesitated, "She sold the apartment you gave her on the south side, plus both cars. She put all the money on a card, and that card... it's on your nightstand."
Edison slammed the folder shut.
The sharp sound cut through the silence.
So that was what she meant by "game over."
Just a clean transaction. Money for goods, nothing owed, nothing left.
Edison wondered what she thought he was.
A client?
For the first time, he felt completely out of control. Lately, he'd been avoiding Regency Bay more and more. The place was suffocatingly quiet, so quiet that it drove him crazy. No warm milk waiting, no light left on, not even that faint jasmine scent lingering in the air.
"No need to look for her." Edison gave a cold laugh and tossed his pen onto the desk. Black ink splattered across the surface.
"Freeze her card. Let's see how long she lasts out there," he added.
He was certain Bethany, his little canary, couldn't survive outside his world. She had been spoiled too long.
When the wind and rain hit, she would come crawling back, begging with tears in her eyes.