Chapter 5 - The Confrontation
```text
When Travis had walked into the living room that afternoon, he wasn't supposed to be home for another four hours.
Lena had shoved the flash drive into her dress pocket, grabbed her purse, and rushed down the marble stairs. But she had been too slow.
Travis stood in the foyer, holding a bouquet of fresh white roses. The picture-perfect husband. But his eyes immediately locked onto her frantic expression, the oversized purse, and the tremor in her hands.
"Going somewhere, sweetheart?" he had asked, his voice melodic yet instantly suspicious.
"Just... running to the grocery store," Lena lied, her voice cracking.
Travis didn't buy it. He dropped the flowers onto the floor and stepped forward, blocking the front door. "With your passport sticking out of your purse? And my private security token around your neck?"
His face instantly lost all warmth. The charming, polite facade melted away in a split second, revealing the predatory monster underneath.
He lunged for her bag. Lena pulled back, screaming, throwing a heavy porcelain vase from the pedestal table straight at him. The vase missed his head and shattered violently against the marble floor.
Travis snapped. He grabbed her by her hair, slamming her violently against the sofa. Lena fought back, scratching his cheek until blood welled up, but Travis was twice her size. He dragged her across the shards, kicking her legs out from under her, and pinned her to the floor.
"You think you're smart, you ungrateful bitch?" he snarled, tearing her purse away and tossing the flash drive across the room. He reached into the coat closet and pulled out his collegiate baseball bat. "You're going to sit right here until my lawyer gets that transfer cleared. And if you make one sound, your dad dies in that hospital bed tonight."
He had raised the bat to break her leg so she couldn't run.
He never expected Derek.
👉 How did Uncle Derek know exactly when to kick down that front door?
May you like
```
***
