Every instinct screamed at me to run, but my father’s presence grounded me. He was a shadow from my past, one I had tried to leave behind in pursuit of a life filled with normalcy. Now, that shadow was my lifeline, the only thing standing between me and the abyss my husband had prepared.
I glanced at the security guard, whose smug demeanor faltered slightly as he noticed my father. There was something about the way Dad carried himself—a latent strength, a quiet assurance—that made people hesitate. In his eyes, I saw a flicker of the man who had once been a guardian of secrets and a bearer of untold stories, a former spy whose skills were now my last hope.
“Is there a problem here?” my father asked, his voice steady, unyielding.
