CHAPTER 5: THE MONSTER WALKS FREE

The headlines appeared before sunrise.

By the time most people in the city woke up, the name Damien Blackwood was already everywhere.

“Billionaire Businessman Questioned After Domestic Abuse Allegations.”

“Blackwood Estate Investigation Raises Serious Concerns.”

“Powerful CEO Faces Possible Criminal Charges.”

For the first time in years…

The world was not praising Damien Blackwood.

They were questioning him.

But Damien was not worried.

Not yet.

Because men like him did not believe they could fall.

They believed they could survive anything.

The private room inside the law firm was silent.

Damien sat at the end of the table, staring at the newspapers spread in front of him.

His face remained calm.

Too calm.

His lawyer, Victor Hale, watched him carefully.

“You understand the situation has changed?”

Damien slowly looked up.

“Has it?”

Victor sighed.

“Yes.”

He pointed at the documents.

“Your reputation is damaged.”

“A few accusations do not destroy me.”

“These are not just accusations anymore.”

Victor placed another folder on the table.

“The investigation found evidence.”

Damien looked away.

“They found personal information.”

“No.”

Victor’s voice became firm.

“They found proof of a pattern.”

For a moment, Damien said nothing.

Then he smiled.

A cold, confident smile.

“You know what people forget?”

Victor waited.

“They forget that I built everything.”

“My company.”

“My reputation.”

“My influence.”

Damien leaned back.

“I have spent twenty years making people believe I am untouchable.”

Victor stared at him.

“And now?”

Damien’s eyes hardened.

“Now I remind them.”

At the Carter family home, Emma watched the news from the living room.

She hated seeing his face everywhere.

Even on television…

He still looked powerful.

Still controlled.

Still like the man everyone admired.

The man who shook hands with politicians.

The man who donated millions to charities.

The man who smiled for cameras.

Nobody looking at that image would believe what happened behind closed doors.

Richard sat beside her.

“You don’t have to watch this.”

Emma shook her head.

“No.”

She looked at the screen.

“I need to.”

“Why?”

“Because for years, he controlled the story.”

She took a breath.

“I need to see him lose control.”

Richard looked at his daughter.

He saw something different.

She was still hurt.

Still healing.

But she was no longer hiding.

That afternoon, Damien made his first move.

A press conference.

Everyone expected an apology.

A statement of regret.

A public acknowledgment of pain.

Instead…

They received something completely different.

Damien stood behind a row of microphones wearing a perfectly tailored suit.

His expression was serious.

His voice calm.

“I have spent my entire life building a company based on trust.”

Cameras flashed.

“I have always respected the law.”

A pause.

“And unfortunately, I believe I have become the victim of a personal attack.”

The reporters immediately reacted.

Victim.

That was the word he chose.

Not husband.

Not accused man.

Victim.

“My marriage was complicated.”

Damien lowered his eyes.

“I made mistakes.”

The audience waited.

But then he continued.

“However, disagreements inside a marriage should not be turned into public destruction.”

Emma watched from home.

Her hands tightened.

Richard noticed.

“He is trying to change the story.”

Emma nodded.

“He always does.”

The next sentence made her freeze.

Damien looked directly into the cameras.

“I love my wife.”

The room went silent.

Emma stared at the screen.

Her wife.

Those words.

After everything.

He still said them.

Not because he loved her.

Because he wanted people to believe he owned her.

Richard looked angry.

“He is using your marriage as a shield.”

Emma whispered.

“I know.”

“But it will not work.”

Richard looked at her.

“How do you know?”

Because for the first time…

Emma believed herself.

“Because I know the truth.”

The public reaction was immediate.

Some people believed Damien.

Others questioned him.

The internet became a battlefield.

People argued.

Some defended him because of his wealth.

Some supported Emma.

Some claimed they knew the “real Damien.”

But Emma learned something painful.

Power did not disappear just because someone was exposed.

Many people still wanted to believe the beautiful lie.

Because beautiful lies were easier than ugly truths.

Three days later…

Damien was released on temporary conditions.

The news spread quickly.

Emma saw the notification on her phone.

Her heart stopped.

Not because she wanted him back.

Not because she missed him.

Because a part of her remembered what happened whenever Damien felt cornered.

He became dangerous.

Richard noticed her expression.

“What happened?”

“He is free.”

Richard immediately became serious.

“Only temporarily.”

Emma nodded.

“I know.”

“But he is still out there.”

Richard reached for his phone.

“I will increase security.”

Emma looked at him.

For years, she had depended on Damien’s protection.

Now she depended on her father’s.

The difference was painful.

But important.

One protected her because he loved her.

The other controlled her because he wanted ownership.

That night, Emma received a message.

Unknown number.

Her blood turned cold.

She opened it.

Three words.

YOU LEFT ME.

Another message appeared.

YOU WILL COME BACK.

Her hands trembled.

Then a third.

EVERYONE DOES.

Emma stared at the screen.

The old fear returned.

The memories.

The locked doors.

The arguments.

The apologies she was forced to make.

The nights she cried silently because she was afraid someone would hear.

Then another message arrived.

This time, only one sentence.

YOU STILL BELONG TO ME.

Emma stared at those words.

And something inside her changed.

Before, she would have cried.

Before, she would have panicked.

Before, she would have wondered if he was right.

But now…

She saw the truth.

Damien was not powerful.

He was desperate.

A man who truly had control did not need to remind people they belonged to him.

Emma placed the phone on the table.

Then she picked it up again.

She forwarded every message to Agent Reed.

Evidence.

Not fear.

The next morning, Agent Reed arrived.

He looked at the messages.

“This confirms our concerns.”

Emma looked at him.

“What does it mean?”

“It means Damien is not trying to defend himself anymore.”

Richard frowned.

“Then what is he doing?”

Reed looked serious.

“He is trying to regain control.”

Emma was silent.

“How?”

The agent looked at her.

“By making you afraid.”

A pause.

“But fear only works when someone believes they are powerless.”

Emma looked down at the message.

YOU STILL BELONG TO ME.

Then she deleted it.

“No.”

Everyone looked at her.

She placed the phone on the table.

“I don’t.”

Across the city…

Damien stood inside his empty apartment.

He had lost access to the mansion.

His company board had started questioning him.

His friends had stopped answering.

People who once surrounded him were disappearing.

For the first time in his life…

Damien Blackwood was alone.

But instead of accepting defeat…

He became furious.

He looked at a photograph on his desk.

A photograph of him and Emma on their wedding day.

The day she still smiled at him.

The day she still believed in him.

He touched the picture.

“You ruined everything.”

His voice was barely a whisper.

“You made me do this.”

He stared at her face.

Then his expression changed.

Because Damien had finally reached the most dangerous point.

The moment when a man who had lost everything decided he had nothing left to lose.

That evening, Agent Reed received a new report.

A hidden account.

A private property.

A location connected to Damien.

And inside the report was a warning.

Possible evidence destruction in progress.

Reed immediately stood.

“Where is he?”

The agent answered.

“Heading toward one of his private properties.”

Richard looked at Emma.

Emma understood.

Damien was not running away.

He was going back.

Back to the place where his secrets began.

And as the investigation team prepared to move…

Emma realized something terrifying.

The monster had walked free.

But now…

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The monster was cornered.

And cornered monsters were the most dangerous.