He walked toward me, slow and deliberate, and tore the protective charm necklace from my throat. The one he'd made with his own hands when he earned his first real money.
Then he turned to his assistant.
"Call the police. My wife committed theft. Caught red-handed."
I forgot how to move. My mind went blank.
Noel's rise had never been gentle. He was used to being ruthless.
I had been his only soft spot.
Right or wrong never mattered. He always chose his people over the truth.
And now the person driving the knife into my chest was him.
Noel rubbed his thumb across the charm, his cold features growing more and more unrecognizable through my blurred vision.
"Brooklyn, you've been very disobedient. Go in and reflect on that for a few days."
"Don't worry, it won't be long. When you come out, I'll put the necklace back on you myself."
I twisted my lips into something that might have been a smile.
I watched the officers walk in. As the cuffs closed around my wrists, I pulled my hand free of his grip, my face perfectly blank.
The sudden emptiness in his palm made Noel frown. He stared at my retreating back, seized by the irrational feeling that he would never hold on to me again.