Page 33 of Salvation

The Parties shall attendweekly therapy sessions.

Rachel’s parents are protected from harm. Dante guarantees he will not seek to harm them under any circumstances, regardless of this Agreement’s outcome.

4. SIGNATURES

By signing below, the Parties affirm that they have read, understood, and agreed to all terms outlined in this Agreement.

Signed:

Rachel Brooks

Date: April 3rd2025

Dante King

Date: April 3rd2025

Witnessed by:

Name Redacted(Vienna)

Date: April 3rd2025

Name Redacted(Shark)

Date: April 3rd2025

Name Redacted(Hacksaw)

Date: April 3rd2025

Chapter 14

Dante

The signing went better than expected.

I half expected Rachel to back out, or to find some way to manipulate the situation to her advantage. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how calmly she approached the whole thing. She threw herself into the drafting process with an enthusiasm that both puzzled and amused me. She asked for certain points to be added, or other points to be worded differently for better understanding. In her words, ‘there’s no room for ambiguity here’, she was taking this as seriously as she could. There were even a few amendments we hadn’t discussed earlier, such as demanding that I not get involved with sin activities. She was even laughing with the lawyer on one or two occasions.

It was easy to see that the lawyer was charmed by her. And I could hardly blame him. This was the Rachel I had met in the diner all those years ago. The one with the air of innocence around her. The Rachel that had a calming presence. The one that looked as though she was confident, and yet at the same time, in need of protection. She played the role well. She laughedat all the right moments, batting her eyelashes at him as she touched his arm. He was hooked, just as I had been.

I knew now it was all an illusion, but it was what had originally drawn me to her.

The only niggle was towards the end. After nearly two hours of drafts, changing the wording, and minor disagreements over amendments, the lawyer asked if there was anything else we would like to add, as the contract could not be altered afterwards.

I saw Rachel hesitate and bite down on her lip. Her eyes clouded over, and her mouth opened, looking as though she wanted to say something. But instead, she had clamped her lips together and murmured her agreement, snatching the pen up and signing before she had the chance to change her mind.

Why would she hesitate? She had already made additional points without a single argument from me. So why did she suddenly feel as though she couldn’t ask for what she wanted?

I didn’t like feeling as though she was hiding something, but at the same time, I didn’t want to press the matter when it could very well be my own paranoia.

I had a feeling it was to do with her boss. She was insane if she thought I didn’t know about their dates. I knew when, I knew where, and I knew how often.

Bambi—one of the new prospects—had been assigned with watching her for the past four months. He lost two of his fingers when he took two weeks to get back to us. He said he was scared to tell us about Axel. That feeble excuse hadn’t been enough to save him the punishment. One lost finger for every week he delayed information. Vienna pinned his hand to the table, and I sliced them off before he even knew what was happening.

Hacksaw then took over, and spent weeks following Rachel, learning her routine, who her friends were, and installingsoftware on her phone that allowed me to spy on everything. Every message, every photo taken, every Google search.

Everything.

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