Chapter 4 Catching the Cheater

Katherine's POV

My heart hammered against my ribs as I recognized the route - we were heading to Alexander's house. The fortress Alexander had built for us,, the prison I'd escaped five years ago.

"Still pretending to be someone else?" Alexander's voice cut through the silence, deep and controlled. He sat beside me, not touching, but his presence filled the confined space. Even in profile, his jaw was clenched with barely contained fury.

I kept my gaze fixed on the window, grateful for the dark sunglasses hiding my eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Hudson. This is kidnapping - you do realize that?"

His laugh was sharp, humorless. "Kidnapping? You gave up any right to play victim when you faked your own death. Five years, Katherine. Did you enjoy watching me search for your body in that ravine?"

The memory of that night slammed into me - rain - slicked roads, failing brakes, the guardrail giving way. I'd survived through sheer luck.

"I'm not -"

"Enough." His hand shot out, fingers wrapping around my wrist with bruising force. "Five years of lies end tonight."

As soon as the car stopped, Alexander was moving, yanking me from the backseat. I struggled, but his grip was implacable as iron.

"Let go of me, you bastard!" I twisted, trying to break his hold. My heels skidded on the wet pavement.

"Keep fighting," he growled, half - dragging me toward the front door. "You're only proving who you really are. Katherine always did have a talent for futile resistance."

"I told you, you've got the wrong person!" My voice edged toward hysteria as we neared the entrance. I couldn't go back in there.

"I'll call the police, I swear to God!" I made another attempt to wrench away, but Alexander simply lifted me off my feet.

"By all means," he said, starting up the curved staircase. "I'm sure they'd be very interested in the resurrection of Katherine Jordan. Not to mention the little girl who crashed my wedding today."

Ice flooded my veins. What if -

Alexander kicked open the door to the master suite and tossed me onto the leather sofa like a rag doll, and my sunglasses fell to the floor. I scrambled to sit up, taking in the familiar space - the king bed where we'd spent countless passionate nights. Where I'd found him with Sarah.

"Take it off." His voice was deadly quiet.

"What?" I pressed back against the sofa cushions.

"The makeup. The contacts. Whatever else you're using to hide." He stalked toward me, loosening his tie. "Show me the truth, or I'll find it myself."

"You kidnap me and now you're ordering me to strip? You're insane!" But my pulse was racing. The mole below my eye - my identifying mark - was hidden under careful layers of stage makeup. The birthmark on my shoulder concealed by the phoenix tattoo.

"If you won't tell me the truth, I'll verify it myself." He reached for me, and I rolled off the sofa, putting it between us.

I shouted, "Don't you dare touch me!"

But a commotion from downstairs interrupted him - the sound of doors slamming, heels clicking on marble, a woman's voice raised in anger.

"Alexander!" Sarah's shrill voice carried up the stairs. "Where are you?"

I used his moment of distraction to bolt for the en - suite bathroom, but Alexander was faster. He caught me around the waist, one hand reaching for the buttons of my blazer.

"Get your hands off my clothes, you monster!" I struggled wildly, feeling the fabric start to tear.

The bedroom door burst open. Sarah stood there, a vision of ruined elegance - her wedding gown torn, her professional blowout falling in tangled waves, her perfect makeup streaked with tears and rage.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded, then froze as she took in the scene before her. "Who is she?"

I drove my elbow back into Alexander's solar plexus, followed by a heel to his instep. His grip loosened just enough for me to wrench free. I darted past a shocked Sarah, ignoring Alexander's roared "Don't you dare move!"

Sarah's POV

Standing in the master suite, surrounded by the shattered remnants of my dreams, I watched as Alexander, his face twisted with anger, stormed towards the door. In a split - second, I lunged forward and clamped my hand around his arm, my nails perilously close to piercing his skin.

"Where do you think you're going? You have to explain everything today!"

I shrieked.

He struggled violently, trying to shake off my grip, but I exerted all my strength, planted my feet firmly on the ground, and hung on to his arm with all my weight, determined not to let him leave the room. His strength was overwhelming, and each attempt to break free sent a sharp pain shooting through my wrist, but I gritted my teeth and showed no sign of relenting.

"Sarah, are you out of your mind? Let go of me!" Alexander's voice was laced with anger and impatience.

"Am I?" My eyes were red - rimmed, and tears welled up in my eyes. "You caused such a huge mess at the wedding today, and now you want to just walk away? No way! You have to tell me who that woman is!"

As I spoke, I tightened my hold on his arm, as if I could hold his heart captive if I just held on tight enough.

"Who is she, Alexander? Answer me!!!" I demanded, my voice shaking with a combination of fury and hurt.

Alexander didn't answer right away. He ran a hand through his hair, his breathing heavy. "It's none of your business, Sarah. Just drop it."

"Drop it?" I shrieked, lunging towards him. I grabbed at his shirt, my nails digging into the fabric. "You can't just do this to me! I planned this wedding, I sacrificed everything for us, and now you're telling me to drop it?"

Alexander's hands shot up to grab my wrists, trying to pry me off him. "Let go, Sarah! You're being irrational."

"Irrational?" I spat. "You're the one who's been lying to me! Who is that woman? Why were you all over her?"

Alexander's face hardened. "I said it's none of your concern. You need to leave."

I yanked my wrists free from his grasp and took a step back, my chest heaving. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me the truth. Is she Katherine? Is that why you've been acting so strange?"

Alexander's eyes widened slightly at the mention of Katherine's name, and that was all the confirmation I needed.

"So it is her," I hissed. "After all these years, she's back. And you're still in love with her, aren't you?"

Alexander's silence was deafening. He turned away from me, his shoulders tense.

I laughed bitterly. "You're a fool, Alexander. You could have had a real future with me, but you're still hung up on a ghost."

Finally, he turned back to me. "You don't understand, Sarah. This is complicated."

I scoffed contemptuously, then left the place, returned home, and took out my phone.

"Yeah, it's me," I said as soon as the call connected. "I don't care what you have to do. Make Kevin Jordan wish he'd never been born. Got it?"