{"id":134,"date":"2026-08-21T06:28:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/?p=134"},"modified":"2026-08-21T06:28:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T06:28:27","slug":"the-honeymoon-trap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/?p=134","title":{"rendered":"The Honeymoon Trap…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Honeymoon Trap \u2014 3<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Because once Gregory realized I wasn\u2019t trapped with him, there was only one question left:\u00a0Who was actually in control of the room?\u00a0<\/strong>His eyes widened. The confidence vanished from his face. For one frozen second, neither of us moved. Then Gregory stumbled backward, clutching his arm.\u201cYou\u2014\u201d He looked at me as though he were seeing a stranger. Maybe he was.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The woman standing in front of him wasn\u2019t the quiet newlywed he\u2019d expected to intimidate. She wasn\u2019t the woman who had spent months listening politely while he talked about his father\u2019s wisdom, his family\u2019s traditions, and what a \u201cproper wife\u201d should be.<\/p>\n

She was someone he\u2019d never taken the time to understand.<\/p>\n

I took one step forward.<\/p>\n

Gregory immediately stepped back.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

That tiny movement told me everything.<\/p>\n

He was afraid.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou made one mistake,\u201d I said quietly.<\/p>\n

He swallowed.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYou thought my silence meant weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n

His eyes darted toward the cabin door.<\/p>\n

Locked.<\/p>\n

Then toward the balcony.<\/p>\n

Too far above the ocean.<\/p>\n

Finally, toward the bat lying uselessly on the carpet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t understand,\u201d he said. \u201cMy father\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care what your father taught you.\u201d<\/p>\n

His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loved my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word came out colder than I expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe controlled your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory stared at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now you were planning to do the same thing to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said nothing.<\/p>\n

That silence was confirmation enough.<\/p>\n

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s expression changed instantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCalling the crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

He lunged toward me.<\/p>\n

I moved aside.<\/p>\n

He crashed against the edge of the table, knocking over the champagne bottle. Glass shattered across the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop!\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time, my voice carried through the cabin with the authority of an instructor addressing a recruit.<\/p>\n

Gregory froze.<\/p>\n

I pointed toward the far wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cStay there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stared at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think you\u2019re going to get away with this?\u201d<\/p>\n

I almost laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Gregory.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked down at the broken glass, then back at him.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re the one who isn\u2019t getting away with it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within minutes, there was pounding at the cabin door.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Hartman? Mrs. Hartman? Is everything all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s face went pale.<\/p>\n

He looked at me.<\/p>\n

I walked toward the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp!\u201d I shouted. \u201cMy husband attacked me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The door opened moments later.<\/p>\n

Two members of the ship\u2019s security team entered.<\/p>\n

They saw the broken glass.<\/p>\n

The bat.<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s disheveled clothes.<\/p>\n

Then they looked at me.<\/p>\n

One of them asked, \u201cAre you injured, ma\u2019am?\u201d<\/p>\n

I shook my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory immediately interrupted.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe attacked me!\u201d<\/p>\n

The security officer looked at him.<\/p>\n

Then at the bat.<\/p>\n

Then back at me.<\/p>\n

I simply said, \u201cCheck the cabin cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory went silent.<\/p>\n

Because he\u2019d forgotten something else.<\/p>\n

Cruise ships have cameras.<\/p>\n

And unlike his father\u2019s stories, cameras don\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n

Security escorted Gregory away.<\/p>\n

I stayed in the cabin alone.<\/p>\n

For the first time since the wedding, I could breathe.<\/p>\n

I walked onto the balcony.<\/p>\n

The Florida coastline had completely disappeared.<\/p>\n

The ocean stretched endlessly beneath the moonlight.<\/p>\n

I had thought my military life was behind me.<\/p>\n

Maybe it was.<\/p>\n

But as I watched the ship cut through the dark water, I finally understood something.<\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t failed to leave that woman behind.<\/p>\n

I had simply misunderstood her.<\/p>\n

She wasn\u2019t the woman who knew how to fight.<\/p>\n

She was the woman who knew when she had to fight.<\/p>\n

And Gregory had just taught me the most important lesson of all:<\/p>\n

Never marry someone who needs you to be smaller so they can feel powerful.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the story wasn\u2019t over.<\/p>\n

Because the next morning, when I opened the envelope the cruise security officer had slipped under my door, I discovered something that made my blood run cold.<\/p>\n

Inside was a single photograph.<\/p>\n

Gregory wasn\u2019t alone in this.<\/p>\n

His father was standing beside him.<\/p>\n

And written on the back were six words:<\/p>\n

\u201cYour husband was only the beginning.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Honeymoon Trap \u2014Four : The Photograph<\/strong><\/h1>\n

I stared at the photograph for almost a full minute.<\/p>\n

Gregory stood on the left.<\/p>\n

His father stood beside him.<\/p>\n

And between them was a woman I had never seen before.<\/p>\n

On the back, the message remained:<\/p>\n

Your husband was only the beginning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My first instinct was to call the police.<\/p>\n

My second was to call my former Marine Corps supervisor.<\/p>\n

But then I noticed something else.<\/p>\n

A date.<\/p>\n

Three months before I met Gregory.<\/p>\n

And beneath it, an address.<\/p>\n

My hands went cold.<\/p>\n

The address belonged to a private training facility in Virginia.<\/p>\n

A place I knew.<\/p>\n

A place where I had once taught defensive tactics.<\/p>\n

Why would Gregory\u2019s father have a photograph connected to my old life?<\/p>\n

I called the number printed on the security envelope.<\/p>\n

A man answered almost immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Hartman?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to listen carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

His voice was low.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour husband didn\u2019t choose you by accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGregory knew about your military background before you ever met him.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at the photograph again.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knew exactly who you were.\u201d<\/p>\n

The room suddenly felt smaller.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why did he pretend he didn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a long silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the entire marriage was part of the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n

The wedding.<\/p>\n

The romantic dinners.<\/p>\n

The expensive gifts.<\/p>\n

The way Gregory had somehow appeared everywhere I went.<\/p>\n

Even the cruise.<\/p>\n

None of it had been accidental.<\/p>\n

I sat down slowly on the edge of the bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat plan?\u201d<\/p>\n

Before he could answer, there was a knock at my cabin door.<\/p>\n

Three slow knocks.<\/p>\n

I froze.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Hartman?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a woman\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t recognize it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name is Evelyn.\u201d<\/p>\n

The photograph suddenly made sense.<\/p>\n

The woman standing beside Gregory and his father.<\/p>\n

I opened the door only a few inches.<\/p>\n

She stood in the hallway wearing a navy-blue dress and holding a small leather folder.<\/p>\n

She looked exhausted.<\/p>\n

But more than anything, she looked afraid.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what Gregory\u2019s family has been doing,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n

I opened the door.<\/p>\n

Evelyn stepped inside.<\/p>\n

She placed the folder on the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not the first woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

She opened the folder.<\/p>\n

Inside were photographs.<\/p>\n

Different women.<\/p>\n

Different years.<\/p>\n

Different marriages.<\/p>\n

But the same two men appeared again and again.<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

And Gregory.<\/p>\n

Some women were smiling.<\/p>\n

Some were standing beside expensive cars.<\/p>\n

Some were photographed at weddings.<\/p>\n

And some looked terrified.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

Evelyn swallowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeven.\u201d<\/p>\n

My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeven women?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeven that I know about.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at the photographs again.<\/p>\n

Then I noticed the final picture.<\/p>\n

A woman standing beside Gregory\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

Her face had been crossed out in black ink.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n

Evelyn\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened to her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe disappeared six years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cabin suddenly felt silent.<\/p>\n

Outside, thousands of tons of steel moved through the ocean.<\/p>\n

But inside that room, everything had stopped.<\/p>\n

Evelyn leaned closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour husband didn\u2019t marry you because he loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked directly into my eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you\u2019re the first woman who might actually be able to stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n

I felt a strange calm settle over me.<\/p>\n

The same calm I had felt years ago before stepping onto a training mat.<\/p>\n

I closed the folder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen let\u2019s stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evelyn shook her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

She pointed toward the cabin door.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone already knows we\u2019re talking.\u201d<\/p>\n

A shadow moved beneath the gap.<\/p>\n

Someone was standing outside.<\/p>\n

I looked at Evelyn.<\/p>\n

She looked at me.<\/p>\n

Neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n

Then the shadow disappeared.<\/p>\n

And from somewhere down the hallway came the unmistakable sound of a man\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

Gregory.<\/p>\n

\u201cFind her.\u201d<\/p>\n

My heart sank.<\/p>\n

Because according to security, Gregory was supposed to be locked in a restricted cabin under supervision.<\/p>\n

He shouldn\u2019t have been anywhere near us.<\/p>\n

Which meant one thing.<\/p>\n

Someone on this ship was helping him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Honeymoon Trap \u2014 Part Five: Someone on the Ship<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Evelyn and I stared at each other.<\/p>\n

Neither of us moved.<\/p>\n

Then came another sound from the hallway.<\/p>\n

Footsteps.<\/p>\n

Slow.<\/p>\n

Deliberate.<\/p>\n

Coming toward my cabin.<\/p>\n

Evelyn whispered, \u201cWe have to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut not through the hallway.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at me as though I had lost my mind.<\/p>\n

I pointed toward the balcony.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an adjoining maintenance platform below us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re serious?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVery.\u201d<\/p>\n

We stepped outside.<\/p>\n

The ocean stretched endlessly beneath the ship.<\/p>\n

Wind whipped against my face as the vessel continued cutting through the darkness.<\/p>\n

Evelyn followed carefully.<\/p>\n

We climbed down onto the narrow maintenance platform.<\/p>\n

A second later, the cabin door opened behind us.<\/p>\n

A man\u2019s voice shouted.<\/p>\n

\u201cSearch the room!\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked up.<\/p>\n

Two men entered.<\/p>\n

Not ship security.<\/p>\n

They were wearing dark jackets with security badges clipped to their chests.<\/p>\n

Fake badges.<\/p>\n

Evelyn grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re his people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI figured.\u201d<\/p>\n

We moved along the platform until we reached an emergency access door.<\/p>\n

Locked.<\/p>\n

I tried the handle.<\/p>\n

Nothing.<\/p>\n

Footsteps echoed above us.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re coming,\u201d Evelyn whispered.<\/p>\n

I looked around.<\/p>\n

Then I noticed a small metal emergency panel.<\/p>\n

I opened it.<\/p>\n

Inside was a manual release lever.<\/p>\n

I pulled it.<\/p>\n

The door unlocked.<\/p>\n

We slipped inside.<\/p>\n

We found ourselves in a narrow service corridor.<\/p>\n

Pipes ran along the walls.<\/p>\n

The ship vibrated beneath our feet.<\/p>\n

Evelyn was breathing heavily.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomewhere with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

We followed the corridor until we reached the lower service deck.<\/p>\n

When we opened the next door, music and conversation suddenly filled the air.<\/p>\n

The ship\u2019s nightclub.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of passengers were dancing beneath flashing lights.<\/p>\n

Perfect.<\/p>\n

We disappeared into the crowd.<\/p>\n

For the first time that night, I felt safe.<\/p>\n

Then Evelyn grabbed my wrist.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t look behind you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause Gregory is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n

I slowly turned toward the bar.<\/p>\n

There he was.<\/p>\n

Gregory.<\/p>\n

Standing beside a man in an expensive gray suit.<\/p>\n

The man looked familiar.<\/p>\n

Very familiar.<\/p>\n

I studied his face.<\/p>\n

Then it hit me.<\/p>\n

I had seen him in the photograph.<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

I turned back to Evelyn.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s supposed to be somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen how did he get here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Evelyn shook her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you. Someone on this ship is helping them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s father suddenly looked directly at me.<\/p>\n

Our eyes met across the crowded room.<\/p>\n

He smiled.<\/p>\n

Not nervously.<\/p>\n

Not angrily.<\/p>\n

Calmly.<\/p>\n

Like a man who knew exactly how the night would end.<\/p>\n

Then he raised his glass.<\/p>\n

A silent toast.<\/p>\n

My phone vibrated.<\/p>\n

I looked down.<\/p>\n

Unknown number.<\/p>\n

One message.<\/p>\n

Come to Deck 14 alone if you want to know what happened to Evelyn\u2019s sister.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I showed the message to Evelyn.<\/p>\n

Her face went pale.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we\u2019re going.\u201d<\/p>\n

She grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a trap.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

I slipped the phone back into my pocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut sometimes the best way to catch someone is to let them think their trap worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evelyn stared at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really were a Marine.\u201d<\/p>\n

I almost smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cFormer Marine.\u201d<\/p>\n

We left the nightclub separately.<\/p>\n

I headed toward Deck 14.<\/p>\n

Evelyn stayed behind and contacted someone she trusted.<\/p>\n

The elevator doors opened.<\/p>\n

I stepped inside.<\/p>\n

The doors closed.<\/p>\n

The elevator began rising.<\/p>\n

Deck 10.<\/p>\n

Deck 11.<\/p>\n

Deck 12.<\/p>\n

Deck 13.<\/p>\n

Then the lights went out.<\/p>\n

The elevator stopped.<\/p>\n

Complete darkness.<\/p>\n

A voice came through the speaker.<\/p>\n

Gregory.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should have stayed afraid, Ashlynn.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked up at the ceiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cGregory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were given one chance to walk away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

I smiled in the darkness.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gave me one chance to understand who you really are.\u201d<\/p>\n

A pause.<\/p>\n

Then he laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

The emergency lights flickered on.<\/p>\n

The elevator doors opened.<\/p>\n

I stepped into an empty corridor.<\/p>\n

At the end of it stood Gregory\u2019s father.<\/p>\n

He was holding the same aluminum baseball bat.<\/p>\n

But he wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n

Behind him stood four men.<\/p>\n

And beside them was a woman.<\/p>\n

Older.<\/p>\n

Bruised.<\/p>\n

Terrified.<\/p>\n

Evelyn\u2019s missing sister.<\/p>\n

The woman looked directly at me.<\/p>\n

Then whispered four words that changed everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour husband knows your father.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I froze.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father?\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

For twenty years, I had believed my father was dead.<\/p>\n

And suddenly, on a honeymoon cruise in the middle of the Atlantic, the past I had buried came back for me.<\/p>\n

Not as a memory.<\/p>\n

As a man.<\/p>\n

Standing somewhere on this ship.<\/p>\n

Waiting for me.<\/p>\n

The Honeymoon Trap \u2014 Part Six: The Man I Thought Was Dead<\/strong><\/h1>\n

For twenty years, I had believed my father was dead.<\/p>\n

I remembered the funeral.<\/p>\n

The black dress my mother made me wear.<\/p>\n

The rain hitting the cemetery.<\/p>\n

The coffin being lowered into the ground.<\/p>\n

I remembered standing there, holding my mother\u2019s hand, wondering why adults kept telling me to be brave when nobody had explained what bravery was supposed to feel like.<\/p>\n

And now this woman was telling me everything I remembered was a lie.<\/p>\n

I stared at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name is Mara.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her voice trembled.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour father helped me escape.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s father stepped forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been lied to your entire life, Ashlynn.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy whom?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t believe him.<\/p>\n

Not yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou expect me to believe that my father is alive because you say so?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

He reached inside his jacket.<\/p>\n

My body immediately tensed.<\/p>\n

But instead of a weapon, he pulled out a photograph.<\/p>\n

He tossed it onto the floor.<\/p>\n

I looked down.<\/p>\n

My breath stopped.<\/p>\n

The photograph showed a man standing beside a young girl.<\/p>\n

Me.<\/p>\n

I was about eight years old.<\/p>\n

The man had his arm around my shoulders.<\/p>\n

My father.<\/p>\n

But there was something strange about the picture.<\/p>\n

Behind us was a sign.<\/p>\n

A military training facility.<\/p>\n

The exact facility mentioned in the photograph Evelyn had given me.<\/p>\n

I looked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s father answered quietly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere your father met me.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mind raced.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would my father know you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he was investigating us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUs?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pieces began falling into place.<\/p>\n

The women.<\/p>\n

The marriages.<\/p>\n

The disappearances.<\/p>\n

Gregory.<\/p>\n

The cruise.<\/p>\n

My father\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t a marriage.<\/p>\n

It was revenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou married me because of my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory finally stepped out from the shadows.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked directly into my eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI married you because of what your father took from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

I felt something inside me go cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did he take?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n

For the first time, I saw something underneath all his arrogance.<\/p>\n

Pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwenty years ago, your father exposed our operation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat operation?\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n

His father did.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recruited vulnerable women, married them, gained control of their finances and properties, and made sure they could never leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

My stomach turned.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou destroyed people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t deny it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd your father found out.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at Mara.<\/p>\n

She lowered her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister was one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd my father helped her escape.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked back at Gregory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why kill my father?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words hit harder than any blow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory stepped closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour father disappeared because he made a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith someone far more dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before I could ask who, the ship suddenly lurched.<\/p>\n

The lights flickered.<\/p>\n

An alarm began screaming somewhere below us.<\/p>\n

Everyone froze.<\/p>\n

Gregory\u2019s father looked toward the corridor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

A voice came through his radio.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, we\u2019ve lost control of the bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

His face changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho has control?\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice on the radio answered:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then the radio went silent.<\/p>\n

I looked at Gregory.<\/p>\n

For the first time, he looked genuinely frightened.<\/p>\n

A second later, every light on the deck went out.<\/p>\n

Darkness swallowed the corridor.<\/p>\n

Then a single emergency light came on.<\/p>\n

At the far end of the hallway stood a man.<\/p>\n

Older.<\/p>\n

Gray-haired.<\/p>\n

Wearing a dark jacket.<\/p>\n

He looked directly at me.<\/p>\n

I knew that face.<\/p>\n

Even after twenty years.<\/p>\n

Even after all the photographs.<\/p>\n

Even after believing he was dead.<\/p>\n

My lips trembled.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n

The man slowly nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cAshlynn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gregory stepped backward.<\/p>\n

His father went completely still.<\/p>\n

My father looked at both of them.<\/p>\n

Then he said the words that made everyone in the corridor freeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cGregory didn\u2019t choose my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed toward the ship\u2019s control deck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n

And suddenly I understood.<\/p>\n

This entire honeymoon had been a trap.<\/p>\n

But not the trap Gregory had planned.<\/p>\n

It was mine.<\/p>\n

I just hadn\u2019t known it yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Honeymoon Trap \u2014 3 Because once Gregory realized I wasn\u2019t trapped with him, there was only one question left:\u00a0Who … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-story","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=134"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136,"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions\/136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realstoriesus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}