There's a reason secrets are supposed to stay hidden. Alex Carter knew that the moment he revealed Abby Redding's. Her face paled and he swore she would have fallen if her back wasn't already pressed against the wall. He slowly took a step back and stared at the woman he had hired as his personal assistant. The woman he was forced to hire. She was a puzzle to him and he hated puzzles. He knew she had murdered Bryce Cruise. It was in the report he received from his company's security team. Still, there was something about her that made him believe the report was wrong.

She claimed self-defense. He supposed it was true since the grand jury didn't find it worthy enough to take to court. Open-and-shut was the death of Bryce Cruise, a divorce attorney known for helping his male clients leave their wives and children without a dime to their name.

Initially, he was adamantly against using Pathways to hire someone for his company, much less his personal assistant. His mother, Joyce Carter, had convinced him it would be good for PR and his karma. The latter was something he had been lacking lately, so he gave in to his mother's wishes with the caveat that it had to be someone with at least a smidgen of qualifications.

He should have known better as Joyce Carter hadn't become the wife and mother of top entrepreneurs without being a shrewd negotiator herself. The following day, she had placed Abby's resume on his desk with a triumphant grin on her face.

"I do believe a smidgen of qualification was your only qualification?" she asked raising an eyebrow as if she dared him to deny it.

Alex knew that if had really wanted to, he could have avoided hiring Abby but her background intrigued him. She was a woman intelligent enough to go through college but naïve enough to stay in an abusive relationship. She also had this secret of murdering her ex-boyfriend. Her records weren't sealed but who would think to ask during a job interview, "Have you ever murdered anyone?"

Then there was her interview. He had planned to intimidate her enough to back out on her own with her tail between her legs. His mother wouldn't be able to fault him if her candidate quit. Instead of being intimidated, Abby Redding answered all of his questions with aplomb. In a situation where most men would have cowered, she became brave. He wasn't sure what he expected of her but since arriving at the cabin, he'd been shocked by Abby. First, she knocked herself unconscious, then she screamed bloody murder in the middle of the night, and now here she was accusing him of attacking her in her sleep. Not to mention her annoying propensity to apologize incessantly.

Was she really insane?

"It...it was self-defense," Abby whispered.

Alex pursed his lips together in thought. "So I read."

"You have no right to ask me about it," she said, covering the bracelet she always seemed to be wearing with one hand.

What was the deal with that bracelet?

Alex nodded. "Fair enough. I don't really want to know about it. I already have the facts. He hurt you. You stabbed him. End of story."

He watched her mouth turn downward. She shook her head. "It's not that simple."

"Isn't it?" Alex asked before he could stop himself.

Why am I still talking to her?

A sudden rainstorm pounding against the roof caused them both to look upward. Alex looked back at Abby. She did have what looked like a hickey on her neck. He still couldn't believe she had come pounding into his room.

"I think you should leave my room now," Alex said, his voice almost drowned out by the din of the rain.

"Not until you apologize," she whispered. He could tell it was taking a lot for her to stand there, trying to push her shoulders back in fake bravery. Still, he could feel his anger rising.

"Why should I apologize for something I didn't do? How can you so easily forget yourself? I thought you needed this job or was it your plan to become homeless?"

"What?"

"Don't be so shocked. My security team did a thorough job investigating you. Did your family disown you? Is that why you couldn't turn to them for help after your boyfriend was found dead?"

He could see something flicker in her eyes before she looked away. He must've hit a sore spot. Too bad for Abby Redding Alex wasn't successful because he was a kind person. He pressed further. "Were they tired of your sob stories and having to help you? Were they tired of being manipulated by you? Did you take this job thinking you could manipulate me too? This is all some kind of ploy, isn't it?"

"No," she whispered, her head down.

"Think this through Ms. Redding. Who would believe you? Why would I do something like this? I'm rich, handsome, and successful. In theory, I could get any woman I wanted...why would I need to force someone?"

"Handsome men don't always need a reason to be bad," she answered, looking straight at him. "For all I know, you just get your kicks from hurting women."

Her answer surprised and annoyed him. "What if something just bit you...like a bug? This is an old cabin. We're in the middle of a wooded area. It's natural for bugs to get in. Wouldn't you have felt my weight on top of you if it really was me giving you that hickey? There's no way I could've moved away from you fast enough. Take a moment to really think about it, Ms. Redding."

"I...I don't know," she admitted. A splash of crimson flushed her cheeks. Her fury had suddenly been replaced with embarrassment. "I know what I felt."

"Well, whatever it was that you felt...wasn't me. I promise I didn't touch you."

"Bugs don't make you feel like something's sucking on you," Abby continued.

"Fine, let's go to your room and check." Alex didn't wait for her but headed towards the pink room. He flipped on the light switch and pulled back the comforter. Next to her pillow were three dark leeches. Abby yelped and jumped back.

"No!" She covered her face with her hands.

Alex cursed as he removed the pillowcase from the pillow and gathered the three intruders into his grasp. "What was that about it being me coming onto you at night?"

"That's impossible," Abby whispered. "Why would there be leeches?"

Alex brushed past her to get rid of the leeches, leaving her behind. Once he was downstairs he cursed again. She was following him.

"Those weren't there a few minutes ago," she said. "I swear it."

"Oh you swear it, do you? You expect me to believe you?"

"Y-yes."

"Just like you believed me when I said I didn't touch you?" Alex asked. Normally, he would've enjoyed verbally sparring with someone but Abby's beaten expression made him feel uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and turned away from her. "Don't think I'm going to forgive this incident, Ms. Redding. You're still fired."

She was quiet for a moment before nodding. "I understand. What I did was inexcusable. I just wish you'd understand where I'm coming from. After Bryce, I promised myself I wouldn't allow anyone to hurt me or take advantage of me. I know I was wrong but I really did think you took advantage and were trying to play it off as if I were crazy."

"I thought we agreed not to discuss this," Alex said coldly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered so softly he barely heard her.

He watched her shoulders dip in defeat before heading back upstairs. Alex sighed. He should never have hired her. She was without a doubt one of the biggest mistakes he'd made lately. He blamed this cabin. He was foolish to buy it. He was foolish to hire Abby Redding and he was foolish for feeling guilty.

A few minutes later, he watched as Abby came back downstairs, her suitcase behind her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I think it's best if I leave now. There's no reason for me to stay, is there?"

"You're still fired if that's what you're asking but you don't have to leave. It's raining outside. Why do you always make me feel as though I'm some sort of monster?" Alex asked, irritated.

"I can't make you feel anything. Only you are responsible for your feelings. At least that's what my therapist tells me."

"You're really standing there, ready to get soaked to the bone in the rain, trying to give me advice?"

Abby ignored him and continued out the door.

"You're seriously leaving now? In this storm?" As if on cue, a loud roar of thunder blasted through the sky.

"I don't feel comfortable being here right now, so yes. Thank you for the opportunity." She was gripping her bracelet again and Alex wondered if it was special to her in some way. This had to be some sort of ploy on her end. She was trying to make him give in and give her a second chance. She was mistaken if she thought that would happen.

"Fine! Get out of here. If you expect me to feel sorry for you and give you back your job, you're wrong." Alex turned away from her and headed back upstairs. He heard the front door close behind her and sighed. He didn't force her to leave in the middle of the rain. She did that all on her own.

I won't feel guilty. I won't.

He was passing the pink room when he heard someone laughing. Alex paused and smirked. He knew it was just a ploy. "Abby? Did you come back already?"

When he didn't get a response, he assumed he had just heard incorrectly. He took another step forward and the laughter filled his ears once more.

"Abby if you're trying to use a new tactic to stay, this is ridiculous."

Alex found himself entering the pink room. On the bed that Abby had been sleeping on was a rag doll with red hair. Without thinking, he reached out and picked it up. It was soft in his hands and the thought of a young girl holding it made him smile. Written on the bottom of the doll's right leg were the initials CC.

"Is that your name? CC? Was it you laughing in here, CC?" Alex asked the doll. He sighed. "Am I going crazy and talking to a doll now?"

He glanced out the window and saw the headlights of Abby's rental car flicker on and off.

She must be having car trouble. He watched as she finally started driving forward. The rain was heavier now and the roads were bound to be muddy or worse- flooded. He watched as she tried reversing the car to turn it around. Within seconds, the car appeared to jerk forward and collide straight into a tree. Alex tossed the doll onto the bed and rushed downstairs. He pulled on a pair of shoes before running out into the rain.

"What were you thinking!" Alex yelled. "Abby?"

Was she that desperate to keep her job? Did she really ram her car into a tree to get him to feel guilty?

Alex opened the driver's door and saw Abby, pushed back into her seat, unconscious. The airbags had deployed and the car was smoking. "Getting knocked out twice in one evening couldn't be a good thing. Don't move Abby. Don't move. I'm calling 911."

As he waited for an operator to pick up, something in the passenger seat caught his eye. It was the rag doll with red hair.

Was there a second doll?

Alex looked back up to the window of the pink room. It was only for a second...but he could've sworn he saw the shadow of a man standing there.