Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 23860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
It’s the worst night of my life as I sit alone in my living room, but when the sun rises, good news comes with it.
“Mr. Howard!” David calls out as he rushes off the elevator. “We’ve located her.”
“Where is she?” I’m out of my chair, and although my legs are numb, I ignore the ache as we take the elevator down to the lobby.
“We believe she’s been taken back to her mother’s home. The mother has agreed to speak with us based on a few conditions.”
“Wait, you believe she’s there? What if she’s not?” My mind is racing with the possibilities.
“It’s our only chance to get the information if she isn't there,” David says, and I nod, knowing he’s right.
I send a quick text to my underground contacts as my emergency backup. One way or another, I’m going to get answers.
Chapter Fifteen
AUDREY
“Audrey, wake up,” my mother tells me, and I groan as my head pounds. It always does after one of her sedation shots. When she keeps shaking me, I wake up and face her even though that’s the last thing I want to do.
I’m not surprised I’m home. It was just a matter of time, and I only have myself to blame. I knew I needed to get out of the state, but I made the choice to stay with Phillip.
The second I saw Gary step out of the van, I knew I was done for. He’s been my mother’s gardener for over a decade, and he does anything she asks of him. I’m pretty sure they have a thing on the side that she tries to keep hidden.
It’s hard to hide anything around here even while living on a big estate. There’s only so much you can do before boredom sets in. I often crept around the estate to see how sneaky I could be. I was always looking for a way out, but more often than not, I’d overhear things.
“How much did you give her?” my mother hisses. She might be mad at me, but I can hear the worry in her voice. She loves me in her own way, but it’s to the point that she won’t let me go. I think she might be crazy too.
“I’m awake. Give me a second.” I lift my hands to rub my eyes but then feel them tied together. Of course they are. My arm throbs from where I was poked with the needle, and I guess I really am the worst at running away.
Slowly, my eyes adjust to the light, and when they do, I see my mother standing over me.
“Leave us,” Mother snaps at Gary, who obeys her order and leaves us alone. “You’ve gone and done it this time.” She tsks while I wiggle to sit up. I’m back in my old room on my hard bed, and my body aches.
She paces at the foot of it while looking disheveled and worrying her hands together. We might not leave the house much, but she’s always put together. Not this time, though, and I can see changes in her. That’s when I notice my room is different too. Almost everything in it is gone, and I can see a padlock on my door. My heart sinks.
I’m never getting out of here. I want to scream and cry, but it will do nothing. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way before. Being tossed into Dr. Butler’s psychiatric ward is beyond miserable, but I think that’s the point. It’s my punishment for being crazy. At least that’s what lingers in the back of my mind. When I’ve been admitted, I do feel crazy.
I hated it there, and it never helped with how my mother treated me. She says that everything she does is for my own good and that she loves me. She tells me I’m her little girl, but I don’t want to be her little girl anymore.
“Start from the beginning,” she says and abruptly stops pacing.
She’s ready to hear what I have to say, and normally I do what she wants. On the rare occasions when I’ve pushed back, she’d call it one of my episodes and threaten a visit from Dr. Butler.
“I ran away. What else is there to say?” I can’t tell her about Phillip. She might try to talk to him. I’m not going to further tangle him in a mess that isn’t his. He was so good to me, and I won’t do that to him.
I should have left Phillip earlier. I hate that the last time I saw him he looked at me with anger and confusion. At least I got that taste of him before it all came crashing down. It’s a memory I’ll play over and over again when I need it most.
“This is not a time for your games.” Mother walks over to a box sitting on the floor. “What have you gotten yourself into?” She drops it onto the bed, and I see the box is filled with all the jewelry Phillip put on me. I try to reach for the ring, but she yanks the box away from my grasp.