Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113142 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 566(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
I stepped back in shock. She knew about that?
Sarah smiled. An emotionless, calculated smile. “Yes, Mr. Kincaid. She told me. I know you had a disagreement before you left. She told me everything, including how unhappy she has been.” She raised a hand and patted her already perfect hair back into place. “After much thought, she decided she couldn’t live this way any longer. She knew she would always be second place for you. She spoke with Ronald and me at length and decided she wanted to move—she needed a fresh start.”
I barked out a humorless laugh. “A move I’m sure you strongly supported.”
She studied me impassively. “Regardless of what she may have told you, I have always had my daughter’s best interest at heart. Ronald and I agreed it was the best thing for her. She felt she didn’t need to be reminded of her little error in judgment all the time.”
I recoiled. Was that how she thought of me? An error in judgment?
“Where is she?”
“None of your business.”
“Tell me. I need to get in touch with her.”
With a roll of her eyes, she pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen. Only seconds passed before a return text came. She held out her phone, showing me the screen.
Alexandra, Mr. Kincaid is here. What shall I say?
The reply was short.
Tell him to leave. I don’t want to see him.
I grabbed the back of the chair, unable to believe what I had read. I reached for the phone, but she pulled it back.
“I need to speak to her. I just need—”
“I don’t care what you need. You can’t have it. Leave my home, Mr. Kincaid. Leave my daughter alone.” She held up her phone, her expression aloof. “She’s made it clear—she wants nothing to do with you. Accept it and move on with your life.”
She began to leave, and in desperation, I shot out my hand, stopping her.
“Please,” I beseeched her. “Give me her new number.”
I wasn’t above begging—not for Ally.
She shook off my grip, wiping her sleeve with disdain. “I understand you’re upset. But it’s for the best. Alexandra is doing so much better now. She’s happy.” She fixed me with an all-knowing stare. “Even you must admit she hadn’t been happy for a while, Mr. Kincaid. Leave her alone and let her live the life she wants to live. Go and live yours.”
She left the room, calling for her butler to show me out.
I went without protest.
I didn’t have the strength to fight.
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
Three days passed while I tried to find her. It was as if she had vanished off the face of the earth. With Elena dead, the only other person I could reach out to was Emma, and I had no contact information for her. Ally had it in her phone. I found Emma’s design page online, and I left my information under Contact Us, but I had a feeling my attempt would fail. In desperation, I went to see Bradley, but his office informed me he was away on holidays.
It struck me then how small the circle around us had been. Losing Elena had been a blow to each of us. With the life I led, I had few people I considered true friends, and Ally’s life was so isolated, I knew no one other than Vivian and Emma, and I didn’t have a close relationship with either. I had only met Emma once since our schedules never seemed to line up. Vivian didn’t have a new number for Ally, and when she checked with the other nursing staff, no one had heard from her either. I tried Emma again, but the messages I left on her social media pages were ignored. There were a lot of people with the same surname of Jones in the Ottawa area, but none of the ones I tried were right.
I hired a private investigator. I gave him the information I had, and he came up with nothing. All he could tell me was her phone had been canceled, her credit card not used. There were no plane or train tickets issued in her name, and no record of her being admitted to the local hospitals. It was as if she had disappeared.
“Give me some more time, Adam. I’ll keep searching. You’ve given me so little information, it’s going to take longer. I’ll start checking into her parents next.”
I felt numb. It was as if my brain and my heart were in two separate places. My brain screamed at me to react, to do something, but my heart felt sluggish and empty. I paced a lot. Drank too much scotch. My refrigerator was still empty, and I had no desire to put anything in it. I dozed in my old chair, restless and unable to relax.
I kept hoping the phone would ring. That she’d show up at the door and tell me it was all a mistake. I waited for that to happen.