I burst out of the door when I reach the bottom floor, bumping into someone who grunts and I shove them out of the way, hurrying toward the security office, heaving for breath. Never did I think I’d be put into a situation like this with anyone, never mind Harrison. As I’ve looked back on our relationship, there were a lot of things I see now that I didn’t notice while we were together. Some serious red flags that I was blind to. But he was never a scary person. Never someone I thought I would have to be afraid of.
“Miss Sinclair,” the guard says as he gets to his feet, his walkie talkie in his hand. “I’ve just called the police. What is going on?”
“My ex—Elliot Caldwell’s son—he forced his way into my apartment.” I pause to catch my breath. “He-he—”
“Okay, it’s okay,” the guard says, moving to me and leading me to a chair. He presses the button on the walkie-talkie, bringing it to his mouth. “Gary, keep an eye out for Harrison Caldwell. Detain him if you find him. I want a sweep of every floor.”
“Will do,” comes back, and then the guard takes a seat beside me.
“Are you okay? Do you need medical attention?”
“No, nothing like that. Just keep him away from me.”
He nods, then gets up to shut the door and turn the blinds so they’re closed. He goes to the small fridge in the corner and brings me a bottle of water. I don’t have my phone with me, but I wish I did so I could call Gia to come pick me up. I don’t want to stay here. Not just now, but at all. Harrison acting like this is scary, and I don’t want to be somewhere he knows. How quickly will I be able to move?
I have a decent amount of money saved from working at Caldwell Enterprises. I could at least put the down payment on another apartment, but I also need a new job. They’ll probably need proof of that before they give me an apartment.
The office door is open, and it startles me. I panic for a split second when I see Elliot. The way he and Harrison have similar features tricked my mind into thinking itwasHarrison.
“Christ, Seraphine, are you okay?”
He kneels in front of me, hands on my arms.
“Why are you here?” I ask with wide eyes.
“It’s my building. I’m alerted any time there is an issue.”
Right. That makes sense, but all I can say is, “Oh.”
It hurts to see him. He’s so handsome, and the way he ran in here like a superhero ready to save the day... To save me. Like he usually does because that’s what he’s been doing for the last fewmonths. But he too had to go and ruin it… guess it runs in the family.
“Where is my son?” he asks, looking up toward the security guard.
“We haven’t found him yet.”
“You better tell me when you do. I’m going to kill him.”
Part of me thinks he may be telling the truth.
“Are you okay?” he asks me again.
I nod and he lets out a sigh of relief. He squeezes his eyes shut, and I take the moment to watch him.
I hate what he did but I’ve missed him. Still, all this wouldn’t be happening right now if he hadn’t done what he did. If he would have just listened to what I said and not put on a show in front of Harrison, I wouldn’t be here right now, terrified out of my mind, my whole life getting violated.
“I’m so sorry, Seraphine. This is all my fault.”
“Sir, the police are here,” the guard says just before there is a knock on the door.
He pulls it open, and there are two men dressed in police uniforms on the other side. Elliot stands up and goes to them.
“I expect my son to be found immediately,” he says.
“Let’s just start with what happened,” the officer says.
“Seraphine Sinclair resides in the apartment Mr. Caldwell forced himself into. Harrison Caldwell, notthisMr. Caldwell,” the guard clarifies.
“How about you tell us what happened,” the cop says, moving toward me and pulling out a pad and a pen. He’s amiddle-aged guy, balding and with glasses. Looks like he’s been doing this job for a long time.
