Theo started to argue, but Aiden put up his hand. “I believe you. I’m only saying some of the evidence suggests she’s gone because she wanted to. There’s nothing you can do here tonight. I’ll lock up when we leave. You should go back and make sure Jordan is all right.”
“What do I even tell her?” His little girl would be heartbroken if the mom she’d waited her whole life to see disappeared. He wasn’t sure he’d make it either.
Aiden shook his head. “I promise I’ll call as soon as I getanyinformation. I’ve got her cell number and will see what I can do about tracing its whereabouts. Don’t get too excited about that. Mt. Desert Island doesn’t have a whole lot of cell towers to ping off. I’ve also already put out an APB on her car.”
Frozen in place, his fingers trembled as he threaded them through his hair. He couldn’t leave. This was where Chelsea had been last. He wanted to stay to see if she’d come back, even though it wasn’t plausible. Thank God Aiden believed that something had happened to her. But what? And why?
After shaking Aiden’s hand, he slowly trudged outside and stood on the porch. The sun had gone down, and the stars began to make their appearance. So often, he and Chelsea had sat outside staring up at the night sky. Here in Maine, it was so clear and big it had made them see how small they were, how lost they could get in the world. They’d never minded getting lost with each other.
How could he help Chelsea when she was lost all alone?
Her ringtone went off, and Chelsea attempted to lift her head. The fog had wormed its way more deeply inside, and she didn’t have the strength to fight it anymore. Why was she so out of it?
As she shifted to get more comfortable, something pulled at her hands and feet. Which seemed to somehow be both in the same place.
That pried her eyes open. She was on her side, knees to her chest and hands tied to her feet. Her bare feet. Why wasn’t she wearing any shoes. Hadn’t she been over at the cottage? Yeah, they’d delivered Jordan’s new bedroom set, and she’d put the sheets on them. The pink princess ones she’d picked up at the store only that morning. Then, someone had come in. Frank.
“Frank.” Her voice was scratchy, like it hadn’t been used in a while. What time was it? Where was she? It felt like she was lying on a mattress, yet the smell was all wrong. This wasn’t her own bed or the one she shared with Theo.
Oh, God. Theo. They’d had an argument, and she’d run off, scared. Of him not trusting her. Of not wanting her. It had been silly, really. So he hadn’t told her about the check. In no way did it mean he’d only taken Jordan because of the money. The love he had for their daughter was apparent in everything he said and did. Why had she been so stupid in accusing him?
The room was dark, but as her eyes adjusted, she began to make out some shapes. A few windows with dim light coming in. A table. Some chairs near the far wall. Something was in one of them. Or was it someone?
“Frank?” Had he been taken, too? Her father had always warned her that people might want to kidnap her to get him to pay a ransom. It had supposedly been one of the reasons he wanted her close to home at all times. Had Frank been taken because he could bargain for money with the company? When? How? Her memories didn’t go back much further than drinking tea with him.
The figure on the chair stirred and rose. It was Frank. How was he not trussed up like her?
“Chelsea? You’re awake.” Before he reached her, he stopped at the table and picked up an object. A phone. It had a floral cover on it. Her phone.
“He doesn’t give up, does he? He’s been texting every few hours.”
“Who? What’s going on? Why am I tied up?”
Frank took a wooden chair and turned it around before straddling it and resting his arms along the back. “I needed you to cooperate, Chelsea, and this was the only way.”
“The only way to what?” Pushing against the mattress, she wiggled until she was seated, leaning against the wall behind her. Her feet were bound together with a short rope attached to her hands, which were also tied up tight.
“You need to come back to Westchester and marry me.” His voice was calm but determined.
“What?I’m already married, Frank. You know that.”
“I didn’t know when I made my plans. Your marriage has ruined everything. Everything!” When he stood and slammed his hand on the back of the chair, she flinched. Frank had never shown any kind of anger or violence that she could remember. It was a feature her father had admired in him.
Shrinking back closer to the wall, she glanced around the room. The place was old and broken down. Completely unlivable. How did they get here?
“Where are we?” Keeping the tremors from her voice took effort. Clearly, she didn’t know him well enough to understand what he was capable of.
“Still on the island.” He shrugged. “I found this little shack one day while I was exploring. It’s a bit off the beaten path, being on the west side of Mount Desert Island, but it serves my purpose.”
“What is your purpose?” The fact she was tied up told her it wasn’t anything good for her.
“To marry you. Weren’t you listening?”
“My head is groggy. I don’t understand.”
As Frank stalked closer, her skin erupted in goosebumps. He sat next to her and stroked his fingers down her cheek. The hair on her arms stood up, and her stomach revolted.
“You were supposed to have a few months to grieve for your father and then I was planning to court you. You have no idea the lovely things I had in mind. Dinner at nice restaurants, dancing, museums. You would have loved it. I probably would have lowered your medication dosage, so you’d actually enjoy it.”
