Shaking, Ayla backed away from him. He reached out to her with one placating arm. But she shook her head violently before pivoting and running out of the hotel.
I was riveted. “Go after her,” I pleaded with my husband’s image on the screen. “What are you doing?” How could he let Ayla drive away when she was that upset? It wasn’t safe for her to be on the road.
But instead of following our daughter, Ali returned to the bar. He said something to the woman, who was still seated at the table. From his tense posture, it was clear Ali’s anger had returned in full force. His fists were clenched. He did not sit. Pointing at the woman, he shook his head and appeared to speak sharply. I had never seen my husband so animated in his anger. Who was the woman? Why was he so mad?
When Ali finished talking, he reached for his glass and poured it down his throat. I assumed it was water because Ali never drank. Then he grabbed his jacket off the back of his seat and left. The woman jumped to her feet and appeared to call him back. Ali ignored her. When he reached the lobby, he was sprinting.
About time,I thought. He was finally going after Ayla.
Shaking, I replayed the tape again and again. What did it mean? Who was the mystery woman? Why was Ayla so upset with her dad? What made Ali so furious at the woman in the hotel lounge?
I thought about Ayla’s behavior since Ali died. How withdrawn she’d been, how morose and willing to assume the worst about her father. I’d assumed her changed demeanor was a reaction to Ali’s death. Now I knew better. A powerful urge to protect my daughter washed over me.
I had no idea what Ayla knew, but I sensed how badly she needed me. My insides quivered. I was afraid for my daughter. I grabbed my bag and bolted out of the office.
I had to find her.
Chapter Forty
“OK, I’m here.” Ayla dropped her backpack by the front door and toed off her sneakers. “What is so important that I had to come home in the middle of the week?”
Bintitrotted over to Ayla, waggling her body, her tail swiping left and right. Ayla crouched down to greet the dog. “How’s my good girl?” she crooned while rubbing the dog’s ears.Bintilooked like she was in heaven.
I drank in the sight of my daughter, my tense muscles relaxing a fraction now that we were in the same room, even though she was far too thin, her face even more drawn than the last time I saw her. I’d made Ayla drive back from college because this was a conversation that needed to be done in person, and in the comfort of the home she grew up in.
“I have something important to talk with you about,” I said softly.
She looked up, her gaze wary. “Don’t tell me there’s a new revelation about Dad. Are you going to reveal that he had a second wife and a whole other set of children?” Ayla’s uncharacteristically negative attitude toward her father now made sense. She’d been furious with him on the surveillance tape.
I shook my head. “No, it’s nothing like that. Come and sit down.”
She grimaced as she stood up, forgetting all aboutBinti, who looked seriously disappointed. “OK, now you’re scaring me. Why are you so intense?”
“Come on.” I ushered her into the family room, where we sat on the sectional, her favorite place to hang out other than in her bedroom.
“So?” she said impatiently after we were settled.Bintinudged Ayla’s leg with her nose, still craving attention. But Ayla’s eyes were on me. “What is it?”
“First of all, I love you and your brother more than anything on the planet, including myself and even your dad.”
“Okaaay.” She waited for me to continue.
“And I’m not here to judge you or blame you for anything. I want to protect you and make sure you’re OK.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Bintigave up her quest for attention and settled at Ayla’s feet for a nap.
I took a breath, my heart throbbing. “I just saw a surveillance tape from the Parkview Hotel from the night Dad died.”
Ayla paled. “There’s surveillance tape?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” I took hold of her hand. “I just want to understand why you were there. Can you tell me why you were so mad at Dad?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She burst into tears. “Dad was cheating on you! I confronted him.”
“How did you know he’d be at the hotel that night?”
“Earlier that day, I was here at home using Dad’s tablet because mine wasn’t charged.” She gulped between sobs. “I saw the whole text exchange between him and that woman.”
