“Lissy!”he shouted, and I slapped him across his pathetic face.
“I hate you, Malcolm, and I will never forgive you for this. If you needed the money, all you had to do was talk to me.”
He scoffed. “You would never have listened, Alyssa.” He rubbed his cheek.
“So you chose to use our daughter like some kind of pawn. Who the fuck are you right now?”
“You’re going to let her speak to you like that, Malcolm?” my father-in-law interjected.
I spun on my heel. “This has nothing to do with you, Derek, so stay out of it.”
“I want you gone, Malcolm, before I call the cops on you.”
With that, I left the two men in my living room.
Did I even know my husband at all?
Recalling one of the scariest moments of my life, finally opening up to Luke about it dredged up old hurt, but Luke needed to understand why or at least some of it.
“I walked away from him that day, and things changed. In a way, my eyes were opened. Things never got back to the way they were. He was a stranger to me.”
“And Gracie?” Luke asked.
“She was fine. I didn’t hide that her father made me believe she was kidnapped, but left out the part about him using her as collateral. That kind of shit messes with a kid’s mind. I figured I was going to divorce his sorry ass anyway and use that bit of information when the time was right.”
He nodded. “Ah… it explains her reluctance to talk about her father.”
“They drifted apart after that incident despite her not knowing the whole truth. His lies were sufficient reason for her to be angry. He couldn’t justify what he’d done. But it was so much worse than I initially thought.”
“How so?”
“I guess that’s a story for another time. We’re due to meet Meredith in the next half hour.”
He looked at his watch and nodded.
I was going to see my sister after what felt like forever. She was the only one who knew what had happened. Together we would be able to track down Gracie, and if Gregory had her, there would be hell to pay, but I’d be happy to take his life as repayment.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Luke
We agreed to meet at the park. It was unlikely the police tailing Meredith would recognize me.
Alyssa and I sat on a bench, my arm draped over her shoulder. It was just for show, but I tightened my grip anyway. She wore blue jeans, a green turtleneck sweater, and a beret. The only clothing I could find on the route was from a small thrift shop. Her hair was tucked into the sweater, and she wore a pair of reading glasses.
When Meredith arrived and took a seat on the agreed bench facing the lake, I could feel Alyssa stiffen beside me, her eyes fixated on where her sister sat. I knew she was afraid and anxious. I couldn’t blame her.
“Stick to the plan,” I whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”
Pulling down my baseball cap, I smiled at Alyssa reassuringly before standing and walking to where Meredith sat, throwing bread crumbs to the ducks waddling out of the water and onto the embankment. Her posture was anything but relaxed.
We’d agreed it was safer for me to meet her sister and get as much information as possible on what happened the day Gracie went missing. Meredith was not keen on talking to me when I called her from a payphone, but in the end, at hearing that Alyssa was with me, she’d relented for a chance to see that she was all right, even from a distance. It was still a risky situation for Alyssa in case Meredith had a tail, but getting her to stay in a motel room was no easy feat.
I sat next to Meredith with some breadcrumbs of my own.
“Dr. Greene,” she said, an iciness to her voice, and when she looked at me, I could tell she’d been crying. Her eyes were swollen and red, the dark bags a clear indication she’d not been sleeping.
“Thank you for seeing me.”
