Page 100 of The Image of You

“Fight for her. Get her back.”

“She doesn’t remember you, Adam.”

“Then I’ll get her to fall in love with me again until she does remember. Now, start talking.”

I sat back, angry.

Sarah and Ronald had taken her away.

I was going to get her back.

* * *

I found out quickly that when Emma was upset, she tended to talk too much. Her hands waved, and she was emotional. After about ten minutes of her ramblings, I realized the best way to get information would be to ask her questions.

“Why was Sarah here when Ally was in the hospital? She was still in recovery then, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. Sarah went between here and Calgary a lot.” She blew out a big breath. “She had obligations here as well, she informed me.”

“Her only fucking obligation should have been her daughter,” I snapped, then paused to collect my thoughts. “Why didn’t you return my messages?”

“I didn’t get them.” She sighed. “I wish I had.” She met my stare, her face earnest. “I did call the magazine, trying to find you. They told me you no longer worked there and were out of the country indefinitely. I came by here to check, and I ran into one of the tenants. He told me you had moved. I thought Sarah was telling the truth and you had deserted Alex. Moved on with your life.”

I shook my head. “I thought she had gone because of me. I left so she could return to her life here. There seemed to be no point in staying, so I disappeared.” I swallowed the pain in my throat. “I couldn’t be here without her. It hurt too much.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “I made a huge mistake not keeping the PI on her parents. I let Sarah mess with my head. I should never have left. Or believed a word that came from that woman’s mouth.”

She nodded in sympathy. “We both believed the wrong thing.”

“Tell me about her recovery.”

Emma sighed. “I can’t tell you everything. Like I said, Sarah and Ronald took control of Alex and her life. I saw her only rarely—she remained in Calgary to do her therapy, so I was farther away. And I was blocked from much contact.”

My voice was quiet. “Was she in a lot of pain?”

“Yes—at times, she still is. Her headaches still trouble her. When she’s upset, she gets confused and forgets things. They aren’t sure if that’s irreversible or if it will go away. The accident left her with a permanent limp.”

I hated the thought of her in pain. “She hasn’t remembered anything?” It had been months. “This whole time?”

“No.”

“Vivian told me she had an email with Ally’s resignation.”

“Alex doesn’t remember Vivian either. She came to work at the hospital around the time Alex’s memory is gone. Sarah sent the emails, I think. If she was responsible for the texts to you, I assume she did the emails. She told Alex the hospital felt she was too great a risk to have working there, so she’d been let go. She had Alex’s tablet and phone the whole time.”

I snorted. “Sarah tied up all the loose ends, didn’t she? How very methodical of her.” I flexed my hands, my fingers aching from being held in a tight fist for so long. “Why does nobody here know what happened? Why the secrecy?”

Emma and Alan exchanged a look. Alan spoke this time. “Emma and I were talking about that. This is conjecturing on my part, but I think they saw this as the perfect opportunity to get rid of you. If no one knew what happened to Alex and she simply moved, you couldn’t find her if you came looking. No one would ask many questions if they thought it was a decision made by Alex. She was such a private person, it wouldn’t seem out of character. They got control of her life again, and they could push her in the direction they wanted her to go.”

I arched my eyebrow. “Big risk, considering her memory could come back.”

Alan nodded. “I think they thought it was a risk worth taking.”

Emma broke in. “She hasn’t remembered anything, and now I wonder if that’s why they kept her in Calgary. No memories of you or her life here with you. Although…”

“What?” I prompted.

“Alex showed me her tattoo and asked me when she got it. I told her I didn’t know since I’d never seen it before. I knew the camera had to do with you, and I tried to ask her a few things, wondering if maybe it would jog her memory.” She frowned. “Did you give her a leather band she wore around her ankle?”