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I turn my head to directly face her. “He left?”
“He sends his apologies for leaving without saying goodbye, but he had to leave before sun up this morning.”
Martha then leaves the room for a second, not shutting the door behind her. She reenters with a tin box full of sculpting tools under her arm. She opens a door that reveals an antechamber with sunlight streaming in from above. There’s already a thick gray dropcloth setup across the marble floor and a few blocks of what appear to be granite, fresh from a quarry. She’s tinier in stature than I originally thought, especially next to the large blocks. I wonder how they got them inside. Although I get the feeling this woman could kick the ass of any opponent that comes her way. I watch her work with focus through the mirror as Diane finishes styling my hair.
“Mr. Hudson doesn’t want you to be bored while he’s away and thought you’d like some art supplies.” Martha looks up at the bright paintings in the room of different types of flowers. “As you can see, Mr. Hudson loves art. He also wants you to know that you have complete access to the entire house including the gym, his study which is full of books, and the media room if you want to watch some television or a movie. He’s arranged for you to take all your meals in your room while he’s away because he feels you’ll be too lonely eating alone in the dining room, but if you’d rather not eat in your room, you just need to let me know and I’ll take care of it.”
Diane steps away from me. “You look lovely, Ms. Bailey. Is there anything else you’d like?”
I shake my head, feeling overwhelmed by all the attention given to me first thing in the morning.
Diane nods and then walks to the door. “Breakfast will be arriving soon. I’ll see you later tonight to get you ready for bed. Housekeeping will be in shortly as well.”
When Diane leaves, Martha takes a step toward me as she finishes setting up the sculpting area. “I’ll be staying in the room next to you while Mr. Hudson’s away. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“There is one thing,” I begin, feeling uncertain if I should even dare ask. “Nick told me that I could call my cousin, Sasha. We tried last night but she wasn’t home. Is there any way I can call her now? I know she’s got to be worried sick about me, and—”
“Yes,” Martha interrupts. “Mr. Hudson told me to give you this.” She hands me a new cell phone from her pocket, far better than the old model I had before. “He said it’s a gift and he knows after your meeting last night, you’ll know who is appropriate to call and what is allowed to be said.”
Heat sweeps up the back of my neck and across my face. I don’t know how much Martha knows, but I hope to God that Nick didn’t tell her what he did to me.
“If you need anything, I’m next door,” Martha says as she exits the room without saying another word.
I glance to the corners of the room, looking for cameras. I also look at the paintings to see if there is anything that resembles a lens hidden in the art. Nothing is visible, but I can’t imagine that Nick would just let me have complete freedom with a phone and not be viewing or at the very least, listening to what I say and do. Regardless if he’s watching or listening, I dial Sasha’s number, happy that I actually have it memorized.
She picks up immediately, breathless. “Hello.”
“Sasha, it’s Lyriope.”
“Oh my God. I’ve been so worried about you. I tried calling right back when I missed your call but didn’t get an answer and—Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I reassure her. “I’m at Nick’s place. I’m not sure where he lives because I haven’t been off the property, but—”
“He lives in Bishop’s Landing. I’m not sure if you’re at that house or not, but my guess is yes.”
There’s a pause from both of us as we had just spoken at rapid speed. I’m not sure what to say, or what I’m allowed to say.
“I think I should go to Leo before I go to Lucian,” Sasha says. “I’ve been giving it some thought, and he’s the most protective of the family, and I’m sure if we explain the situation, he’ll keep you safe.”
“No. I don’t want them rescuing me. There’s a reason I’ve been kept a secret whether it’s because of Bryant or maybe even his wife Sarah doesn’t want her kids knowing their father had an affair. Regardless of the reason, I don’t want everyone’s first time hearing about me and meeting me to be under these circumstances. I’ll look like some troublemaker fuck up.”
