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I’m sorry I didn’t come with Holly and the others when they tried to help you. All these years I’ve wondered if it would’ve gone differently if I was there. If I could’ve said something that made a difference and saved you so much pain. I failed you before. But I’m not going to fail you again.
I’m so, so proud of you for leaving that monster on your own.
Holly told me all about this Fairford Manor place you’re at, and explained all the ways this is different. She said she likes this Rafe person you’re with now. I still don’t entirely understand, but I’m trying to. And I’ll keep trying until I do. That’s my promise to you.
Your dad is going to take longer to convince. I told him tonight that he should be on his knees every day for the rest of his life, thanking God for bringing you back to us. Holly and I will convince him in the end. Hang in there.
Please call me when you can. I need to hear your voice. I need to see you and hold you. I need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my baby girl is okay.
Love,
Mom
Nell was crying again by the time she finished reading. Not only from the joy and relief of having her mom back, though that was a huge part of it. But from realizing she’d never get to introduce Rafe to her family. They’d never know the man who helped her find her way back to them. That loss made the whole thing hurt even worse.
She was about to log out when she froze, her eyes going wide, her heart pounding.Holly told me all about this Fairford Manor place you’re at.
Micah had been checking her emails. If he read the email—if he knew where she was...
“Shit!”
The email from her mom had arrived at 10:02 the previous night. Almost twenty-four hours for him to read the message. Almost twenty-four hours to act.
Her hand shook so hard as she tried to open Micah’s latest email, she missed on her first three attempts. She screamed, “Goddamnit!” at the computer, as if that would somehow help. Why the fuck hadn’t she changed her password? It hadn’t seemed to matter at the time; she never expected to get emails from anyone but him. But now it felt like one more stupid mistake—the cherry on top of her idiot sundae.
When at last she got the fucking thing open, her heart stopped beating in her chest. Beneath several paragraphs of text, part of a picture was visible. She scrolled down until the image filled the screen.
It had been nearly a decade since she last saw Holly, but the woman in the photo was unmistakably her sister, her hair shoulder length now instead of long, the beginnings of crow’s feet around her eyes. Holly was in front of a large gambrel-style house, blue with black shutters, with a small boy who was presumably Nell’s nephew Justin. They both laughed as they played in a pile of fall leaves.
The photo had been taken from inside a car, with a slight glare from the window. A face was reflected in the side mirror.
She recognized the square jaw, stubby nose, and dark, wide-set eyes. He was a friend of Micah’s from L.A. Doug had always been willing when Micah wanted an audience while he hurt her.
“No, no, no, no, no...” She kept whispering it as she scrolled to the top, terrified of what she’d find.
Noelle,
It’s time for us to stop emailing and meet face to face. I don’t know why you ever thought you could get away from me for good. You’re mine. You’ll always be fucking mine. How dare you let another man touch my property, you dirty little whore. By the time I’m through with you, no other man will ever want to touch you again.
I’ve come to Vermont to collect you. If you come to me like a good girl, no one but you needs to be punished. But if you don’t, as you can see, I know where your sister lives. Doug is parked down the street right now, waiting to hear from me. If you don’t do as I tell you, your sister and nephew will receive the punishment that should’ve been yours.
Come to the trail behind the pool at this ridiculous fucking mansion. Come alone. If I suspect there’s even a chance you told anyone or called the police, Holly and the kid will be gone long before the cops can get to them. You have until 9PM to make your decision.
I’m waiting.
Master
As soon as she finished reading, her gaze flicked down to the bottom right corner of the screen. It was 8:53. And Holly’s number was stored on Rafe’s phone, nowhere else.
Nell sprinted from the room as fast as her legs would carry her.
* * *
The buzzing of insects made the woods seem deceptively peaceful. But she wasn’t fooled. She knew there was a monster lurking in the dark.
It must have been a new moon, for the only traces of light came from the blue glow of the pool. Her steps slowed as the darkness surrounded her, but she didn’t let herself stop. There wasn’t any time.
Nell only made it about ten feet down the wide hiking trail before Micah appeared, stepping out from behind the thick trunk of a tree.
