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But there was still nothing. I called again and again, moving to different parts of the wall, but nobody came to my rescue. Deflated, I returned to the house.
Every day, I had sat at the top of the stairs, hoping to hear Carolyn at the front door, calling my name, demanding to see me. Maybe she’d tried and Hunter hadn’t let her past the gates. And then there wasHunter himself. In the eight days since I’d been here, he’d never come to check on me. It hurt that I couldn’t explain everything to him. But why would he seek me out if he believed I was happy being married to Ned?
I consoled myself that Carolyn wouldn’t have given up on me. If she had been turned away, it would only reinforce what she already knew, that something was wrong. She would be back, and next time, she would bring Daniel with her, or better still, the police.
I was about to go back to the sitting room when I decided to borrow a book from Ned’s library. I had never asked him if I could, because I wasn’t meant to know he had a library. I went in and began exploring the shelves. There were books on the universe, books on art, books on the history of the world.
I was pushing the moveable wooden stairs along the library floor so that I could reach the books on the higher shelves when I heard the car coming up the driveway. I hurried to the window; they were already back. Panic surged; I needed to leave, get back to my bedroom before Ned caught me here. But before I could move, I saw someone squeezing in through the gates as they closed shut. I recognized her instantly—Lina. My heart leapt; had Carolyn sent her, hoping she would have more influence with Ned?
The car braked to a stop at the front door. Hunter jumped out, pulled Ned’s door open, and without waiting for him to exit the car, he ran down the drive toward Lina. She was shouting something at Ned as he stepped out of the car and Hunter took hold of her arm, preventing her from going any farther.
Ned didn’t bother looking at Lina, he just walked into the house as if she wasn’t standing there, shouting at him. As I watched, Lina shrugged off Hunter’s hand and ran after Ned, her signature red tote bag clutched to her chest, her red high-heeled sandals a splash of color against the gray gravel.
Hunter caught up with her as she reached the front door. He was talking urgently to her, trying to steer her away from the house. But Lina was shouting over him.
“Let me in, Hunter, I want to speak to him!” Unlike Hunter’s, her voice carried all the way through the open front door and down the hallway to the library.
“It’s alright, Hunter, let her in!” I heard Ned call.
I’d been so busy watching the drama unfolding between Lina and Hunter that I’d forgotten I needed to leave the library. But it was too late; Ned was already coming down the hallway. The door was open; if he looked in, he would see me.
I ran to the door, slid myself behind it, my heart hammering in my chest as Lina’s stilettos clattered on the marble floor of the entrance hall. Through the gap between the hinges, I could see Ned approaching the library.
“Hey!” I heard Lina call. “I want to talk to you!”
Ned stopped in his tracks, just feet away from me, then turned slowly, waiting for Lina to catch up with him. He was so agonizingly close that from my hiding place, I could see the flare of anger on his face.
Lina came into view and stopped inches away from Ned, her hands on her hips, her eyes like daggers.
“Where’s Justine?” she snapped.
Her question threw me. She wasn’t here for me, she was here for Justine. Shame flooded my body. Did she really believe that I’d married Ned for love, that I’d been in a secret relationship with him, that I’d lied to them all?
“Haven’t you heard?” Ned said smoothly, masking his anger. “She’s gone back to France.”
Lina’s eyes flashed. “I don’t believe it. She would never have left without saying goodbye to me.”
Ned shrugged. “Seems like she did.”
“No.” Lina was adamant. “Her life is here in England. Where is she?”
“I suspect she was too embarrassed to tell you why I terminated her contract.”
“Why would you fire her? She managed to get some of the best interviews ever, you said so yourself. You were happy with her work.”
“I was, until I found out she’d been taking drugs.”
“Drugs? Justine?” Lina laughed. “Are you crazy?”
Ned’s face darkened. “Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”
“A liar, that’s who I’m talking to.”
Please be careful, Lina,I implored silently. But her eyes narrowed.
“I know what you did, Carolyn told me. You went to Justine’s apartment on the pretense of discussing her contract, and sexually assaulted her. I also know that she filed charges against you. So, you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to go to the police station and tell them that since filing the charges against you, Justine has disappeared, and that when we call her phone, it’s been disconnected. I’ll tell them that you said she’s in France and I’ll ask them to check the ports and airports to see if she actually arrived there. I’ll tell them how you were always pestering her, I’ll show them the numerous messages she sent to me, complaining about your continual harassment. And while I’m there, I’ll also tell the police about the off-the-record payments I’ve had to make as your accountant, to the young women you silenced after you sexually assaulted them. Except that they are not as off-the-record as you would like them to be, because I have copies of everything, I even have those girls on tape saying that they accepted the money because you threatened them with—”
It happened so fast. Ned grabbed Lina by the arms and pushed her against the wall, pinning her there with one hand while he covered her mouth with the other. I saw Lina’s eyes widen, heard her muffled protests as she twisted her head, then her body, trying to break free. She tried to grab Ned’s arm, dislodge his hand from her mouth, but her red tote slipped from her shoulder and dropped to her elbow, dragging it downward. She kicked out with her foot but Ned pressed his hand harder against her mouth, and her nostrils flared in and out in rapid movements as she tried to draw in air. I tried to move but my wholebody was paralyzed by a mix of disbelief and denial—this wasn’t happening, what was Ned doing, why was he now pinching Lina’s nose with his fingers, his other hand still pressed over her mouth?
