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And once I stepped back there, my heart hammering wildly in my chest at just how bizarre this whole thing was, I saw it.
I saw it, felt my blood run cold, and squeezed Hanna’s hand in mine.
There was a television there, and it was turned on to a news station.
I couldn’t speak as I listened to the report.
“We’re standing here, just outside the Cardinal Plaza Mall’s east entrance, where Ellery Cross was last seen exiting the building. It’s been days since anyone has heard from her, and there were sadly no witnesses present during her disappearance. In a rare occurrence, cameras were working inside the mall, but the exterior cameras were malfunctioning at the time Ellery walked out. While camera footage inside the mall shows her leaving on her own, there’s been no word on whether she was coerced, or if she left willingly.”
Oh, God.
Oh, no.
My face and name were plastered on the screen, and this news was being broadcast on live television.
No.
What was I going to do?
I hadn’t anticipated this. Maybe it made me a little naïve, but knowing the kind of man he was, I just didn’t think that Patrick would have allowed the word to get out. This was just the kind of thing that I didn’t expect he’d be okay with. Not the cameras, not the attention.
Not in his position.
Staring, my eyes riveted to the screen, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next.
My parents’ house.
My gut clenched painfully as I listened to the report that followed that image, a picture of my face still positioned in the corner of the screen.
“We managed to catch up with Ellery’s family yesterday afternoon. Here’s what they had to say.”
That’s when it happened.
My heart shattered into a million pieces.
My parents and my sister were on the screen, and they were distraught. My dad was clearly trying to hold it together, my mom was devastated, and Ainsley was a mess.
“We’re praying that she’s okay, that she’s safe,” my mom rasped. “We’ve tried to reach out to her, but we’ve been unsuccessful.”
“Is it like her to go for days at a time without speaking to anyone in her family?” the reporter asked.
All three of them shook their heads, but it was Ainsley who spoke.“She wouldn’t do this. She wouldn’t just leave on her own and not tell us. Something is wrong, and I’m terrified for my sister’s safety.”
“If she were watching now, or if someone has her is seeing this, what would you like to say to them?” the reporter, still off-screen, questioned them.
As though my family’s anguish was a movie trailer that was all about ratings, the camera panned in on each one of them. On their anguish. On their devastation.
I swallowed hard, the painful lump in my throat only a mild distraction from the burning in my lungs.
It was my father who finally found the strength to speak.“If someone has her, we’re begging you to bring her back safely. Return her, unharmed, and we won’t ask questions. And if my daughter left willingly or on her own accord…”He trailed off, his eyes filling with tears. Seeing it, mine did the same.“Ellery, if you’re watching this, we just want to know that you’re okay. We love you, and I’m sorry for all the ways in which I’ve failed you.”
My hand flew up to cover my mouth and the sob threatening to escape. Tears rolled down my cheeks, but they didn’t stop the report from continuing.
Vernon, Carla, and Ainsley Cross were no longer on the screen. My picture and my name were still plastered in the corner of the screen when it cut back to the original reporter standing outside of the mall.
“You can see how difficult this sudden disappearance has been on the Cross family,” she started. “But they aren’t the only individual suffering in this awful situation. Ellery’s husband of the last eight years, Patrick Crespo, is feeling the pain of not knowing what has happened to his wife. We managed to speak with him earlier this morning, and here’s what he had to say.”
In the next instant, Patrick’s face filled the screen.
