Chapter 13
It was the middle of the night. Rain pounded down as Aaron sped through the streets in his
Maybach.
Ever since leaving Nancy’s place, he’d been calling me non–stop. He figured enough time had passed for me to cool off. Even if I wasn’t ready to forgive him, I’d at least pick up the phone. But call after call went unanswered, each one swallowed by silence.
Aaron slammed his foot on the gas pedal. He didn’t care about anything or anyone else right now–he just needed to see me. He ran several red lights, heart racing, until the Mackey estate came into view.
As he approached the mansion, he instinctively slowed down–only to be struck by something terrifying.
The lights were off.
A home that hadn’t gone dark in over a decade was now engulfed in blackness.
Panic surged in his chest as he jumped out of the car and sprinted toward the house.
“Where is she? Where is everyone?”
He stormed through the estate, turning on every light he could find in desperation.
I was terrified of the dark. How could the staff let the lights go out?
Before long, the butler appeared, trembling as he faced the furious man.
“Sir, Madam is…”
Before the butler could finish, Aaron cut him off, voice filled with rage. “Why are the lights off? Don’t you know Cassidy is afraid of the dark? For ten years, we’ve never once turned off the lights. I was gone for a short time and this is how you treat her?!”
Before the butler could answer, Aaron barked another question, “Where is she? Cassidy must be terrified right now. Where is she?!”
The butler shook like a leaf.
“After you took her last time…she came back on her own, once. After that… she never returned.”
Aaron’s mind went blank, like he’d just been struck by lightning. He stared at the butler in disbelief, reading the truth in his frightened eyes.
“Why didn’t you stop her?” His voice dropped to a menacing growl.
“She… she said she was only stepping out for a bit,” the butler stammered, “and that she’d signed the divorce papers. She said she had no more ties with the Mackey Family.”
Aaron closed his eyes. Pain exploded in his chest, as if someone had driven a spike straight through his heart. He knew I was angry–but he thought I’d at least give him time to explain.
Why couldn’t I wait?
Gripped by a sudden fear, he turned and made a beeline for my room. He refused to believe
08:39 Tue, 17 Jun
I’d really left him. Maybe I was just too upset. But the panic in his gut only grew. For the first time, he truly felt like he’d lost me.
He froze in front of my bedroom door. The room was pitch–black. And then he remembered something from before–when he suspected me of kidnapping Nancy. He had locked me in the storage room without listening to my explanation.
A dark, windowless room.
Even though he knew I had severe claustrophobia.
Even though he knew I was terrified of the dark. He had locked me in there for three whole days.
That memory hit him like a wrecking ball.
He took several deep breaths outside her door, then shoved it open.
When the lights flickered on he spotted a jeweled tiara sparkled in the sudden glow, its shine almost blinding.
But just beyond the glittering crown, through a small opening-
He caught sight of something…red.
08:39 Tue,
