Closing Books

by Grace, Trisha

“I thought Ben said that she was living on her own?”

  “He believes she’s living on her own.”

  “Hmm…” She pursed her lips and thought about it for a moment. “I’ll leave if I see anyone else inside. I’ll ask her, too. That way, you can hear it on the line.”

  Dan nodded slowly. “All right, we’ll do as you say. If Kate is agreeable, I’m fine with it. But you have to be on the line at all times, and if it gets cut, I’ll go in after you.”

  Evelyn bit her lips, and Dan knew she was trying to stop herself from laughing at his words.

  “I’m serious.”

  “Okay. We’ll talk to Kate about it.”

  Kate wasn’t the only one who opposed to the idea of Evelyn meeting Melissa Rose on her own.

  While Evelyn was worried about Kate, the rest of the guys had reminded Dan that things were different this time round and told him to be more alert.

  Before, Kate was the main target; the threats and fire all aimed at her.

  This time, the focus had shifted.

  Evelyn had received the blackmail and David Morgan had basically admitted to be the one behind it all.

  The guys turned to Dan, expecting him to put in some kind of protest, but he only shrugged.

  “We’re not letting you go alone,” Ryan said.

  “I’ll be fine. Dan will be right outside.”

  “He goes in with you, or you don’t go at all,” Joseph replied.

  Evelyn rolled her eyes at Joseph’s condescending words. “Nothing will happen. Lydia went alone and she was fine.”

  “Fine? She’s in the hospital now and doesn’t look fine at all.” Joseph turned to Dan. “You’re okay with it?”

  “No, I’m not. I don’t want her to take the risk.” He paused and raised his hand, palm out, when he saw Evelyn’s surprise. “But, she has been practicing with you and Ty, even if something does happen, I’m sure she can handle herself for a few minutes.”

  “Thank you.”

  Joseph opened his mouth to speak. Dan was sure Joseph would have a valid refute for every valid point that they had, but he shook his head slightly and continued. “Let her go. She knows what she’s doing.”

  “We’ve been through everything, and Melissa Rose is our only lead. Let’s just get this over and done with,” Evelyn said.

  “If Dan’s fine with it, then why not?” Ryan gave Joseph and mock punch.

  “Then it’s settled.” Dan turned to Evelyn. “We’ll go tomorrow.”

  That night, Dan and Evelyn lay in bed, neither saying anything.

  He had supported Evelyn’s plan because logically, he knew Evelyn needed to do this, he knew the chances of the meeting becoming dangerous was slim, he knew Evelyn could handle herself in tough situations, and he knew they didn’t have anything else to go on.

  But…There was always a but.

  “Can’t sleep?” Evelyn asked as she moved closer, laying her head on his chest.

  “You’re still awake, too.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’m just wondering if she would entertain my questions. And if she does, what will she say? What does she have over David Morgan?”

  “She may have nothing, you do know it’s Lydia’s hunch.”

  “I know.”

  He weaved his fingers into her hair. “Whatever it is, promise me that you’ll be careful. Don’t push her. And if you sense that something is wrong, you’ll leave immediately.”

  “I will.” She lifted her head and kissed him lightly on his chest. “Goodnight.”

  The next morning, both Evelyn and Dan woke up without the help of the alarm. Sitting in the car, she read through the notes that Lydia had on Melissa Rose.

  Lydia had every detail on Melissa Rose, from the date of birth to the current home address.

  It summed up to a familiar entertainment industry story, a former model who married a tycoon.

  Ben had since added a few additional details he’d dug up. Small details, but highly revealing.

  Ben couldn’t find much about Melissa Rose after her marriage. Besides the photos in highly publicized social events, there was barely any information on her. And for a while, Melissa Rose had dropped out of the social scene while rumors of a divorce speculated. Then, she returned to the parties, smiling graciously beside David Morgan.

  Evelyn stared at the photo of Melissa Rose and David Morgan on her iPad.

  She recognized the smile on Melissa Rose.

  A smile that didn’t reach the eyes, a smile concealing a mixture of rage and despondence. The same exact smile she used to wear whenever she was in school and around strangers, whenever she had to pretend that everything in her life was fine.

  She glanced up from the picture when the car came to a stop.

  “You sure about this?”

  Nodding, she pulled out her phone from the bag. “Let’s set up the call.”

  They adjusted their phones, testing to make sure Dan could hear everything while her phone was in her bag.

  Dan wanted her to hold the phone in her hand, but she thought it was too obvious.

  With the Bluetooth earpiece in her ear, she got out of the car and moved toward the house, then turned to wave to Dan before she rang the bell.

  The door inched opened, just slightly, and a pair of skeptical eyes peered out from behind the door.

  “Melissa Rose?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m Evelyn Jordan, Lydia—”

  The pair of eyes disappeared and the door was about to slam close in her face.

  “Listen.” Evelyn pushed against the door, keeping the door from closing.

  “Leave me alone,” Melissa Rose hissed.

  “Eve.”

  She heard Dan’s voice through her earpiece, and she knew he was a couple of seconds from jumping out of the car. “I know what it’s like to feel all alone, like there’s no one to help and no way out.”

  The weight on the door lifted, but Melissa Rose remained hidden behind it.

  “I can help. I have friends who can help you. You don’t have to be alone.”

  Melissa Rose didn’t reply.

  There was no movement behind the door either.

  Evelyn waited, giving Melissa Rose the time she needed.

  Slowly, the door opened and Melissa Rose scanned the surroundings, her eyes stopping on Dan’s car.

  “That’s my boyfriend. He’s just waiting for me,” Evelyn said when she noticed what Melissa Rose was staring at.

  After a minute, with neither speaking, Evelyn continued. “Look, I know you want to leave, and I know you need help to do that. I’m offering you that help.”

  Again, silence fell between the ladies.

  “Eve, forget it. She doesn’t seem willing to talk.”

  Evelyn glanced over her shoulder at Dan, then back at Melissa Rose. “If someone had offered me a chance to get out of my situation, I would have grabbed it without a second thought. If you want to leave, I’m here to help.” She looked Melissa Rose right in her eyes, and waited.

  Just when she wanted to turn around and leave, Melissa Rose stepped aside for Evelyn to enter.

  “Where’s the Lydia girl?”

  Pursing her lips, Evelyn tried to come up with something that wouldn’t cause Melissa Rose to regret the decision of letting her in.

  “Don’t lie to me.”

  “I wasn’t going to.” She moved over and sat on the couch while Melissa Rose remained standing across her. “She’s at the hospital. She got hurt.”

  Evelyn saw Melissa Rose’s eyes widening, so she quickly continued. “That was because we didn’t know what she was investigating. She’s safe now. She has two bodyguards with her all the time.”

  “I can’t live with a bodyguard all the time.”

  “Then why don’t you leave?” Evelyn noticed the wry smile on Melissa Rose’s face.

  Melissa Rose finally sat. She closed her eyes and shook her head slowly.

  Evelyn scrutinized Melissa Rose. The dark rings under her eyes
were obvious. She appeared so frail and brittle that it was as though one touch would cause her to shatter into a million pieces.

  Melissa Rose continued shaking her head. The wry smile on her face disappeared and she pursed her lips, her eyes revealing a pain of hopes being dashed.

  Evelyn knew she was losing Melissa Rose. Anytime now, she’d be thrown out. She had to convince Melissa that she truly understood the fear and the helplessness.

  “This is a—”

  “I do know what you’re going through,” Evelyn interjected. Then, she told Melissa her story, told her how she was caged and tortured, how she thought every night was her last, how she tried to get help only to find out that no one cared enough to fight for her, that she was all alone.

  “So I wasn’t lying when I told you that I understand how you feel. No one helped me when I needed it,” she said. “I’m offering you help.”

  “What can you do? He wouldn’t let me leave; he wouldn’t even let me get a divorce. I had to threaten him to let me stay here alone. Even here, he keeps track of my movements. He won’t allow me to go to work. Like he said,” Melissa turned and looked out of the window before continuing in a soft, pained voice, “I’m just a pet to him.”

  “If you put him away in jail, he’ll lose his hold on you.”

  “He’ll kill me before that happens. He told me so. And since we’re still married, I can’t testify against him.”

  “Then give me the clues, point me in the right direction. He doesn’t have to know that you’re involved.”

  “He’ll kill me if he finds out. I can’t.”

  Evelyn nodded. She understood her fear. She had been through it herself. “I’m not pushing you to make a decision now. I have a friend who knows a detective well. We’ve got an experienced lawyer on our side. My friend can get you a place to stay and bodyguards until we put him away. When you’re ready, you can leave this cage.” Evelyn took out her name card and pushed it across the coffee table separating them. “Think about it.”

  “What happened to your foster parent?”

  “I killed her, in self-defense.” Evelyn stood while Melissa continued to stare at the card. “It’s not too late. You can still leave if you want.” She waited for a moment before moving toward the door. “Call me when you’re ready.”

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Evelyn looked through the drawings of the crib and dressing table for the baby. She calculated the amount of wood needed and cross-checked it with her measurements of the mahogany desk in Tyler’s study.

  It wasn’t enough. She would have to take from the huge cabinets against the wall.

  She did more calculations and figured that with the additional wood, she could fashion a small study desk for the baby to use in the future.

  Looking up from her drawings, she glanced toward her cell phone.

  The possibility of Melissa Rose calling was slim, but she couldn’t help checking her phone to make sure she hadn’t missed any calls.

  She understood why Melissa Rose was so hostile to her.

  Fear and loneliness were great wall builders. After years of being controlled by David Morgan, Melissa must have built up a strong barrier to protect herself.

  “Miss Jordan, do you need anything? If not—”

  “Go ahead, Tiffany. See you tomorrow.”

  The last of her staff left the office, and Evelyn returned her focus to her drawings, determined to get Melissa Rose out of her mind. She was doing all she could. She’d offered her help, and she could do nothing else unless Melissa was willing to help herself.

  Her efforts to concentrate on her drawings weren’t much of a success.

  Since Dan should be arriving anytime, she packed up her stuff, which mainly involved sweeping everything she wanted to bring home into her bag, and pushed the rest of the paper and stationery aside.

  She really should pack up her desk soon.

  To convince herself that she wasn’t a slob, she arranged the few pencils neatly, placing them in line with one another, from the shortest to the longest.

  Her phone vibrated and saved her from the mundane task. She picked it up, seeing a text from Dan, telling her that he was there and would wait for her in the parking lot.

  She frowned slightly at the text. Since Lydia’s assault, Dan always came up to her office and walked her down.

  Call him.

  She laughed at how dependent she’d become. It wasn’t a long walk to the parking lot, and she wasn’t a baby.

  Call him.

  She shook the thoughts from her head, took her bag, and headed out of the office. She’d just stepped out of the elevator and was scanning the parking lot for Dan’s car when she felt a jab in her neck.

  She flinched from the pain and turned, but everything swirled and she found herself swaying dangerously to the side, unable to right herself. Almost immediately, a dark rim invaded her sight, quickly overtaking her vision.

  Dan had just gotten out of his car when he felt a pair of boney hands grasping his arm. His head snapped toward the hands, and he glared up at their owner.

  His glare must have been menacing, for she immediately let go and stumbled a few steps back.

  “Melissa Rose?” He softened his looks and smiled politely at her, but the frantic look on her face didn’t go away.

  “Quick, you don’t have time. He took her.”

  “What? Who?”

  “Miss Jordan! He took her!” She waved the crumpled name card in her hand. “I saw him, I saw him taking her. You have to find her; he’ll kill her.”

  “Where did he take her?”

  She blinked, then shook her head. “I don’t know…”

  “Think!”

  She shrunk back from Dan, her chin tucked in. “I really don’t know.”

  He wanted to step forward, to press for more details, but she appeared so frightened that he didn’t dare risk it. With his eyes on her, Dan called Evelyn on her phone, but it was switched off.

  “He drove off in his own car?”

  “No, he didn’t. He has another car for these things,” she said.

  “Do you know the number plate of that car?”

  She chewed on her lips and took another step away from him. “No.”

  Dan needed information, but was afraid that Melissa might take off running if he pushed. He’d take her to Kate and search for Evelyn while Kate grilled her. “Please come with me, Miss Rose.”

  She looked over her shoulders, seemingly searching for a way away from him.

  “Evelyn would help you. If things were the other way around, she would do everything she could to help you.”

  She hesitated for a moment before nodding. She hurried over to the passenger side and got into the car, clutching her handbag against her chest.

  “We’ll head over to where our friends are,” he said while pulling out of the lot and calling Kate.

  “Hey Dan,” Kate’s chirpy voice filled the car once the line went through.

  “Trace Evelyn’s phone. Do what you did the other time.”

  “Why?”

  The words were already ringing in his head, but he couldn’t get them out of this mouth.

  “Dan? Are you still there?”

  He forced himself to swallow hard before saying, “He got her.”

  No further explanation was needed. The sudden silence on the other end of the phone was deafening.

  “I’ll do it now,” Kate said.

  “I have Melissa Rose with me, we’re coming over now.”

  “All right. Drive safe. I’ll update you if I get a location.”

  Hanging up the call, he slammed on the gas pedals.

  Kate must have been keeping watch from the mansion’s window. The moment his car went around the bend, Kate stepped out of the house and waited for him.

  When Melissa Rose saw Kate, her shoulders relaxed. The resemblance between Lydia and Kate was obvious to all.

  Kate rushed up to Dan as he stepped out of his car.

 
He held his breath, hoping that Kate wouldn’t turn hysterical. He needed all the help he could get, and the last thing he wanted was to waste time calming Kate down.

  He sighed, relieved, when Kate simply ran her hand down his arm with a tense smile and a nod before turning to Melissa.

  “Miss Rose, you have to help us find her.”

  “I don’t know what I can do.”

  Kate placed her hand gently on Melissa’s arm, leading her toward the house. “Tell us everything you know.” Returning her eyes to Dan, she continued. “Her phone is off, but I’ve set the email notification.”

  Kate ushered Melissa into the house and sat her down in the living room.

  “Miss Rose—”

  “Melissa.”

  “Melissa.” Kate took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Point us in the right direction. We’re digging up everything, but that’ll take too much time.”

  “I’m sorry, all I know is that I lied to provide him with an alibi whenever he needed one.”

  “But you know something. A wife always knows something, anything that you suspect.”

  Melissa reached into her handbag and took out a DVD that had a line of numbers written across it. 15042009. “This is my trump card. This was how I got him to let me move out.”

  Dan grabbed the DVD.

  His haste startled Melissa, and her eyes widened, staring at the DVD.

  “We’ll give that back to you.” Kate patted Melissa’s hand softly. “I promise.”

  Though Melissa was clearly much older than Kate, Kate spoke to her like a mother coaxing a child. “This is Marianne. I need to go up to help them out. You all right here?”

  He didn’t wait for Kate. He headed up the stairs and toward the study, grabbed one of the laptops and played the video that the DVD contained.

  All the guys were inside. They dropped what they were doing and crowded around the laptop. Kate joined them just as the video began running.

  The screen was black for the first few seconds before a new scene suddenly cut in.

  Dan’s heart dropped.

  He had seen the pictures, the cuts and bruises, but he wasn’t prepared for the scene in the video.

  A woman in her twenties was strapped to a chair. No matter how she shoved, turned, and twisted, the chair didn’t budge.