Page 99 of If You Love Me

My eyes widened. This was news to me.

“A personality disorder?”

She nodded. “Let me explain. You know we lost Iona’s father when she was fourteen. It wasn’t long after her diagnosis. My husband was a good man, but he came from a family that hada history of mental illness. He suffered from it himself when he was younger, but with treatment and dedication to his mental health, he was able to live a normal healthy lifestyle. His family… they were a lost cause. They didn’t believe in therapy, said it was for white people. They fed off of each other, and my husband didn’t want our family surrounded by that. He moved us away from them to keep our girls safe. There has been no contact with them in over twenty years.

“We tried to get ahead of it. With me being a psychologist, I knew what to look for, and we were able to get her the proper treatment. Iona started displaying signs when she was younger. She would get so angry at the smallest thing. She swore everyone was out to get her, including her sister. They’ve always been jealous of each other. Meena hated the attention her father and I had to give to Iona, and Iona hated the freedom Meena had. It was always one thing after another with them.

“They fought like cats and dogs. Said things that hit way below the belt. At one point, we thought Meena might have mental issues too, but she didn’t. Anyway… Iona can be vindictive and manipulative. She loves attention. She loves to be praised, so she does things that will get her that.”

I sat there thinking about all the things Iona had done for me and Summer Rose. From cooking to cleaning, to doing Summer’s hair and buying her elaborate gifts. Then there was the attention getting. I thought it was just her style, but she was always dressed to impress. Looking at her and versus the casualness of everybody else at Summer’s school, now I understood. She fished for compliments, and I’d been all too happy to give them to her.

I remembered when we first started dating. She used to be all over me in public, and I had to tell her to tone it down. It was like she wanted people to know we were together. She posted me and Summer all over her social media. There were times I had totell her to take a post down because everything didn’t need to be shared, and I didn’t want my child all over the internet.

“You’ve never suspected something was off about her?” Mrs. Cambridge asked.

I shook my head. “No. I mean, she did little things, but nothing that was cause for alarm until recently.”

“It’s something in her that snaps from time to time where she doesn’t want to take her meds. Usually, I can get her back on track, but not this time. She’s been off them for months. When she takes her medication and things are good, she’s fine. When she’s off of it and drinking… she’s a different person. She can be violent and unpredictable.”

I was hearing her, but I wasn’t hearing her.

“Wait,” I said, holding up my hands. “Why wouldn’t you tell me this before? Why wouldn’t you warn me?”

“It wasn’t my place—”

“I have a child! A child that she was heavily involved with for years. You didn’t think I needed to know?”

She sniffled. “I’m sorry, Tyrion. I’ve tried my best to keep her in her right state of mind, but when she fights me on it, she fights hard. I’m telling you this because you need to be careful. She’s obsessed with you, your wife, and your daughter right now. She’s devastated over your breakup, even though it’s mostly her fault. She wants you to feel her pain, and I don’t know what that entails.”

I swallowed hard. This was insane… fucking insane.

“I’ve tried and tried to get her to see the error of her ways, but she’s just not listening to me. There is no talking to her when she’s like this. I’m afraid for your safety and theirs. I went to have her committed for evaluation, and she’s gone, Tyrion. I don’t know where she is.”

“Gone? Like she packed up and left?”

“No. She left everything there. She didn’t take her phone.” She swallowed hard as she looked at me. “Tyrion… she’s been watching your house.”

“Say what now?”

“She’s been watching your house. It’s been weeks now. There are at least three cameras. One in the living room, one in the kitchen, and one in the bedroom.”

I sat back in my chair, not believing what I was hearing. “How do you know that?”

She went into her purse and pulled out a phone. Not just any phone, but Iona’s phone. She tapped on it for a minute before handing it to me. I was hesitant to take it, but I did. There on the screen were logs of videos… weeks’ worth of videos. I clicked on a few of the opened ones and saw everything from breakfast to Evenie helping Summer Rose with her homework, to the three of us watching movies and dancing together. The last one I opened was on mine and Evenie’s date night.

My eyes widened as I watched us going at it in our bedroom.

“Oh my God…” I mumbled.

“She’s been watching and listening to everything. That’s the one that set her off. I’ve been looking everywhere for her, Tyrion. I have the police looking for her. I just… I need to find her.”

“I haven’t seen or heard from her since the last time I saw her at Summer’s school.”

She nodded. She sat there like it was something else she wanted to say but just couldn’t find the words.

“What?” I asked.

“I—” She paused for a moment, looking nervous. “I need to tell you something else. Something I recently found out when I went back home to visit my parents.”

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