Page 3 of Cup of Lies

I have no way of researching into my past. No phone. No computer. No access to the outside world.

The puzzle pieces are slowly beginning to reveal themselves to me. It’s strange for a wife to be locked away at home with nointeraction aside from her husband and child. What if I wanted to call my dad or brother or stepmom?

Eva.

I have another distinct memory of us sharing orange scones in our favorite café. And then there was a guy watching me. Who was the guy? Another man dragged him away? What happened next?

More blank holes where a life I used to know should be.

Maybe if I iron down what I do know, it’ll be easier to piece together what I don’t. So what do I know?

Dad and Bastian live in New York City. They run VEIL, a global media conglomerate. I come from a wealthy, well-known family. Eva is my stepmother, and I always secretly wished she were my actual mother.

Where’s my real mother?

Empty.

Nothing to see here, folks.

Irritation simmers in my veins. Again, I want to blame Seth and feel irrationally angry toward him.

Trust your instinct, Romy.

A quiet, urgent whisper of a feeling tells me to snatch Kaitlyn up and run. Why? Where would we go? How?

I have no phone, no car, no link to the outside world.

An enormous tidal wave of fear of the unknown threatens to drown me. I have a peculiar urge to rush into my closet, push apart my many dresses on the hangers, and to sit on the floor between endless pairs of shoes to hide from this growing monster of fear.

You can’t hide, Romy.

You have to protect Kaitlyn.

This I know deep in my soul. Kaitlyn is real to me. The love I have for her is real. If I were ever to leave Seth, she’s coming with me.

Leave?

I clutch my pregnant belly and attempt to shake off those terrible thoughts. Maybe I’m just feeling extra crazy like when I was a child. Seth is a good husband and father. There’s no reason why I would need to take Kaitlyn and run from him.

Right?

Right?!

The reassurance I hoped would wash over me has left me high and dry. Fear, visceral and consuming, plagues my every thought.

I’m afraid of Seth.

I feel it so deeply in the marrow of my bones, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to claw it out.

What does it mean?

How come I can’t remember why?

Persistence is key.

I’m going to crack the code of my mind and release the mysteries.

My sanity depends on it.

---