Page 37 of Taking Adalisa

I’ve tossed and turned with the idea of going to the cops and seeing if they can find her, but what if that gets her into even more trouble? What if she is in a dangerous situation and the police make it worse?

What if I go to the police, and Matthias thinks I’m going to talk about him, and something happens to me? Yeah, I’m not going to the police. There are too many variables, and I don’t want to risk my or Margery’s life.

But where could she be?

I press the call button one more time, lifting it to my ear, and waiting for her to answer.

“Please pick up,” I whisper to myself. “Please be okay and pick up the phone.”

I need her to be all right. I need her to be alive and safe. Maybe she is just on a little vacation, and she will be back soon. “You’ve reached Margery. I’m not at the phone, but please leavea message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible,” Margery’s voice says through the phone.

Voicemail.

Again.

Groaning, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Maybe she really did check herself into a facility to get better. That has to be the reason she isn’t answering her phone. There can’t be any other reason. I won’t accept it.

Margery isn’t dead.

Margery hasn’t been kidnapped.

That is what I am choosing to believe until I find her.

Alive.

Without thinking, I grab the store keys, my purse, and walk out of the building, locking up behind me. if Margery isn’t going to contact me, then I am going to find her. She would do the same thing if I were in her situation.

“Where should I go first?” I mutter to myself.

I know there is an in-patient therapy center down the road I have been checking out. I sent her the details. Maybe she got the website information and looked it up? I don’t know, but I’m going to check there first.

As I head toward the place, I keep myself vigilant, making sure no one is following me. If Margery has gotten into a bad situation, I need to make sure I keep myself safe to find her.

The closer I get to the facility, the fewer people I see walking down the street. Maybe I should have waited until I had someone to go with me. But who would have gone with me to this place? We’re not in the best part of town, and I’ve heard rumors about the area.

Yeah, it does sound bad when I recommended it, but all the reviews online said they were amazing. I just want Margery to get better so she can live her life to the fullest and get over Ethan.

That’s all I want for Margery.

I want her to be happy. I want her to find another man to spend the rest of her life with; a man who will cherish and make her feel special.

An uneasy feeling washes over me as I stand outside the center. Maybe I shouldn’t do this. Maybe I should try somewhere else. Margery wouldn’t have come here without telling me unless she absolutely needed to and couldn’t tell me or someone else called and got her taken here.

Reaching into my bag, I grab the silver bracelet and slip it on, feeling the weight of it around my wrist, reminding me who gave it to me. I don’t think this is going to save me if anything happens, but if Matthias finds out I’m here without the bracelet, I feel like something is going to happen. He keeps threatening to punish me, but he hasn’t yet.

At this rate, I don’t think he’s going to.

He seems to be all talk and no action, which is fine by me. Just means I can get away with a lot of things. Wait. All talk and no action. That means he won’t actually come after me if I leave and disappear.

“Oh, this is perfect,” I whisper to myself.

Happiness blossoms inside of me at the thought. This will be perfect. First, I’m going to find out what happened to Margery, and then I’m going to go into hiding until Matthias gives up on me. It’s perfect.

Taking a deep breath, I head into the facility.

“Hello,” A smiling woman stands behind the desk. “What can I do for you?”

An uneasy feeling falls over me as I get closer to the reception desk. Something isn’t right here, but I continue forward. This is for Margery. I need to make sure she is okay and not somewhere else.

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