Page 81 of The Woman

It’s not my father’s voice, but seeing as this is where he told me to meet him, I’m guessing he’s behind this and is in there somewhere.

“You can tell my father to show his face if he wants to talk to me.”

“Your father isn’t here. Just get in and make this easy on yourself.”

I grind down on my molars, frustrated and angry. I’m in two minds about wanting to go to him and confront him, but also wanting to make him work to see me. After all, it’s no doubt too late to save the Avery I know, so there’s no longer a time crunch.

“He knows where to find me.”

I turn around to walk back to my car, but barely a second later, I’m stopped when some type of black cover is put over my head, and my hands are being restrained behind my back with zip-ties.

“What the fuck? Let me go,“ I demand while struggling.

“I told you to make it easy. You didn’t listen.”

He walks me to the van and helps me inside before strapping me into a chair, and it’s not until we start moving that I realize I’m sitting sideways.

No one speaks to me, and I don’t bother saying anything to find out if someone is back here with me.

The longer we continue driving, the more random thoughts start popping into my head. Like maybe this isn’t my father’s doing after all, and maybe this is a type of ransom situation. But then I’m led back to the part where my father told me to meet him there.

After about an hour of driving, another thought suddenly occurs to me.

This isn’t some ransom situation. I’m being sent to prison for keeping quiet about Avery. My father must have directed me to a location where it wouldn’t be obvious that I was getting arrested so as not to taint the family name. There’s no other reason I can think of that we would be traveling so far.

I guess it doesn’t really matter. I couldn’t see my life returning to the way it was before Avery, anyway.

Another half hour goes by, and the road gets increasingly bumpier and bumpier. I never paid much attention to where the prison was situated, but I guess far outside the city in some rural location makes sense.

Finally, we come to a stop. And I wait.

Voices can be heard coming from outside, but I can’t quite make out what they’re saying. The door opens, and I don’t struggle as they lead me out of the van. The fight in me left at the same time my hope did.

We walk a short distance over gravel and then into some sort of building.

I’m pushed to sit down with my arms still behind my back, and then the footsteps retreat, and I’m left in silence.

A few minutes pass before I hear a door open and close again. The zip-ties get cut from my wrists in the next moment, and the cover is removed from my head.

I stare directly into the eyes of my father standing before me.

I have no idea what this place is, but my previous conclusions about being taken to prison are scrapped. I’m back to my earlier thoughts of my father simply being responsible for Avery’s disappearance.

I make a quick scan of the room around me. Besides the curtains on the window, there are no other items in here besides the chair I’m sitting on. If it were filled with furniture, it could be a living room with its nice but simple light fixtures, cove molding, hardwood flooring, and fireplace.

“What the fuck is going on?” I ask, my eyes returning to my father.

His appearance is altogether confusing and nothing like I’ve seen before. I can’t remember ever seeing him without a suit on, but here he is with casual dress pants and a short-sleeve button-up shirt.

He very rarely shows any emotion on his face, leaving people guessing most of the time, but right now, what’s completely puzzling is the concerned look on his face as he looks me over.

I haven’t shaved or groomed my stubble in a few days. I’m still wearing suit pants, but I only have a dress shirt on with the sleeves rolled up and top buttons undone, no tie.

All the anger, stress, and worry from the last few days come rushing back at me, and I push to my feet, stepping toward him. He doesn’t get to be concerned after what he did.

“I asked you a question. What. The. Fuck. Is going on?”

Chapter 33

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