Page 64 of Protecting Hailey

“Christian. I was so fucking scared.”

“How did you get in this closet?”

She kept her face pressed to my chest. “When I walked in, I looked for my mother but knew something was wrong when the place was empty. I tried to go back outside, but someone hit me over the head. The next thing I knew, I woke up inside the closet.”

I ran my hands through her hair, searching for a bump.

“Ow,” she hissed.

A large lump protruded from the side of her skull. The bastard.

“Is my mother okay?”

“Yes. She’s fine. She’s at your place right now. Or at least she better be.”

She groaned. “I’m so sorry. I know I should’ve listened to you. But the voice on the phone was my mother’s. I swear it. I don’t understand how that’s possible.”

Thinking about some of the technology stocks I invested in, I realized what had happened. “Someone used Artificial Intelligence to copy your mother’s voice. They used it to make a phone call. It was never your mother.”

She shook her head.

“I feel so stupid,” she said, and I rubbed her back.

“It happens to the best of us. You wanted to help your mother. I can understand that.”

I licked my lips and put my bodyguard hat back on. “Hailey, do you recall anything about the person who locked you in here? Did he have a deep voice? Did you recognize the voice? Can you tell me anything about his features or height?“

Hailey shook her head. “I didn’t see or hear anyone.”

I closed my eyes, frustrated by the lack of evidence left behind. I didn’t have much to go on.

“Hailey, this incident has just increased the danger level. There is someone actively trying to hurt you. I will not leave you out of my sight until we find them.”

She nodded. I was glad she agreed so readily, but I hated how she trembled in my arms.

I would find the bastard and make him pay for what he did to her.

18

Hailey

The walkway leading to my front entrance felt like a mile long. Christian held me by the waist as we walked to the door. I wasn’t sure if my exhaustion was due to the hit on the head or the mental stress this stalker was putting me through. What was the point of luring me to the empty restaurant? Was it just to mess with my head? Did he have plans to torture me later? Or was there another reason I just couldn’t think of?

“Hailey!” My mother ran to me as soon as Christian opened the door. “Thank goodness. I was so worried about you.”

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed. I’d kept it together until now, but when my mother sobbed into my hair, I’d lost control of the reins. Tears fell down my cheeks, and I cried like a baby on my mother’s shoulder.

She wiped them away and held my face between her hands. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”

I nodded. “I’m all right. Just a bump on the head.”

She pulled me back into her arms and I wiped away the last of my tears. I wouldn’t shed another for that bastard. Turning to Christian, I asked, “What are we going to do now?”

He crossed his arms. “I’m going to find him. I promise you that.”

His jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. I knew he was holding back from saying more. I just felt it in my chest. “What can I do to help?”

He rubbed his lip. “I need you, Anne, to compile a list of everyone who works directly with you. Someone got a recording of your voice and used it to lure Hailey.”

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