Page 38 of She Found Me

After another twenty-five minutes, the three girls exit the bathroom.

“They switched clothes,” I say in disbelief.

“After watching this video, I checked the surveillance at the side of the building.” Leo then brings up another screen with the image of an alleyway.

It’s dark and very grainy. At first the screen is still, but then movement to the side catches my eye. I can just about make out the outline of three women. The closer they get to the camera, the clearer they become. Marisa, Lucia, and my Mia. The three women continue down the alley away from the bar and dump something in a bin before disappearing from sight.

“That wasn’t Mia we saw getting hit by the car,” Van explains.

“Then where the fuck is she?” Could it be true? Is my Mia still alive? But if she were, why hasn’t she come home or contacted someone? The last location on her phone was in that area. Why didn’t she take her phone with her?

“I just don’t understand what she was doing. Did she know the Martelé were after her? Was this her plan to escape?” Van runs his hands over his face in frustration.

“No,” I disagree. “Mia would never purposely put another person’s life in danger, even to save her own. She used them as a distraction to get away from the guards. It wouldn’t surprise me if those friends of hers had something to do with it either. They probably wanted a night out in London, free to do as they please.”

“Only they didn’t get their night out. Something happened to them when they left the bar. I have my contacts in the UK gathering all the CCTV footage in that area,” Leo explains.

“We did all that. We were there after the accident,” Van states

“Yes, but we are looking for something different now. We are looking for the girls alive, wearing different clothes. I’ve also asked for the police reports for all surrounding areas on that night. We will find out what happened to Mia.”

My heart and my head are playing against each other. My heart says Mia is alive and that I knew it all along, while my head is sure Mia is dead. Okay, she didn’t die the way we originally thought, but there is no way that Mia would not contact me or her family if she was.

“I need to go to London. How am I fixed for traveling?” I ask.

Leo dismisses me. “You are not fixed at all.”

“Get me some crutches. I’ll manage.”

Leo dismisses me again. “No fucking way.”

“If you don’t help me, I will do it on my own. I need to go to London,” I insist, deadly serious.

Leo groans in annoyance. “You’re a fucking pain in my arse!”

Chapter 21

Mia

“Ahh, shit.” Some of the glass from the frame has cut the top of my foot. I knew sliders weren’t the best choice of footwear for gardening. “Bloody hell, Eric. You’ve got some explaining to do,” I say, picking out the glass from my foot.

I retrieve the wedding photo from the floor. Eric looks at me quizzically. He’s probably surprised I haven’t attempted to kill him yet. The thing is, I’m not at all surprised it isn’t me in this picture.

“Help me out of here. I’m going to need to do something with this cut. It’s pretty deep.”

Eric takes my hand and assists me out of the cramped shed. Once inside the house, I use the first aid kit to clean up my wound and use steri-strips to close the cut. Eric hasn’t said a word since coming in from the shed, other than to comply when I’ve asked for something regarding my injury. But now he is going talk.

“Who am I, Eric?”

“You’re Arianna.”

His reply makes me angry. “Stop fucking lying, Eric. This is Arianna.” I throw their wedding photograph at him. “And that is clearly not me.”

Eric picks up the photo and sighs. He lightly rubs his thumb over the image of Arianna.

“Who am I, Eric?” I ask again.

“I don’t know.”

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