Page 52 of Fall

“It was lovely to meet you, Julia,” Tilly says.

“Come back?” she asks, but her eyes look up at me.

“I will come back, and I have some brothers who would like to meet you, if you want?” I ask her, kneeling down to her level. When I kneel, I see the large cut that goes from her forehead and into her hairline. Her dark hair covers it further, but it looks bad, even knowing its age.

“Yes. Meet more people.” She nods her head excitedly, and it makes her seem more childlike than the adult she is. I smile tightly and take Tilly’s hand as I straighten up.

“Bye, Julia,” Tilly says.

“Bye, Tilly,” she says, and then she looks back out at the window. I turn with Tilly and walk out of the room.

“Watch my mother. It’s your new job, and I will pay you a fortune to make sure she is safe until she leaves here very soon,” I tell the security guard, whose eyes widen, and he quickly nods.

“I will protect her for you, Mr. King,” he says.

“Good man,” I reply, waiting for him to open the door. When we are both sitting back in my car, I rest my head against the steering wheel.

“Did she say anything to you?” I ask Tilly, who just silently waits for me to move. Just there supporting me, knowing I need a minute.

“Nothing much. She talked about a show on TV she liked but nothing else. She kind of acts a little like a–”

“Child.” I finish her sentence, looking up as she nods.

“They gave me this. But basically it says she was found washed up on a beach, with complete memory loss and a bad head injury,” I say, handing her the folder.

“Harley . . . I don’t know what to say.”

“How am I going to tell my brothers this? The mother they hate for walking out on them, likely didn’t walk out at all. It’s more likely our dad got rid of her, and then Arthur kept her here to use against us at some point,” I say, leaning back in my seat.

“You tell them the truth and let them make their decisions. They are adults now, Harley,” she tells me, and I know she is right, but part of me still wants to protect them from this.

“I still see them as the boys I tried to protect from my father,” I tell her, and she gives me a sad smile, and then her phone starts ringing in her pocket.

“It’s Devon, I’m sure it can wait . . .” she says.

“No, it’s okay; answer it,” I tell her, and she does.

“What?” she says, her face draining of all colour before she drops the phone out of her hand and stares at me.

“Tilly?” I ask, wondering what the hell her brother just said.

“Daniel knocked my mother out and took my baby,” she says in a horrified whisper. I pick the phone up off her lap.

“Devon, it’s me. Call everyone and get them to my house. We have a dead man to find,” I say.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Tilly

“Tilly?” I hear someone saying my name, but I just keep staring at the empty baby rocker in the living room, unaware of everyone moving around, the police who just came into the room, or Izzy, who is shaking my shoulder. The word ‘kidnap’ just keeps repeating over and over in my mind. I never should have stayed here, I knew he would find me.

“Tilly?” Harley asks, kneeling in front of me. I try to focus on him, the stress that’s all over his face, but everything feels numb. I know I’m in shock, but I can’t process anything other than the fact my baby is gone, and my mother is in the hospital after being knocked out.

“The police need you to tell them everything you can about Daniel. Okay? It will help find him and find baby–”

“Hope. Her name is Hope Elizabeth King,” I tell him, and there’s a silence around us as I speak the first words I’ve said since Devon called me.

“Tilly . . .” I hear Izzy gasp, knowing my baby’s middle name is after her.

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