Page 63 of Guarded from Treachery

Matt glances at Rhiannon, and they exchange a quick look. Then he turns back to me and says, “That’s where we went last night. To his estate. I didn’t want to tell you before in case it turned out to be nothing.”

My thoughts are scattered. Fractured.My boss? Involved? How?

“We wanted to see if there was anything suspicious,” Matt explains. “Going in, we knew it could be a coincidence. But—” He stops. Exhales. “There’s no easy way to say this, Isla. I searched the guest house. There were cameras hidden in there.”

“What?”

“In the bedroom. And the bathroom.”

It feels like I’ve been kicked in the chest. In a whisper, I ask, “Someone was watching me?”

Matt nods, looking equal parts furious and miserable. “Unfortunately, yes. And I found the videos. All of them.”

“Videos?”

“From when you moved in until right before Remington’s death. Every day. Night. But I focused on the ones around the time you became pregnant.”

Gray spots edge into my vision. Breathing seems an impossibility. On a wheeze, I manage to squeeze out, “And what did you see?”

As Matt meets my gaze, I can see just how angry he is. How he’s struggling to keep his fury from exploding. “You weren’t… no one touched you. Not like that. I spent hours looking through all the videos to make sure.”

“But something happened.”

“A man came into your room about fourteen weeks ago. You were passed out on the bed. When you first went in there, you looked like you were drunk. Or drugged. And he—he impregnated you.”

“What?”

“With a special syringe. I looked it up last night. They’re used for at-home insemination. So I’m pretty sure that’s how it happened. He didn’t do anything else after that. And I didn’t see anything else in the days after.”

What?

My body goes hot, then cold.

A wave of dizziness sweeps through me.

My lungs don’t seem to want to work.

How is this possible?

“I’m so sorry, Isles.” Matt’s warm hands engulf my cold ones. “We’re going to find the people behind this. I promise.”

Rhiannon and Sarah close in around me, their worry a visible thing.

“But—” A shudder shakes my body. “How? I never got drunk like that. I would remember something like that. Iwould.”

“I know.” Matt’s voice is low and soothing. “It’s very possible you were drugged. It wouldn’t have been that difficult for someone to break in and put something in your food. Or?—”

“But I was on birth control,” I blurt, my eyes stinging with tears. “I always took it. Always.”

Rhiannon jumps in. “We’ll want to test all your medications. Supplements. Anything you were taking back then.”

“I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear,” Matt says. “But we have a solid lead now. A name. From here, I can—” He pauses. “Oh, honey. Don’t cry.”

“I’m not.”

I am. Hot tears are searing my cheeks.

“It’s okay,” Sarah says quietly. “Crying is normal.”

---