Page 8 of He Doesn't Deserve You

As Emily stood up, the room began to spin, and her ears started ringing. The next thing she knew, everything went black, and she collapsed before she could take a single step.

4

Ablaring ring shattered the silence, jolting Emily awake. It took a moment for her sleep-addled mind to register that it was her cell phone. Remembering that Sydney was supposed to call her, she sprang up in bed, the sheet slipping away from her body. Her eyes locked on the glowing cell phone on the nightstand, and she reached for it. “Hello?”

“Emily, oh my God! I finally got a hold of you. I’ve been trying to reach you forever.”

Emily placed a hand on her throbbing head. “I’m sorry. How’s Kevin?”

“He’s a trooper. He got six stitches. He’s running around the house playing like nothing ever happened?”

“That’s good. He’s up playing now?” Emily said, surprised, “Isn’t it kind of late?” Emily glanced at the nightstand clock, “What time is it?”

“A little after eleven.”

“Shouldn’t he be in bed?”

“It’s eleven in the morning, Emily. Are you okay? You sound a little funny.”

“Really?” Emily said in disbelief. She got out of bed, moved to the window, and pulled open the room-darkening curtains, flooding the hotel room with sunlight, bringing her attention to the fact that she wasstill dressed in last night’s clothes.That’s odd, she thought.Why didn’t I change into my pajamas last night? And why can’t I remember coming back to my room?

Sydney said something, but Emily didn’t hear her. “What?” Emily asked, pulling herself back to the conversation.

“I said you better hurry if you’re going to make your massage at noon.”

“I’m not going. I’m coming home.”

“Why? Are you really ready to confront Gabriel right now? Give yourself another day. Take some time for yourself—get a massage, relax. You can deal with him later.”

“No, I’m coming home. I may be paranoid, but I think something happened last night. Can I come over? I’ll tell you everything when I get there.”

“Of course. Are you all right, Em? You’re scaring me.”

“I’ll explain when I get there. See you soon.”

“Okay, I’ll be here.”

Emily ended the call and went to her luggage to get a change of clothes. She entered the bathroom, used the toilet, and stepped into the shower. As the warm water cascaded over her, she struggled to piece together the previous night’s events. She remembered confronting Maggie and accepting Travis’s offer to buy her a drink, but everything after that was a blur. A chilling realization washed over her:he must have spiked my drink when I went to the ladies’ room.

Damn! You know better than that,she thought, mad at herself for allowing this to happen.

A short time later, she was dressed and packed, determined to leave the hotel and talk things over with her friend. As she opened the door to step out, a large manila envelope on the floor just outside her door caught her eye. She picked it up and cautiously peered into the hallway, glancing left and right. The corridor was empty; no one was in sight. Quickly, she brought the envelope inside and closed the door. With asickening feeling in her stomach, she tore open the envelope. Her hands trembled as she extracted the letter and read it.

Your husband isn’t who you think he is. I’m pregnant with his baby. Pay me $500,000 within 48 hours, and the baby and I will disappear, never to be heard from again.

Don’t go to the police—if you do, or if you don’t pay, Ava will get hurt. I’m watching you. Drop off instructions to follow.

Since going to the police was out of the question, Emily called the one person she knew could help—her friend from college, Roman, who happened to be a private investigator.

“Hi, I’m in trouble. Can I come over?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“Of course,” a reassuring male voice replied. “I’ll be waiting.”

“See you in an hour,” Emily said before disconnecting the call.

Emily approached the registration desk, and the man behind the counter smiled warmly. “May I help you?”

She placed her key card on the counter. “Yes, I’d like to check out, please.”

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