Page 46 of His Loving Wife

He has.

Then, a sound from the hallway. My heart fills with hope, but it’s only Noah. He pokes his head out of his bedroom, the skin beneath his eyes swollen.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“Have you seen Willow?” I don’t make any attempt to hide my panic.

“She went to bed before me.”

“She’s not in there. She’s not in her room!”

I do another panicked loop around the house, but she is nowhere in sight. There’s no signal on my phone, so all the calls I make to her phone fail to go through. I rush into our bedroom and begin shaking Andrew on the bed.

“She’s gone. You have to wake up,” I shout, pulling at his arms.

He sits up, still unbalanced and dazed. “Who’s gone? What’s happening?”

“Willow. She’s gone.” Now the tears come, so fast and strong it’s hard to breathe. “Paul took her.”

Chapter 23

5 Months Ago

Kate and Andrew sat on the same sofa, but they weren’t touching. Kate’s feet were planted firmly on the floor, her arms wrapped across her body. Andrew leaned over, his elbows on his knees. His foot hadn’t stopped tapping since they’d been ushered into the room.

Dr. Sutton looked to be their age, which threw Kate off. She couldn’t help wondering what was going on in the woman’s life, if she had children, if she argued with her own husband, if she took pity on the couples she saw on a daily basis. In that moment, Kate wished they’d found an older therapist. She believed she’d feel less judged that way. However, Dr. Sutton was the only person who had returned her calls, and Kate didn’t want to wait any longer for an opening. She’d barely looked at Andrew since he told her about the DNA test, let alone touched him.

“I understand your home was broken into last year,” Dr. Sutton said, her eyes landing on Kate. “That’s what you said in your email.”

“Yes. It happened in August.”

“And the children. Were they there the night of the intruder?”

“Yes,” Kate said. “They have a counselor they see once a month.”

“I’m curious.” Dr. Sutton sat up, twiddling a pen near her mouth. “You clearly thought the children needed counseling to process what happened. Why are you just now seeking help for yourselves?”

“That’s my fault, I guess,” Andrew said. “I suppose I thought we could handle what happened in our own ways. We thought maybe it was time to try a different approach.”

Kate thought it was past time, actually, but she remained silent.

“Clearly you both view this incident as the catalyst for the problems you currently face.” They both nodded, but neither spoke. “Then I’ll need you to take me back to that night. Tell me everything that happened.”

They heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. They saw the shadow blocking the sliver of light beneath the door. Andrew had fumbled with the phone, unable to turn it on. And Kate had suffered through a mental horror show of possibilities in a matter of seconds, envisioned the danger her children could be in if she didn’t act fast. That’s what prompted her to open the door.

The man—the one they’d later identify as Paul—stood there, a mask covering his face. It turned out Kate’s decision to open the door was the first in a series of smart ones. It threw the intruder off guard. He’d expected to be the instigator, but instead, Kate stood in front of him, screaming out a warning for everyone to hear.

The intruder lunged forward, covering Kate’s mouth with his hand. His other hand reached for her neck, a way to stabilize his grip, but in Kate’s mind, it was another attack. Andrew remained on the bed, watching everything that took place in wide-eyed, open-mouthed horror.

“Shut up,” the intruder ordered. “Stop screaming.”

But it was too late. Kate’s screams had alerted the children. Willow suddenly stood in the doorway to her parents’ bedroom. At first groggy, her senses awakened once she caught sight of the man hovering over her mother, grabbing at her face and neck.

Willow screamed.

The intruder turned. Having caught sight of Willow in the doorway, he immediately let go of Kate and started in Willow’s direction.

Kate lunged after him, grabbing at his ankles, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. Willow shuffled back a few steps, her shock preventing her from doing little else but stare.

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