Page 63 of My Husband's Wife
‘Wait,’ Zach shouts as she runs out of the house and gets into her car. Before she can start the car, he’s trying to open the door. ‘I know who you are. I came to your house to speak to your husband,’ he yells. ‘Theo has her, doesn’t he? You know where she is, don’t you?’
‘No,’ Madison replies, but she can tell he doesn’t believe her.
‘Where is she? Where’s my wife?’
Madison wants to know where Eva is too. She goes to reply, but he interrupts.
‘You don’t know him at all, do you?’
He stares through the glass, and Madison is trembling so hard; she needs to get away. He’s scaring her.
‘Where is she?’ He slams both hands on the window.
She needs to get away now. Zach seems to think she has something to do with Eva being missing and she doesn’t know what he’ll do. All she can see is rage in his face.
As she pulls away, he bangs on the side doors and the rear window but she doesn’t stop. Her throat feels like it’s closing up as she processes what he said. Theo has her. No, it can’t be true. Eva is at the hotel, and Madison is going to prove it and bring her home to Zach. Maybe then he’ll stop accusing her. Eva has to be at the hotel. Theo is a liar, not a monster… or is he?
Fifty-Four
Eva
I’m all cried out and what good did that do me? I’m buried alive, and panicking makes everything worse. Soon I won’t be able to breathe. I’ll suffocate. I begin to hyperventilate, then I remember that if I keep on like this, the air will run out faster. Running my hands through my hair, I reach for the back of my head and begin to pick. If nothing else, my horrible compulsion helps me to think. Maybe Mum was right about Zach. My current situation could actually be down to Zach and Nicole. Theo, Hugo – whoever he is, might not be the reason I’m in this box. If Zach has been having an affair with Nicole, it stands to reason they might want me out of the way. All my money in the house would belong to Zach if I went missing and was eventually presumed dead. Is he playing his part nicely in the outside world? Maybe he’s reported me missing, and he and Mum are pacing around the house – him pretending to be worried.
I kick and punch the sides of the box again. Is it Theo? Is it Zach? Which one of them is Nicole helping? What will happen to my son if I never come home? That’s the question that tears me apart. I don’t care about the house or any of them. If I survive this, I’m taking Caiden away from here to stay with Mum. Is Caiden safe with me? I need Mum and I need to tell her how much I love her. That day in the car keeps flashing into my mind, and all I can hear are Caiden’s cries. Why has that come back to haunt me now?
‘Help,’ I cry as I kick out at the end of the box. That’s when I hear an almighty break, and I yelp in pain. My ankle has gone right through the end, getting caught in wood. I can’t help but laugh manically. There’s nothing at the end of the box. No soil, at least. I fling my legs out again and again, ignoring the searing pain every time the wood gashes my skin. One final kick and the end is out. I lean up a little but I can’t see anything. I’m not outside, as there isn’t a breeze. I’m in darkness. There’s a slight tapping sound, so I withdraw my foot and hold my breath. It’s the sound of rain pattering against a roof and maybe there’s an electrical hum in the background. I can’t hear anyone around, so I begin to shuffle on my back until my feet kick a wall. There’s not enough room for me to get out. I beat the sides of the box again but the rest of it is sturdier than the end.
I stop when I hear a cough. My breaths quicken and cold sweat starts gathering on my forehead.
Someone is out there and they’re watching my every move.
‘Eva?’
‘Nicole?’
Fifty-Five
Madison
As Madison pulls up at the Clifton House Hotel, the car park is virtually empty. She swallows the lump in her throat as she takes a moment. She and Theo should have been cutting their cake and soon would have been thinking of slipping off to the honeymoon suite to make love while Emily shared a room with Camille, Neil and the kids; but that dream is over. For the first time that day, she allows herself to sob for the loss of her future. She heads back over to the weeping willow to escape the rain and leans against the tree trunk. Her engagement ring glints in the moonlight – another reminder of what she’s lost. She pulls it off and throws it in the bushes.
After wiping her eyes on the sleeve of Camille’s hoodie, she stands and jogs across the car park. She hasn’t seen Eva’s car, which means that Eva didn’t go missing at the mess of her wedding that never happened. There’s more parking space alongside the building. As she walks towards it on the pea-gravelled surface, she catches sight of a car that looks like Eva’s. She uses the torch on her phone to peer through the window. A keyring containing a photo of Eva’s son lies on the passenger seat. Eva never left the hotel. She has to be inside.
Madison peers in through the windows, searching the bar. A woman sits alone but it’s not Eva. She turns around, her bag in her hand as if she’s about to leave, then she frowns as she catches sight of Madison. Tammy has spotted her. A long chat about the disaster of her big day is the last thing Madison needs, but maybe Tammy has seen Eva.
‘Madison?’ Tammy appears at the end of the road holding her tiny bag over her head. She struggles to balance in her stilettos. ‘You look…’
‘Like crap, I know.’
‘I’m so sorry. Orla and I have been worried about you.’
‘You’re both at the hotel?’
Tammy nods. ‘Orla went to bed and I was just about to go up. We’d both had a drink earlier so decided to stay. How have you been? Actually, don’t answer that. What a stupid question.’
‘It’s fine. I’m okay, honestly.’
Tammy raises her brows. The rain starts to pour down. ‘Why don’t we go inside. You’re soaked through.’
