Page 74 of Orion Ruined

“Is everything okay?”

How am I different to any other day? And how does he know that today, I’m withholding something? From everyone? I swallow. “Sure. I’m starving, that’s all.”

“Okay, sweetheart.” He kisses me on the lips and leaves.

I wait until he’s out of the door before I start getting ready. If I’m to pull this off, I need to do it early in the day.

I take a shower, put on a sleeveless, knee-length black polka-dot dress and white sneakers, nothing flashy, and head downstairs to the kitchen.

“Good afternoon, Maisy.”

Yup. There she is. “Hi, Lisa. Good to see you. Coffee’s already made?”

“Yes, there’s plenty.” She pours me a cup and passes it to me.

I take a sip. “Thank you. Is Mya around today?”

“She’s at school.”

“Oh, yes. Silly me, of course she’s at school,” I laugh. Am I laughing too much? If my calculations are correct, nobody should notice I’m gone. So why am I nervous?

“I see the clothes fit?” Lisa’s scrutinizing the dress she got for me.

“They do. I’m so happy you went shopping. My other clothes were bought by Leila and–”

“Say no more. Haha, poor you.”

“Yes, exactly that!”

“At least I’ve dressed you up a little now,” she laughs.

“Yes, thank you!” I touch her arm, wanting her to know how grateful I am. “I really appreciate it.”

“Then I’ve done what I needed to do. I filled the fridge, too. Let me quickly go to the bathroom and I’ll be on my way.” She checks her watch, then shoots out of the kitchen.

When the way’s clear, I take her cell and order an Uber to take me to Lorenzo Vitali’s business address, which I remember from seeing in Jerry’s box. I request the Uber picks me up from here and drops me back all in one go.

I hope by the time my Uber arrives, Lisa will be out of the way and Orion will just think she’s come back having forgotten something, and if I’m lucky, he won’t check his notifications for the security camera.

I get an instant text back: the Uber will arrive in ten minutes. I quickly close the app and put the cell back down just as Lisa returns from the bathroom.

“Okay, see you soon, Maisy.” She waves.

“See you later, Lisa.”

I stay in the kitchen with my coffee and wait. Ten minutes is a long time to spend hoping nobody else will turn up, or hoping the car won’t come early while Lisa’s still outside. Which will ruin everything.

But somehow, I manage to remain calm and quiet. I’m doing this, no matter what. Once I find my sister, I’ll tell them about her. Doing this today is the only way it will work.

I leave the house in exactly ten minutes and pray I won’t be stopped by Orion. Please God, let him think Lisa’s come back for something.

Outside, I run to the car and get in.

The driver looks confused by my stealthy entrance. “Uber for Lisa?”

“Yes, thank you. Please, could you hurry?”

“Sure.” No questions asked, he drives off. After a while, he glances at me in the rear-view mirror. “I’m supposed to wait for you, right?”

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