Chapter 4

I sit up, holding the sheets up to my neck. I look around the room but don’t spot him.

“Evan?” I say loudly.

No answer.

Could it be that he went downstairs for some reason? My concern gets me to my feet and I walk into the bathroom. I have to shower and then throw some clothes on. Perhaps by the time I’m done, he’ll come back.

I spend only five minutes in the shower. Yesterday feels like a fever dream but I don’t dwell on it too much. I’m too distracted by the fact that Evan isn’t here. I know it’s ridiculous to feel this magnitude of concern but this is our first morning as a married couple. He should’ve been here when I woke up.

That makes me a little upset.

I open my briefcase and opt to wear a long, flowy dress. I meant to wear this to breakfast. I finish getting ready and Evan still isn’t back. I place my hand on my hip and then decide to call him.

I’m sure he took his phone with him.

I sit on the edge of the unmade bed and hold the phone against my ear. I frown when I hear the automated voice saying, “The number you have dialed is currently not available. Please check the number and try your call again later.”

I stare at the screen for the longest time, wondering if this is a joke.

I decide I’ve had enough and head downstairs. I just can’t believe this is happening. This is supposed to be the most special day of our lives and he’s missing. To make matters worse, his phone is off.

I tap my foot against the elevator floor as it goes down, impatience coursing through me. My phone is clutched in my hand. Once the door opens, I step outside. The lobby is fairly busy so I have to look around carefully in hopes to spot him. I even go to the restaurant area.

He’s nowhere to be found.

“Come on,” I mutter. I try his number again and again, and I keep getting the same message.

This is ridiculous!

Did something happen? An accident, perhaps? I’m imagining the worst now. Because why would he leave me alone upstairs without saying a word to me about it or even leaving a note? It had to be something very serious and important for that to happen.

Another idea occurs to me. His car. It was parked in the parking lot yesterday before we went on to the chapel. I head outside and look for it. It’s not here, either. He truly left.

With a disappointed sigh, I head back upstairs. I have no choice but to wait in the hotel room for him to arrive. I’m anxiously biting my nails, which is upsetting because I got them done for the wedding only yesterday. I don’t want to ruin my manicure. But at the same time, I’m not sure how else to express my anxiety.

Where’s Evan?

This isn’t like him at all.

From the very first time we went out together, which was the day after he delivered the money to me, he expressed his appreciation for punctuality. He’s never been late to any date of ours and when he says he’ll be somewhere at a specific time, he means it. So, for him to abandon me here in the morning after our wedding is uncharacteristic of him.

I’m worried sick.

I start pacing the bedroom floor. My hand is over my belly as I walk around and take deep breaths. They don’t help calm me down. The longer I wait, the worse the feeling gets, and when I stare out at the sky and realize that the sun is starting to set, I lose my mind.

Something happened to him. It can’t be.

I’m transported back to the day when my parents were killed in that car crash. They took so long when they told me they’d be back in half an hour. I tried to call them and their phones wouldn’t even ring, just like Evan’s isn’t now. And then, later on, I received the terrible news.

This feels like that fateful day.

The first person I think of calling is Anthony. He’s the only one who’ll know what to do. Maybe we can contact the police or file a missing person’s report or something.

He answers right away. “Leo?”

“Anthony,” I say desperately. There’s a tremble to my voice. “Evan is missing!”

He’s silent for a beat before asking, “What? What do you mean?”

“He’s missing!” I insist. I slap my thigh as I say this. “He’s been gone the whole day and I haven’t been able to reach him! I woke up and he was gone!”

I run my fingers through my hair. I want to cry but I concentrate on getting this information right. Anthony tells me, “I just need you to breathe and calm down. You’re saying that he’s been missing the whole day? As in you didn’t see him since last night?”

“Yes!” I exclaim. “I’m worried that something has happened to him, Anthony. What if he’s hurt somewhere? What do I do?”

“Where are you now?”

“At the hotel.”

“Okay,” he says calmly. I’ve never felt more grateful to him than I did now. “I need you to calm down, sweetheart. Okay? Take deep breaths for me. Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to grab your bag and head downstairs. Pay for the room and wait for me in the lobby. I’ll be there shortly. Did he leave his belongings behind?”

“His…his what?”

I look around the room. I didn’t think of that. I look around the room and see only my suitcase. His things…I don’t remember seeing him bring a bag. I sent my things upstairs before we went to the chapel and I assumed he did the same. Last night was too crazy for me to notice.

“I don’t know,” I finally say. “I didn’t see his bags.”

“Okay, just check out and wait for me. I’m on my way.”

I do as he tells me to do. Goddess, it hurts me to leave this room behind but Anthony is right. There’s no point of me staying here when Evan is missing. My fingers are shaking as I get my things together. I don’t come across a single thing that belongs to him.

If there wasn’t blood on the sheets, I would’ve thought he that I imagined last night and that he was never here.

I head downstairs. My heart is racing against my chest but I trust that Anthony will help me. If Evan is hurt, we’ll find him. Goddess, I hope this is all a misunderstanding. The whole time that I’m walking from the elevator to the front desk, I’m hoping that he will rush in and apologize for being gone the whole day. We’ll laugh about it and move on.

That doesn’t happen.

“Hi,” the woman at the front desk says to me. Her smile is bright and makes me feel a little sick because I feel the opposite of heavy right now. “How may I help you?”

“I want to check out of my room,” I tell her as I slide the keycard to her.

“Okay,” she says. She asks me a few additional details to confirm my identity and the room, and then I fish my card out from my wallet to pay for the room.

I keep looking around, not giving up home.

“Um,” the woman says after swiping my card. “It’s declining.”

I frown. “What?”

“It’s declining,” she says again. She tries it one more time while I’m watching and it declines again. This is insane. I didn’t need this.

I take another one out. “Try this one, please.”

She tries it and the same thing happens. I hand her two more cards and they decline. This just isn’t possible. When Anthony arrives, I’m paying cash. I had some money in my wallet. He walks over to me and says, “Leo, are you alright?”

“No,” I admit. I’m on the verge of tears. “Evan is gone and his phone is off. I can’t reach him. I have no idea where he is. My cards are all declining and this is all so stressful, Anthony. I feel like I’m losing it!”

He frowns. “Why are your cards declining?”

“I don’t know,” I say in frustration. “All of them aren’t working. It’s insane.”

Anthony stares at me for a long time and then abruptly, he grabs both my arms and shakes me a little as he speaks. “Leonora, this is very important.”

I frown. “What are you doing?”

“Did Evan have any access to your bank accounts?” he asks in a voice barely above a whisper. “Did he? Did you give him access?”

“Yes, of course I did,” I answer. “We were getting married. And he helped me manage most things because I wasn’t in the right state of mind and—”

Anthony lets his arms drop to his sides and takes a few steps away from me. His eyes are wide and he looks pale with shock.

It takes me a second to figure out what he’s going on about.