INICIAR SESIÓNJeff’s POVClaire's eyes widened even further, making her look, but whatever she was about to say in response was cut off when a half-naked man walked into the living room from somewhere inside the apartment to see what the ruckus was all about.“Hey … what’s going on here th …” he began.“Get out!” I ordered him.He took one look at my face, and whatever he saw on it caused him to scramble back the way he had come.Less than a minute later, he appeared again, shrugging into his shirt, as he muttered a few words of goodbye at Claire without sparing a glance at the two of us, then hightailed it out of the apartment.Claire, whose arms I still held, looked me up and down with a sultry smirk, then tsk-tsked, apparently thinking that this was a joking matter.“Well, well, well, that was super-hot. I think I like grumpy Jeff over prim and proper Jeff. I have to be truthful with you, though, Jeff. You look really terrible. Haven't you been sleeping well?” She drawled.I let go of her arms i
Jeff’s POVIt seemed to take forever for us to get to the police station. Every second that we spent on the way there stretched my already taut nerves to breaking point.I didn't say a word the entire way there. The only thing I could think about was the fact that Ashley was alive, but she was hurting badly, and I needed to find her ASAP; otherwise, I may never set my eyes on her ever again.Finally, we arrived at the police station. I got out of the car before it fully came to a stop and rushed into the station, startling the officers."I need to speak to someone immediately," I said when we finally got to the police station.The officer at the front desk recognized me immediately when he saw me, although he wasn’t the one on duty when I came twice before."Good morning, Mr. Wilson. What happened? Has she come back?" He asked me."This was sent to me this morning. Someone has abducted her and is torturing her. She’s alive, but look at her … look what they're doing to her. You need to
Jeff’s POVSomething in my subconscious told me that I wouldn't like what was in the envelope before I even opened it.Still, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I pulled out what was in it. Inside the envelope was a small photograph of Ashley, who had been severely beaten and battered.My breath caught in my throat, and my chest tightened painfully as I stared at the photo in disbelief, unable to breathe.My Ashley … God, her face was nearly unrecognizable, and she looked so pitiful, but I knew she was the one.She was tied up, with the bounds so tight that they dug into her wrists and cut into her skin. Her legs were also tied in the same manner, and her clothes were bloodied, with one of her eyes swollen shut and the other well on its way to being swollen as well.Ugly, dark bruises marked her once-perfect skin, and her lips were split and covered in dried blood. Her hair, which was usually so neat and perfectly styled, now hung in tangled, dirty strands around her f
Jeff’s POVThe rain hadn’t subsided in the least bit. If anything, it had even increased in tempo. I grimaced, hating how somber and depressing the atmosphere looked because of it.I drove home slowly, my mind in a turmoil, as I imagined what Ashley must be going through, or even worse, if she was still alive. No! No, I couldn't think like that.I had to have hope. I tried to sleep, but of course, needless to say that sleep didn't come. So I lay there in bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind replaying everything over and over again, as I tried to, as I wondered how on earth I could have missed the signs.Finally, around dawn, my body finally gave out, and I fell asleep without even realizing it. I woke up hours later with a start.For a second, I was disoriented, and everything came crashing back into my mind at once, and I flew out of bed and dived for my phone immediately. Ashley!The digital clock showed that it was already past ten in the morning. I had woken up late, but that was
Jeff’s POVFor several seconds, my brain refused to process what I was looking at. Once it did, though, the sudden urge to retch overcame me as I realized what I was looking at.This was a threat … a death threat, written in what looked like dried blood, and it was stored alongside the breakup letter and the pictures that someone gave Ashley to make her believe that I was cheating on her.With shaking hands, I reached for another of the small envelopes. It contained the same words as did the others. My pulse roared in my ears as I looked through them.“What the hell? I exclaimed, my voice sounding unbelievably loud in the otherwise quiet house.It was crazy to think that someone had been sending these to Ashley of all people. She was the last person who should be getting threats, considering how easy-going and drama-free she was.A wave of anger and fear crashed over me at once at the fact that she had been facing this all on her own, just as she had quietly endured Claire’s abuse of
Jeff’s POVThe police station visit was a blur of activities. They asked a lot of questions, like her name, when she was last seen, why I thought she was actually missing and hadn’t just taken off, and other stuff like that, which I answered to the best of my abilities.To me, it felt like they didn’t take the whole thing seriously enough, and this annoyed the hell out of me.In the end, they assured me that they would look into the matter, and while it didn't feel like enough, it was something. Right then, I needed a glimpse of hope, no matter how little.After I left the police station, I didn't go back to the office, because there was no point. With the way anxiety was tearing through me, there was no way I would be able to get anything done.So instead of going back to work, I drove home, my mind racing. I needed to do something, no matter how little.I felt so useless and helpless, having all the money in the world, yet being unable to do anything to find Ashley.As I was mulling
Ashley’s POVThe sound of the slap echoed loudly through the empty office, snapping Jeff’s head to the side and causing him to stagger again on his feet as he had done earlier.It was then that I realized that he was actually drunk. No wonder he was spewing such hateful words to me, instead of igno
Ashley’s POVNow that Janet was back and was recovering fast, I had someone to watch Aurora, and I also had enough time to catch up on work, even though Claire continued to load most of her responsibilities on my shoulders.In the days following the note I received, I threw myself fully into work,
Jeff’s POVPeople thought I had everything … they always thought that. As far as they were concerned, I was Jeff Wilson after all.I had money, power, and status, as well as all the other things that a lot of people dreamt of having. The truth, however, was that I didn’t ask for any of this. It was
Ashley’s POVI tried my best not to think about that dreadful note that I found, but that turned out to be an impossible feat.I’d have loved to think that it was a tasteless prank that someone was trying to play on me, but I didn’t know anyone who could play such a prank.So on that first night af







