Holly hurried down the street, eager to get back to the hotel so she could have a shower. It had been a long day of research and talking to various people, and she was exhausted.
Seeing Hugo had been a surprise, but it seemed to be working out for the best. He’d helped to eliminate some people from her enquiries and reinforced her faith in Victoria that she wasn’t secretly stockpiling stolen funds. She chuckled to herself that she had even considered the idea, no matter how briefly.
She itched to call Jazz and ask if they’d found anything else out, but she knew they had other work to be getting on with and didn’t want to chase them. Just because this was the number one thing happening in her world didn’t mean that was true of others. It was strange to be in the midst of an all-consuming drama and aware that other people, the ones strolling around her on the sidewalk now, were just experiencing a normal Saturday evening.
Her phone rang, and she eagerly pulled it out of her bag, hoping that thinking of Jazz had caused them to call. She frowned when she saw Hugo’s name on the screen.
“Hi Hugo,” she answered.
“Mom’s missing,” he said without preamble.
She stopped dead in the middle of the busy sidewalk. The words echoed a couple of times in her mind as she hoped that she’d misunderstood them in some way. Surely, he hadn’t said what she thought he’d said?
“What do you mean?”
“She’s not in the office; her driver didn’t pick her up. She’s not answering her phone.” He sounded panicked. “Carina’s here with us, but I don’t know what to do.”
Holly tried to control her frantic heart rate. It was extremely unlike Victoria to go missing. In fact, it was almost impossible for Victoria to go missing. There were too many people around her for that to happen. Assistants, drivers, housekeepers, and more.
“You called the office?”
“Yeah, I even called the front desk. They said that she swiped out two hours ago, but the driver said she never called. The cars are in the garage. She’s just gone.”
Holly snapped to attention, strode towards the road, and raised her hand to wave down a taxi. The fear in Hugo’s usually strong voice was sending her immediately into mom mode.
“I’m getting a taxi right now. I’ll be with you in under twenty minutes. Don’t open the door to anyone. Okay?”
She heard his sigh of relief. “Okay,” he promised.
She hung up the call and instantly called Victoria’s cell phone. She held it to her ear with one hand, the other frantically waving at taxis. Eventually one stopped; she climbed in and gave the address of the townhouse.
The call went through to voicemail. She hung up and then called Victoria’s office line, hoping that there had been some confusion and that she was just working late. Maybe her phone was on silent and Hugo had made a mistake when calling the office. Any excuse would do.
As the dial tone kept ringing, she realised that she was living on false hope. She hung up the call and stared at the back of the driver’s headrest.
It’s my fault, she thought.
She swallowed hard. Had she been wrong all along? Should they have just stayed together and weathered the storm?
Her hand shook, and she realised she had no idea what to do next. Suddenly, her war room and her whiteboards of suspects paled in significance as the reality of the situation hit home.
“Excuse me?” She leaned forward. “Could you drive a little faster? My kids need me.”
Holly ran up the steps to the townhouse, slid her spare key into the lock, and rushed through the door. She barely had time to close it again before Alexia and Hugo appeared from the kitchen. Alexia raced into her arms, Hugo not that far behind her.
Holly held them tightly. “Anything?”
“Nothing,” Hugo said.
“Holly? What’s happening?” Alexia asked, her voice suddenly sounding so much younger. “Where’s Mom? Are you staying here tonight? You have to stay. Please!”
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise,” Holly told her firmly.
Alexia responded by tightening her grip around Holly’s middle.
“Do we call the police?” Hugo said softly into Holly’s ear, trying to keep his concern hidden from his sister.
“Maybe,” Holly said, equally quietly. “Though it is a little soon.”
Carina coughed to attract Holly’s attention. She carefully extracted herself from Alexia and Hugo’s grip and walked over to Carina and took her hands.
“She never called to say when she would be back,” Carina explained. “I prepared dinner and the children started to call her, but nothing.”
Holly realised that all three of them were looking to her for leadership, and she suddenly felt the pressure of that role. She didn’t know what to do; for all she knew her actions had put Victoria in danger to start with.
She tried to put herself in Victoria’s shoes and thought about what she would do. Her first reaction would be to not panic; the second would be to ensure the children were safe.
She turned around and addressed them both. “Go upstairs and pack an overnight bag.”
Hugo looked like he was about to argue.
“Now,” she said, channelling as much of Victoria Hastings as she could. She needed people to do as she said and not question her. Not now.
It worked. He nodded and gestured for Alexia to go up the stairs as well. Once they were safely out of sight, Holly turned to Carina.
“Long story short, we didn’t break up,” she started to explain.
“I know.” Carina nodded.
Holly blinked. “She told you?”
“No, I just know.”
It made sense that someone who had worked in the Hastings family home for so long would know Victoria well. This was a relief because it meant saving time she didn’t feel she had.
“Okay, well, I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s something happening at Arrival. And now that Victoria’s vanished, I don’t know how safe it is here. I’m going to ask the kids to go to Gideon’s. I trust him, and I’m running out of people to trust.”
Carina nodded quickly. “He is a good man.”
Holly smiled. “I think so, too. You should get home. Thank you for staying with the kids. I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything.”
Carina put her hand on Holly’s shoulder and squeezed. “She will be fine. She is a strong woman.”
Before Holly could reply, Carina turned to go and gather her things.
Holly sucked in a deep breath and called Gideon. Thankfully he answered quickly.
“Ah, I’ve been meaning to call you,” he greeted.
“Do you know where Victoria is?” she asked.
“No, should I?”
“She’s missing.”
“What do you mean by missing?” he asked, all traces of his usual humour gone.
“Not at the office, not at home. Her driver hasn’t seen her. Look, Gideon, I need to explain something—”
“You didn’t split up, it was a ruse, I know.”
“Did you guess, too?” Holly asked, exasperated that apparently she’d been staying at a hotel for no reason.
“No, she told me this morning. I’m not supposed to tell you that I know, but I think we’re beyond that now. Have you called the police?”
“Not yet. I don’t know if they’ll listen—it’s only been a couple of hours—but first I wanted to get the kids sorted out. Is there any chance they can stay with you? Just for tonight. Until I get someth—”
“Of course, I’m happy to have them here.”
Holly sagged in relief. Knowing that the children would be somewhere safe was an enormous load off her shoulders.
“Thank you,” she breathed. “I’ll get a driver to bring them over. Hugo knows what’s happening, but Alexia doesn’t. They’ve eaten and, um—” She ran her fingers through her hair, wondering what else she needed to tell him.
“Holly, don’t worry. I babysat them when they were kids. Hugo’s sixteen. It’ll be fine,” Gideon reminded her. “Just focus on Victoria.”
“I will,” she promised. Not that she knew what she was going to do next. Everything had hit her like a bolt from the blue, and now she was scrambling to figure out how to react. She needed to calm the rising panic from inside her and think logically. Once she knew the kids were safe, Victoria needed her, and Holly was determined to find her and bring her home safely.