This time our lines were reversed.
Recalling what Lena had said about Madison’s mental health, I forced my timbre to calm, so as to not spook or frighten the woman before me. For the first time since she and I met so long ago, I felt an unusual emotion at seeing and being near her.
I felt fear.
It slithered through my veins and peppered my flesh with goose bumps.
This was more than the outside temperature. Bitter, chilling me to my bones.
In that second, I saw that the life Madison had once lived was gone.
The woman staring back at me was not the same person who at one time I’d loved. That woman had been filled with life. Despite the battles around her, she was carefree, living each day satisfied and content. Now, gratification no longer shone in her green orbs. The zest was gone.
Julia had said Phillip’s eyes lacked the gold she saw in mine. Madison’s eyes lacked too. She wasn’t a ghost, but instead a shell of the woman I’d known. Life had not gone as she planned. She had been hurt, abandoned, and forgotten. It was Phillip who’d taken Madison to be evaluated and finally committed to the facility, but now I was in her sights.
And also Julia.
Swallowing, I thought back to Madison’s wedding and said the next thing she’d said to me, “The wedding is about to start.”
“I couldn’t wait.” She lifted her hand to me.
Rage bubbled like a cauldron inside me at the sight of Julia’s engagement ring on Madison’s finger. I swear I smelled the smoke of the fire within me. My nostrils flared as I fought to maintain control. “It’s only a few minutes.”
Her head tilted as her hand fell to her side. “I wish I would have realized.”
I took a deep breath. “Can you tell me where Julia is?”
Madison’s head shook as her smile dimmed. “It’s not too late for us, Van.” Her shoulders straightened. “You’re mine. You always have been.”
That wasn’t true.
I belonged with Julia and she with me.
Swallowing, I felt my muscles tighten as my Adam’s apple bobbed in my throat. “Please, Madison.” I lifted my hand toward her. “Please help me.”
“We can make it right.” A tear glistened on her cheek.
“It?”
“All of our mistakes. It’s not too late.”
“Madison, where is Julia?”
She shook her head and pulled the cape around her. “She doesn’t matter, Van. This isn’t about her. It’s about us—our family.”
My fingers balled into fists. “We need to be sure she’s all right.”
“No. Stop talking about her. We’re finally going to be what you’ve always wanted.” Madison didn’t let me respond before she added, “We’ll be a real family—you, me, and Brooklyn. It’s how it was meant to be.”
“Madison, where is Julia?” It was as if the question no longer registered or perhaps, she wasn’t hearing me. I tried another approach. “We must hurry to the cabin. Our wedding is about to start.”
Madison reached for my hand. Her touch was as cold as her gaze. “The cabin. I remember when you took me there.”
“That was a long time ago.”
“No, we were there together the other day. I saw you.”
She saw me.