‘What do you mean “they” took her? You think someone came along and took Eloise?’
He sighed despairingly. ‘I was certain of it. But I couldn’t give the police the details they wanted. After a while, they began talking to me about whether perhaps I’d been dreaming. And I didn’t know. I couldn’t rememberanythingclearly. The more I tried to remember, the less clear it became.’
‘It must have been awful and so confusing.’ She gazed at him worriedly. ‘You were so young.’
‘They mounted a massive search but there was no sign of her. She’d just vanished.’
‘And you were all alone.’ Violet breathed.
He rolled his shoulders. Pity? No, he didn’t want it. ‘I met Alex at school.’
‘Alex?’
‘My friend.’ He flashed her a small, teasing smile. ‘The one who has the Halloween party.’
‘The party you skipped.’
‘Because sometimes I don’t feel like socialising,’ he admitted. ‘At least, not in large groups.’
‘But one to one is okay?’ She smiled at him sadly.
‘One to one is okay if the one is you.’
‘That’s an awfully charming thing to say. You’d best be careful or I might believe you.’
He smiled. ‘You believe me already. You take things at face value.’
Her nose wrinkled. ‘You’re saying I’m naïve.’
‘I’m saying you have faith in the world.’
‘But you’ve lost yours.’
Her words sliced him open. ‘I just know there’s no happy endings, Violet.’
‘And you know this because of Eloise.’
He nodded. ‘When I was older, I couldn’t shake the belief that she was out there. I launched several private searches. Eventually I even offered a reward for information, you know? A big one.’
‘Oh, Roman.’
‘It was highly publicised and lots of people came forward. None of the information gathered was helpful.’ He rolled his shoulders. ‘It kept an assistant very well-employed for a long time. I decided to focus my energies on the company and ensure Eloise’s inheritance was intact—if not better—for when she was found. But one day, about a decade ago, a woman came forward. She had a young girl, the right age, the right...’
‘Okay.’ Violet looked worried. She was right to.
‘You might not have noticed the patch of colour in my left eye.’ He gestured to his face.
‘I’ve noticed.’ A half-smile.
‘It’s called sectoral heterochromia. It’s a genetic thing.’
‘Meaning it runs in families.’
‘Yeah. So this girl had my coloured eyes, and she looked just like I’d imagine Eloise to look. She was the right age and everything...’
‘So you believed it was her.’
‘I didn’t want to listen to anyone who doubted it. I was happy. Ireallywanted it to be her.’ He’d wanted it more than anything.