“Ijustneedasecond. Stay here.” I stand outside the door to my wing of the St. Germaine mansion. I haven’t lived here in weeks, and it already doesn’t feel like home anymore. Nowhere does, really.
Talon looks ready to follow me, so I raise my palm to him and pat his chest. It’s better for me to go in alone in case one of the household staff happens to come by my suite. We double-checked to make sure Daddy wasn’t home, not that he would be. I’m pretty sure he spends most of his days sleeping in the city at one of his swanky apartments. It’s easier for business, he used to say, considering that he would leave me alone for days at a time and then weeks when I was still a teenager.
“You better hurry your ass up.” Talon leans against the railing, peering around the vibrant, robust gardens, scenting the air with a plethora of floral fragrances.
I turn away from him without comment and rush into my wing, taking the stairs up to my master suite, where I have a safe with legal documents. I’m going to need proof of my power of attorney. My mom arranged it when I turned twenty-one. It was one of those little secrets we kept. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Daddy. It was because he had already seemed to dust his hands of her because of her struggle with her addiction.
I haven’t enacted my right involving her healthcare, since she’s still continuing to make good choices. It’s when she stops that I’ll intervene.
Opening the door to my bedroom, I halt in my tracks. The place has been completely destroyed. Broken furniture lies in sporadic piles across the spacious room, and all my wall art has been ripped and broken. Part of my curtains hang in tattered pieces, the plush fabric singed from being burned. I stare at the ashes of a pile of my clothes, and I realize that the sprinklers must’ve turned on to put it out. Water spots stain my bed, and the hint of mildew hangs in the air. All my electronics have been smashed, and the only thing that seems to be in place is my small bookcase behind locked glass. My dad either ran out of time or energy, leaving the place in shambles.
I rest my palm on my chest, feeling the beats of my nervous heart. If I even had an ounce of hope to ever come back here, it’s now gone. What have I done so wrong to deserve this? Daddy knows I’m innocent. He knows I would never do something to purposely tarnish our good standing and reputation.
I just want it all to make sense.
Strolling around the disaster, I make my way to my wall safe within my bathroom. Daddy didn’t know I had it installed a while ago, and it seems like he didn’t bother to take out his anger on my bathroom. The Gothic painting of a woman holding a bleeding heart remains perfectly hung as I left it, and I unlatch the side of it from the wall and swing it open to find my safe.
I pound my finger against the keypad, just wanting to grab everything and run, so I never have to look at this place again. It beeps as the lock slides open, and I find the lockbox within it holding everything important I need.
I tuck it under my arm and spin away, jogging through my trashed bedroom and back out to where Talon remains exactly where I left him.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, his brow furrowing with his concern. “Did something happen?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not important. I have what I need, so let’s go.” There’s no point in spilling my feelings to Talon right now. We don’t have time for this.
I grab his hand and pull him along, getting him to move instead of allowing him even a second to interrogate me. Because I’m obviously shaken. I feel sick to my stomach. And every second that passes makes it harder and harder for me to breathe easy. I just need to get out of here.
Talon reaches the car first and opens my door, and I enter the code for my lockbox, popping it open. My hands shake as I pull out document after document until I find my mom’s healthcare power of attorney legal contract, naming me as her surrogate. I find the number to the posh rehab facility in Monterey, disguised as a spa, and I inhale a couple of deep breaths before I connect the line.
“Divine Health and Wellness, this is Tami. How can I help you?” a woman asks, her cheerful voice mirroring what I would expect from someone well-trained in customer service.
“Hi, Tami. This is Stacia St. Germaine. I wanted to set up a visitation with my mother. Her name is Evelyn St. Germaine.” I peek at Talon in my peripheral vision. He doesn’t drive or anything, just waiting patiently for me to finish.
“I’m sorry, Ms. St. Germaine. It looks like Evelyn was checked out of the facility two months ago,” the woman says.
I frown and clutch my lockbox. “That’s impossible. She had a court order. She couldn’t have checked out.”
The clicking of fingers tapping a keyboard sound through the line. “I wish I could give you more information, but it seems her power of attorney had arranged something else. You might want to ask Mr. Kenneth St. Germaine.”
My blood cools, my chest tightening. “Mr. Kenneth St. Germain is not my mother’s power of attorney. I am. He has no legal binding in making her medical decisions.”
Silence greets me.
“Let me speak to your manager. This was a big mistake. I need whatever information you have regarding my mother.” My fingers tremble, my mind whirling.
“I’m sorry, Ms. St. Germaine. If you could, please come down to the facility. We can—”
I hang up the phone with a shriek, knowing damn well that my father probably paid big money to move my mom.
Talon slides his arm around my shoulder. “I should’ve fucking known this would happen. I’m sorry, Stacia. Don’t worry. We’ll find your mother.”
I clench my teeth together hard enough to make my jaw ache. “I want to find my dad. I need to fucking face him. He can’t do this, and I’m going to tell him as much.”
Sighing, Talon pulls out his phone and taps the screen a couple of times. “If you’re sure, I’ll take you to him. I’ve been tracking the fucker. It looks like he’s out of the city. Do you have any houses in Orange County?”
“It’s where my mom grew up. Daddy owns the townhouse complex, but I’ve never been.” I lean back in my seat, closing my eyes and inhaling a deep breath through my nose, settling my nerves. “Do you think he took her there?”
Talon starts the car. “If he did, we’re going to find out. We’re going to get you answers. Promise.”