“Mommy left!” Joy’s innocent voice rang out before Brady could form a response.

Left?

Tamara felt the ground shift beneath her feet. What exactly did the child mean by “left”?

“Joy, sweetheart, where did your mommy go?” Tamara’s voice took on a coaxing tone.

“She went to work!”

“Mr. Jenkins!” Tamara whirled toward him, her forehead lined with deep furrows. “What’s happening here? I need an explanation.”

“Certainly,” Brady said, his shoulders lifting in a casual shrug. “Hadley departed. She’s been gone for more than an hour now.”

Shock slammed into Tamara like a physical blow. Over an hour? How had the guards stationed at the entrance completely missed her departure?

Brady’s explanation came with maddening calm. “She left through the back stairs and then the neighbors’ garage to bypass the main gate entirely.”

So that was how she pulled it off. The realization hit Tamara like a thunderbolt. They had orchestrated this escape from the very beginning.

“Mr. Jenkins, where exactly did Hadley go?” she demanded, her voice growing more urgent.

“Joy,” Brady said, lowering his niece gently to the floor. “Go find Melba downstairs, sweetheart.”

“Okay!” Joy chirped, her small feet pattering away down the hallway.

Only after Joy disappeared did Brady face Tamara again. His head moved from side to side in a definitive shake. “Don’t waste your breath asking. I won’t tell you a thing.”

Tamara stood frozen in disbelief. Uncertainty paralyzed her next move.

Without losing another precious second, she yanked her phone from her pocket and dialed Phillips frantically. “Mr. Brown! Hadley’s vanished! No, she deliberately gave me the slip and disappeared! I have no idea where she’s headed!”

I?t€$? ￠н?ρ?ε ?и glov?l.om

“Mr. Scott!” Phillips gripped his phone with white knuckles as he spun toward Eric. He relayed Tamara’s frantic report word for word.

Eric’s face transformed into a thundercloud. Fury and panic warred across his features as he roared, “Find her now!”

“Yes, sir!”

Eric hurled the documents from his hands, his fingers digging into his creased forehead. Irritation and unease battled for control of his emotions. He forced himself to breathe deeply. He had to maintain his composure.

Where could Hadley possibly have gone? Within Srixby’s borders, her choices remained painfully limited.

“Phillips!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Send men to the cemetery immediately—that’s where Hadley placed Elissa’s ashes.”

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