Chapter 60

Layla

We were back on the island, and I could see him looking at me. When we got to D.C., we went to our rooms. He already had the room keys, which made me understand he would be paranoid and have cameras installed. The very first night, I told him I was out of tampons and needed some. He knocked on the room door twenty minutes later and handed me the bag. I didn’t really need it; that was just a distraction for him. He came in and took the phone away, and I just shook my head because I expected that from him.

I stayed in the bathroom for a bit longer than necessary, then went and turned off the lights and went to bed. While tossing and turning, trying to sleep, I slipped the envelope into the pillow cover. The next day, he went to a meeting and left Edwin watching me. After four days, he let me out of the hotel room. He took me shopping, and I went along with it. I didn’t try to run or get anyone’s attention. That night, after dinner, he was pissed about something.

On the flight back, he was angry for whatever reason. I was about to use the washroom when he stood up and grabbed me by my neck and began slapping me. He kept yelling at me, asking me why I didn’t run, why I didn’t contact anyone, and why I didn’t ask for help. He choked me hard enough for me to pass out. When I woke up, I was back on the island. He didn’t say anything, but I could feel his eyes following me. I only hoped whoever found that envelope would do as it said, and Aleck and Dean would get it.

“Why didn’t you run?” Silas asked.

“I’m already dead to them. They’re now trying to live. They won’t believe I’m alive and it’s me. I no longer have any tattoos or rings. I have no proof that I am really Layla Tavers. You don’t treat me badly, so I’ll stay,” I said as I continued eating. He didn’t say anything. After that day, I noticed when I was outside gardening Edwin wasn’t around. There are usually tourists here on the island. Sometimes they come up the hill in groups; sometimes they stop by the garden and look around. I would speak to them for a few minutes and then go back inside.

One day, a few weeks after we returned from D.C., I was outside transferring some flowers when I saw a group of tourists walking up the hill towards the house. Silas was outside too; he was on the other side of the house working. It was almost sunset. The visitors usually come up here to see the sunset and camp on the other side of the hill. I waved at the group as they passed and continued planting my flowers.

“Those are beautiful tulips you have there,” I heard the woman say. When I looked up, I almost had a heart attack, but I remained calm. I kept my head down and continued talking. I knew from the way I was positioned Silas wouldn't know if I was talking or not, but he would be looking.

“Marcella, that man is always looking; keep smiling and touching the flowers,” I said, standing up and holding out a flower to her.
“It’s really you. He’s coming this way,” she said, looking at the flower in her hand.

“He’s crazy. It is really me, Marcella. I promise. Sorry for disappearing on you back then. You helped me walk again, and the first thing I did was fucking run away.” I said, bending down and picking up another pot.

“I’ll tell them. They got the letter but were skeptical,” she said, smiling.
“I didn’t expect them to believe it right away. I knew they would send someone to check it out.” I said, Re-pot more flowers.

“What seems to be going on here?” I heard Silas ask.
“She asked me for one of the tulips. They are her favorite,” I said, not looking up.

“They indeed are. My late husband loved them too. I’m sorry for taking up with my silly ramblings, but I couldn’t resist the beautiful flowers,” she said, looking around.

“Oh, dear, I may miss my group; they're ready to leave. Thank you for the flowers. I need to go,” she said, walking away from us.
“Sure, no problem,” I said as I continued working.

“Do you know her?” Silas asked. I let out a breath.
“No, Silas, I do not. This is me. I may have Marie’s heart, but I’m still me. When people speak to me, I speak to them. She just asked for the flower, and I gave it to her,” I said with a sigh.

Aleck

It’s been three weeks since we got that letter. She said he had people watching us, so we did everything quietly. We never spoke about it over the phone or in the house. We showed Mom, Dad, Andrew, and Mal the letter, and they were worried it was a trick, so we planned carefully and meticulously and sent Marcella. We were all in my office. Mal was nervous, and so was Mom. The door opened, and Diego walked in with Marcella covered up. She put the flash drive on the desk.

“It’s her; she’s really alive. She apologized for disappearing on me. He is also there. The minute he saw me talking to her for over two minutes, he came over and asked. The tour group walked all the way around the house. The back of the house is a drop-off. You’ll see it,” Marcella said.

Dean took the flash drive and plugged it into my laptop. The minute the video began playing, we saw someone in the distance. As Marcella got closer, I recognized her in an instant. My heart knew her.

“That’s Layla. I would know her anywhere,” Mal said, sinking down into the chair.

I looked at Dean. We looked at Diego. “Call Mac, Leo, Brian, and the others; tell them what we’re doing,” I said.
She was alive; I’ll kill that fucking bastard myself. I looked at Dean, and I knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Okay, everyone is going to continue to act normal. We’ll get her back,” Dean said, looking at them. Mom and Dad just nodded.
At nine that night, we were at the cabin we had used to keep Chris and Cameron. Andrew, Mac, Diego, Brian, Leo, and the rest of the security detail showed up one by one. I made them leave their phones where they were. We left our phones at home too.

“She is alive,” Dean said. We explained where she was.

“Brian, you’ll be in charge of finding her. She said there are cameras, so you will handle that and security. She knows that we know she is alive, and we’ll get her. We need to know how much security he has and their response time, and if there are any alarms that could trigger anything,” I said.

“Okay, Boss,” he said.
“Mac, Diego, Leo, you will need to be alert. Find his people, whoever he has watching us. Also, Brian, find out if anything was hacked,” Dean said.

Layla

A few days ago, Silas went crazy. I was sitting in the living room. From the day I spoke to Marcella, he went nuts. He stopped me from going outside; he stopped me from gardening and even stopped me from going into the library. I was sitting on the couch when he walked in. When he saw me, he stopped and looked at me.

He came over to me and slapped me. I could taste the blood. I just looked at him, and he slapped me again. “I’ve been nice to you, but you couldn’t help yourself, could you?” he yelled as he continued slapping me.

“I didn’t do anything,” I said. He grabbed me by my hair, dragging me towards the stairs.
“Really, let’s fucking find out,” he said.

“Silas, no, please. I didn’t do anything,” I said, pleading with him. He dragged me straight up to the room and threw me down onto the bed and began ripping my shirt off.

“Silas, please,” I pleaded. He grabbed me by my throat.

“DID YOU FUCKING CONTACT THEM?!” he yelled, choking me and slapping me at the same time. I was going to pass out. I tried removing his hands but couldn’t.

“I didn’t, I swear, please,” I said weakly, the tears escaping my eyes. Please, God, Dean, Aleck. Where are you? That was my last thought before I blacked out.