Chapter 53 Desperation
CAITLYN'S POV
The next morning I woke up early and went straight to my closet. I needed to check on the phone, I needed to see if Rourke had sent any updates about the extraction plan.
I moved the sweaters aside and reached for the hiding spot. But when my hand touched the back of the shelf, there was nothing there; the phone was gone.
I checked again, moved and pulled everything out, all the sweaters, and threw them on the floor. Checked every corner of the shelf but the phone was not there.
My heart started racing. Where was it? I put it there yesterday, I knew I had. Unless someone moved it and unless Collin found it.
I sat on the closet floor surrounded by sweaters and tried not to panic. If Collin found the phone then he knew, he knew I was talking to Rourke. He knew I was the leak, he knew everything.
I got up and searched the entire closet. Every shelf. Every drawer, every box but the phone was gone, completely gone.
Maybe I had hidden it somewhere else. Maybe I moved it and forgot, I went to the bathroom and checked under the sink. In the medicine cabinet, behind the towels, there was nothing.
Back to the bedroom, under the mattress. In the nightstand, behind the headboard, there was nothing.
The phone was gone and Collin had it. That was the only explanation; he had found it and taken it, and now he was listening to everything. Every call to Rourke, every text about the extraction, every word of my betrayal.
I sat on the bed and put my head in my hands. This was bad. This was really bad; if Collin knew, then I was in real danger. Not just locked in my room, danger, but actual death danger.
I needed to get out. I needed to leave right now. But how? There were guards everywhere. Cameras were watching every move, and even if I made it out the door, where would I go?
I did not have Rourke's new number. I did not know where Jason was, I had no money, and no way to call for help. I was completely trapped.
The baby kicked hard and I touched my stomach. "I know," I whispered. "I know we need to get out of here."
There was a knock on my door and I jumped. "Mrs Hayes?" It was Mrs Chen. "Mr Hayes wants to see you in his study."
My stomach dropped. He wanted to see me in his study. That was where he conducted business. Where he had serious conversations, where he dealt with problems.
"Tell him I will be there in a minute," I called out.
"He said now," Mrs Chen said quietly. "He is waiting."
I stood up slowly, my legs felt weak. My hands were shaking, this was it. This was when he confronted me, when he told me he knew everything.
I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked terrified, pale, scared, and guilty. I needed to pull myself together, I needed to act normal, I needed to pretend I had no idea what this was about.
I took a deep breath and walked to the door and opened it. Mrs Chen was standing there looking worried.
"Is everything okay?" I asked her.
She looked like she wanted to say something but just shook her head. "You should go, he does not like to wait."
I walked down the hallway to Collin's study. Each step felt heavy, like I was walking to my execution. Maybe I was.
I knocked on the door. "Come in," Collin's voice said.
I opened the door and stepped inside. Collin was sitting behind his desk, looking at his computer. He did not look up when I entered.
"Close the door," he said.
I closed it and stood there waiting. My heart was pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it.
"Sit down," he said and finally looked at me.
I sat in the chair across from his desk. The same chair I had sat in months ago when he interrogated me about Jason. When he first started suspecting I was hiding something.
Collin leaned back in his chair and studied me. "How did you sleep?"
"Fine," I lied.
"Really?" he asked. "Because you look tired and stressed. Like something is bothering you."
"It is just the pregnancy," I said. "It makes it hard to sleep."
"The pregnancy," he repeated. "That is your excuse for everything now. Any time something is wrong it is because of the pregnancy."
"It is true," I said. "Being pregnant is exhausting."
"I am sure it is," Collin said. "But I do not think that is why you look so stressed today."
"Then what do you think it is?" I asked.
He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a phone. My phone, the one I thought was hidden. He set it on the desk between us.
"I think it has something to do with this," he said.
I stared at the phone. My mind went blank, and I could not think of a single excuse or an explanation.
"Where did you find that?" I finally asked.
"I found it in your closet, hidden under some sweaters. That was very clever, I almost did not see it."
"I can explain," I started.
"Can you?" Collin interrupted. "Please. Explain to me why you have a secret phone. A phone I did not give you, a phone you have been using to communicate with people behind my back."
"It is my old phone," I said. "From before we got married. I kept it for sentimental reasons."
"Sentimental reasons," Collin said. "Is that why there are dozens of calls to Detective Marcus Rourke? For sentimental reasons?"
I felt all the blood drain from my face. He knew, he knew everything.
"I can explain that too," I said desperately.
"I do not want your explanations," Collin said. "I want the truth. Have you been working with Rourke? Have you been feeding him information about my business?"
"No," I said. "I swear I have not."
"Do not lie to me, Caitlyn," Collin said, and his voice got colder. "I know you have been, I have proof."
"What proof?" I asked.
"I have recordings of you talking about waiting for a signal, of you saying Rourke will come soon, of you admitting that you cannot keep doing this," Collins said.
I felt sick. He had been listening and recording everything I said. Every private moment, every whispered conversation.
"How long have you been recording me?" I asked.
"Long enough," Collin said. "Long enough to know that you have betrayed me, long enough to know that you have been working against me this entire time."
"I had to," I said. "You killed my parents, you have been lying to me from the beginning. What was I supposed to do?"
"You were supposed to be loyal," Collin said. "You were supposed to be my wife but instead you chose to work with my enemies."
"You made me your enemy," I said. "When you killed my father, when you hit me. When you made my life a living hell."
Collin stood up and walked around the desk. I pushed my chair back but there was nowhere to go. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.
"You think you
u have been living in hell?" he asked. "You have no idea what hell is but you are about to find out."
"Let me go," I said.