Chapter 88 Still looking for her
Liam
For almost half a year, I have been hunting for my little runaway. She is going to be in so much pain when I finally get my hands on her.
I warned her, over and over, what would happen if she tried to leave me. I told her I would drag her back, fighting me every step of the way. When I find her, I am going to keep her in a basement and use her until the day she dies. Just sitting here, thinking about all the effort I have poured into this search, makes my blood burn with anger.
I took a leave from the university. I gathered every dollar I had, a quarter of a million, and began looking. I drove across Nebraska first. I went to where she grew up and found nothing. I checked nearby towns. Still nothing. It was as if she had vanished. Marsha, that worthless woman, would not tell me what she did with her. When Marsha came back from the “store” without Lia, I lost my mind. She was lucky I did not break her or her husband Craig for their part in this. I drove home as fast as I could, sure I would find her there, packing a bag. But she was gone. She took nothing. Not even her art things, or those little trinkets from her parents that she always held onto.
When I went back to Marsha and Craig’s place, after looking all over Lincoln for two hours, Marsha smirked and told me she bought a bus ticket and sent her away. So I called in every favor I was owed. Three buses left that night: one to Michigan, one to Nevada, one to Texas. A friend got me the security video from the station, and I went through every frame. The quality was poor and I could not spot my girl. I reached out to every stop those buses made. Got their footage, too, because another friend made it happen. It pays to know the right people. I wasted days on the Nevada and Texas videos. But then I found it, on the Michigan run. She stepped off in some nowhere place called Allegan.
I have been in this town for six months. The video proved she arrived, but I could not get the local footage. My friend had no contacts here. I was stuck. My money was running low. I have been sleeping in a cheap motel and taking meals at the town diners.
People around here are beginning to know my face. I have been turning on the charm, telling everyone I am searching for my sister who took off. I have shown her picture to every person I meet. So far, no one has seen her.
Lying on this bed, I started thinking about the first time I saw Lia, and everything that happened between us. She walked into my classroom and I was stunned by how beautiful she was. In five years of teaching, I had never wanted a student before. Just her being in the room made my whole day better. I watched her for weeks. She was clever, too. Always joining in, and whenever she smiled at me, it stole the air from my lungs.
When I ran into her at a restaurant, I knew it was a sign to make her mine. We talked, and she opened up about her life. She was so trusting, so honest. When she spoke about missing her father, I said all the sympathetic things I needed to say. I had her wrapped around my finger.
I offered her a ride back to campus, but I took her to my apartment instead. I gave her a choice: did she want me to take her to the dorms, or did she want to come upstairs? She chose to come inside. When I learned she had never been with a man that night, I knew I would never allow her to leave me.
At the start, it was exciting. We had to keep it hidden, and that only made it better. Then she had some group project with another student. She canceled on me twice and I lost my temper. I knew that boy wanted her. I just knew it. And she was so trusting, I was sure she would believe any lie he told her. By the end of that week, I was going crazy. So I was harsh with her. When she accepted that, I became harsher every time she upset me. It made me feel strong. Then she talked back after I insulted her, and I hit her. Not enough to bruise, but enough to shock her. I apologized, of course, and acted so sorry that she forgave me. But then I kept doing it, every time my anger rose.
She drove me insane with jealousy whenever I heard she had spoken to another man. I paid students to watch her, and used Craig’s weaknesses to get information.
I could hardly believe how much she allowed me to do. When I began threatening her, telling her I would harm her father if she ever left, I knew I had her trapped. I could do anything I wanted. And she let me. It was intoxicating.
The marks I left on her skin made me feel like a king. She could not stop me. Then I got the call that she had phoned her father and told him everything. I did not know what to do. I tried to scare her with looks and a smile I knew she feared. I wanted her to understand that I knew. I was working on a plan to send her father away when I got lucky. He was killed by a drunk driver. I let her believe I was responsible. As she broke down, I held her and whispered that it was her fault, that she made me do this. Then I bound her and took her for hours. I tasted her tears, and when she finally lost consciousness, I felt like I had won. She had nowhere to run. No family. No real friends. She belonged to me, and I made certain she remembered it when she woke up and saw what I had done to her.
After that, everything was perfect. She cooked my meals, ironed my clothes, kept my home spotless. She was my perfect little servant. I was going to marry her legally and get her pregnant so she could never escape. I was furious when I learned she had birth control implanted. But I knew it would need replacing soon, and I would never allow it.
Now all that time has gone. Every week I called a hacker I know to look for her. He costs a fortune, and every week he found nothing. She has to see a doctor, right? She needs her birth control. Does she have an ID? She must, under another name. She could not get an appointment without one. Could not get a job, or a license. Unless she is driving without one and getting paid in cash. I have turned every possibility over in my mind, but I have nothing. Where the fuck is she?
The phone I use here is disposable, but I call my real phone to check for messages. I keep hoping she will see reason and call me, begging me to come get her. I had not checked it in a few weeks, so I did it now. I put it on speaker, and a voice I recognized came through.
“Professor Carpenter. You might not remember me, but I used to watch Lia for you, tell you where she went. Well, I thought it was strange to see her here in New York City instead of Lincoln. At first I figured you two broke up, but then I remembered how obsessed you were with her. No way you would let her go. Anyway, she is at the clubhouse where I live, and she is with one of the guys here. They just started seeing each other, but she is also around another guy a lot, though he is dating someone else. I hate cheaters, and if she is cheating on you, I thought you should know. So, yeah. I figured you would want to hear this. You can reach me at 917-555-0199. This is Jake Barrow, by the way.”
I sat straight up on the bed and played the message again. My heart was pounding like I had just sprinted a mile. It was beating so hard I felt dizzy. I took long, slow breaths, grabbed a pen and notepad from the table, and wrote the name and number down.
Jake Barrow, if you were still in my class, you would have gotten an A. Thank you so very much.
I got off the bed, threw everything I had into my bag, and walked out of the motel room. I am not coming back. I am going to New York.
Here I come, baby. I hope you are ready, you fucking little bitch.