My Six-Year-Old Told Me About His Sister Before My Husband Did Chapter 07

My Six-Year-Old Told Me About His Sister Before My Husband Did Chapter 07

Outside, snow fell in thick, silent sheets.

In the end, Thayer had Coralie and Twyla sent to an apartment on the edge of the city.

The car ride home was strangely quiet.

Tavish sat in the back seat, tears slowly filling his eyes.

“Dad,” he said, “I miss Mom. I think I did something wrong.”

Thayer glanced at him, then looked back out at the falling snow.

“We’re going home now. When we get there, apologize to her properly.”

His eyes lowered.

Then he would take Izzy out to build a snowman.

Tavish nodded hard, breaking into a tearful smile.

“Mom will forgive me.”

But for some reason, the closer they got to home, the stronger the panic in Thayer’s chest became.

They pushed the door open in a rush.

“Izzy!”

“Mom!”

No one answered.

—

The house was empty.

Even the cedar-and-amber scent from Coralie’s diffuser had faded from the air.

All the little things she had collected were gone too.

Thayer froze in place, his legs heavy as stone.

Somewhere deep down, he already knew what it meant.

On their wedding day, Isolde had once told him, “If you ever betray me, I’ll disappear. I’ll make sure you never find me again.”

That had not been a joke.

Tavish tore through the house and cried, “Mom’s gone.”

It hit Thayer like lightning.

His knees gave out, and he hit the floor hard.

“Izzy. Izzy…”

His eyes reddened.

Then he rushed into the bedroom like a man losing his mind.

Her vanity was still neat.

Her clothes still hung in the closet.

Everything looked the way it always had.

She had taken nothing obvious.

Only the divorce settlement sat on the desk, bright and impossible to

—

ignore.

Thayer shook so hard he could not bring himself to look at it again.

He pulled out his phone and sent message after message, almost begging.

[Izzy, where are you? Why didn’t you take anything? Do you have money?]

[Do you really want to divorce me? Are you serious?]

[What about our son? Tavish still needs his mother.]

[I was wrong. I sent Coralie and Twyla away. Izzy, I can’t live without you.]

No reply came.

A surge rose in his throat.

Thayer grabbed the trash can and vomited until his stomach cramped.

When his vision finally cleared, he went still.

He saw the ribbon stained with blood.

With shaking hands, he moved it aside and picked up the torn pieces one by one.

He pieced the report back together.

Nine weeks pregnant.

The date was from three days ago.

—

Thayer broke completely.

His sob tore out of him.

“Izzy!”

Tavish stood in the doorway, crying too.

“Mom!”

—

Thayer clutched the torn report to his chest, his body wracked with sobs.

Nine weeks. She had been carrying his child for nine weeks. And he had slapped her. Yelled at her. Chosen another woman over her.

He had killed their baby without even knowing it existed.

Tavish ran to his father, throwing his small arms around him.

“Dad, where’s Mom? Why isn’t she coming back?”

Thayer couldn’t answer. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think past the crushing weight of what he had done.

His phone buzzed. He grabbed it with shaking hands, hope surging through him.

It was Reeve.

[Sir, I’ve checked everywhere. The bakery owner’s girlfriend—Isolde’s friend—she’s gone too. No forwarding address. No one knows where they went.]

Thayer stared at the screen. Then he threw his phone against the wall.

“Izzy. Izzy, please. Please come back.”

But the house was silent.

And the snow kept falling.