He Made Me Feel Lost, So I Became Someone He’d Never Find Chapter 05
Grant called emergency services.
But he couldn’t wait. He decided to go into the maze and look for Elena himself.
Maybe she was hiding on purpose, trying to make him worry.
He had barely made it around the first corner when he lost his bearings.
Tall walls crisscrossed in every direction, blocking out the sunlight.
He suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
Elena was terrified of the dark. She always kept a night-light on at home and wouldn’t even go to a movie
theater with him.
And yet last night, he had dumped her in a place this dark.
He had even taken her phone.
The more Grant thought about it, the more frightened he became. If something had happened to Elena, she would have had no way to call him for help.
Even if she really had hurt Camille, leaving her here all night had gone too far.
His phone rang.
It was Mrs. Whitaker.
“Grant, did you pick Elena up? It’s Owen’s third birthday today. Bring her along.”
“We’re all going to be family anyway. You can’t keep fighting like this forever. Everyone needs to learn to get along.”
Grant hesitated.
“Mrs. Whitaker… Elena’s missing.”
“Missing? What happened?”
“I have to go. I’ll call you when I know something.”
Grant hung up quickly.
The search-and-rescue team arrived soon afterward. They swept the maze with thermal imaging equipment, but there was still no sign of Elena.
Camille’s name kept flashing across Grant’s screen.
Exhausted, he finally answered.
“Grant,
Owen’s birthday party is about to start. You’re his dad-how are you still not here?”
“He’s been crying for you all morning.”
Grant forced himself to stay patient.
“Okay. I’ll be there soon.”
He looked back at the maze one last time.
He told himself Elena would be fine.
At the birthday party, everyone except Camille seemed distracted.
Tessa glanced at Grant and motioned for him to check his phone.
Tessa: [Don’t tell Camille that Elena is missing yet. It’ll only upset her too.]
Tessa: [I thought you were just trying to scare Elena last night. I didn’t think you’d actually leave her in that maze all night.]
Tessa: [Did we go too far?]
Grant’s frown deepened.
He didn’t reply.
Instead, he texted a friend who worked at the hospital.
Grant: [Can you check whether Elena Whitaker was admitted three days ago?]
The reply came quickly.
Friend: [Yes.]
Friend: [Elena Whitaker was brought to the ER after a car accident. Blunt-force trauma to her lower abdomen caused a miscarriage.]
Grant shot to his feet.
The word miscarriage seemed to burn itself into his vision.
“Grant? What’s wrong?”
Camille came over, concern in her eyes.
Then, without waiting for an answer, she said, “Oh, there’s something else important happening today
besides Owen’s birthday.”
“The Whitakers have decided to welcome me into the family as a daughter. Today is a little family celebration to mark it,”
“What?” Mrs. Whitaker stared at her husband, Victor Whitaker. “Since when?”
“Was this your idea?”
Victor nodded.
“Camille is already like a daughter to us. We might as well make her part of the family.”
Something in Mrs. Whitaker finally snapped.
She smacked Victor hard on the back.
“Your own daughter is missing, and you’re standing here trying to welcome someone else as your daughter? Do you have any heart at all?”
“I care about Camille mostly because I adore Owen! He’s a wonderful little boy, and I can’t bear to lose him!”
“Enough!” Grant shouted.
Regret and frustration churned inside him.
“Finding Elena is what matters right now.”
A notification appeared on his phone.
[Mr. Mercer, your marriage license appointment is confirmed. Please arrive at the County Clerk’s Office at your scheduled time. Both applicants must bring valid government-issued photo ID. Best wishes to you
both.]
Grant stared at the message.
Too much had happened over the past two days.
Something between him and Elena felt wrong.
A couple of days earlier, Elena had said in anger that she wanted to break up with him.
Grant had dismissed it as pre-wedding jitters,
That was why he’d booked an appointment for himself and Elena to apply for a marriage license. He had thought that once everything was official, she would never leave him.
But now everything was moving in a direction he had never expected.
