Chapter 10 - Caroline Was Alive
She was found on day fourteen.
Alive.
Physically weak.
Dehydrated.
But safe.
Not inside ice.
Not seriously injured.
Vivian had hidden her in a vacant guest property owned by a foundation subsidiary forty miles away.
The property was heated.
Stocked with food.
Locked from the outside electronically.
Caroline had no phone.
No vehicle.
No way to leave without triggering an alarm.
Vivian later claimed she only intended to keep Caroline there “until after the gala.”
That sentence horrified Ethan.
Caroline had been held because Vivian needed time.
Time to complete the gala.
Time to move foundation records.
Time to convince the family Caroline had left voluntarily.
Time to scare Lily into silence.
Investigators found evidence Vivian had visited the property twice.
Security logs.
Food deliveries.
A key-card assigned to her assistant but used from Vivian’s vehicle.
Caroline had spent eleven days thinking Ethan believed she abandoned him.
That damage could not be measured in bruises.
When Ethan finally saw her at the hospital, neither of them spoke at first.
Caroline simply reached for him.
He held her.
Then she whispered:
“Where’s Lily?”
“Safe.”
May you like
Only then did Caroline cry.
---
