Chapter 29 Daphne
29 Daphne
My blood runs cold when we turn into the driveway of the house and see the door standing open, with no sign of the security guards.
Milosh turns the engine off and looks at me. ‘I don’t know why no one’s out here or why the door’s open but I need to go check it out. I don’t want you to sit here by yourself so you’re gonna come with me. Don’t leave my side, okay? I can’t have anything happen to you.’
‘Okay,’ is all I manage to squeeze out. I’m scared. So scared of whatever is lurking behind that door, figuratively and literally.
He rounds the car and opens my door, grabbing my hand as soon as I get out. This time there’s no romantic undertones. Flirty Milosh has been replaced by work Milosh.
Slightly scary, rough and commanding work Milosh.
We walk into the house, going in and out of every room with speed and finding them all empty and completely trashed.
In the snug, all the sofas have been torn apart, the carpets raised and all the artwork ripped off the walls. In the kitchen, all the food cupboards are open and non-perishable items lie strewn all over the tiles. A few plates are broken and one of the taps is running. In Daddy’s study it’s hard to make out the floor through all the ripped books and artwork. His computer is completely smashed and his paperwork is everywhere.
My lip quivers as we pass through the eerily silent house that no longer feels like a home. But then we get to my room.
When Milosh opens my door, I gasp.
Everything’s ruined, from my mattress to my bathroom mirrors. Whoever did this left no stone unturned. We walk into my dressing room to find most of my clothes on the floor, crumpled and dirty with footprints embedded in them.
‘I know this is hard to look at but I need you to focus right now.’ Milosh tugs on my arm, bringing my attention to him. ‘I need you to lock your bedroom door behind me and pack a bag of non-ruined clothes. I’m gonna quickly go and check the rest of the house and pack a bag myself. I’ll be back in five minutes and I’ll knock four times. If you don’t hear a knock after six minutes I want you to call the police and stay in here until they arrive. Can you do all of that?’
‘Yes,’ I choke out. My sadness now replaced with anger as I take in what they’ve done.
‘I’m working on downloading the security feed but that’ll take a while. So we don’t know who did this, where everyone is or why this happened. Right now we’re fully blind so we need to get out and leave as quickly as possible.’
He places a chaste kiss on my cheek then leaves. I follow his instructions, locking the door behind him and packing a bag. I tip out a week’s worth of knickers and socks from their drawers and add them in, along with a few bras. I find a clean pink gym set, three dresses still on their hangers, a pair of linen trousers with the matching shirt and a pair of loafers. I go to zip up my bag, but my eyes coast over to the dresser where I keep my make-up and perfume. I grab my make-up bag and the first perfume I can find and stuff them into the duffel, then move into the bathroom. I gather the bare essential toiletries and place them into my bag as well, just in time to hear four strong knocks at the door. I unlock it, luggage in hand, and once Milosh sees the duffel he takes it and grabs me, moving us down the stairs and out of the house with haste.
The wind howls around us as we climb into the car and he throws the bags in the back as he waits for the gates to open.
‘We need to ditch this vehicle as soon as possible, so I’m just warning you now, I will be stealing a car. It’s not ideal but it needs to be done.’
‘That’s fine.’ Stealing a car is the least of my worries right now.
‘When I went to the top floor there was no one there,’ Milosh continues. ‘My guess is they took your father and all the staff. Why, I’m not too sure, but by the looks of it they didn’t go willingly.’
‘How do you know it wasn’t willing?’
‘There were bloodstains on the floor of Charlotte’s bedroom and in your father’s study.’
I feel numb.
I feel sick.
I feel too many emotions yet nothing at all at the same time.
Daddy’s gone.
So are Josh, Bethany, Charlotte and the rest of the staff.
All of my family.
‘We need to tell Amelia and Henry.’
‘Yes, but not now.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Right now they’re safe and in their own little bubble. No one knows exactly where they’re going in Italy because Henry wanted it to be a surprise for Amelia so no one can track them. They’re safe where they are.’
Henry and Amelia are safe.
Daddy’s gonna be okay.
This is all gonna be okay.
We stop at a red light and I haul the door open, vomiting onto the road. Once I’m done, I close it and pull out a tissue from the glove compartment. Milosh rubs my back as I tip my head over my knees.
‘Where are we going now?’ I cough out after a few minutes.
‘I’ve contacted your pilot so we’re gonna meet him and fly to Provence. I know you and your father have a small cottage there so that’s where we’ll stay until I can figure out our next move.’
I nod and straighten up, rolling down the window so I can get a bit of fresh air. I’ve never been more grateful for Greenway Aviation in my life.
‘I need you to write down these numbers on this piece of paper for me.’ He hands me his phone, a piece of scrap paper and a pen. ‘I know this must be really difficult for you but you’re doing really well with all of this.’
I glance over at him for a moment but he’s watching the road. ‘Thank you,’ I say before focusing back on the number transfer.
‘Done.’ I say, putting the lid on the pen and handing the phone back to Milosh.
‘Good job, Miss Green. Could I borrow your phone a minute, please?’ I hand him my phone, unlocking it, but he clearly didn’t need it unlocked because he locks it straight back, rolls down his window and throws it out of the window, along with his own.
‘Why did you just do that?’ I ask.
‘It’s easy for people to track you from your phone. We already have to publish a flight plan, and I don’t really wanna make it any easier for anyone to find us. The numbers I got you to write down are all we need.’
On a quiet road, Milosh pulls over in front of a family car.
‘Stay here.’
He gets out of the car and I feel a second surge of nausea. I tip my head down between my thighs again and close my eyes, trying to focus on my breathing as it dawns on me he’s actually stealing a car. In the grand scheme of things it’s not that bad, but the thought of an innocent family waking up in the morning only to find their vehicle missing makes me feel so wretched it’s almost unbearable.
The rear car door opens and closes, which I assume is Milosh getting our bags out, and then my side swings open.
‘Let’s go.’
I get out and jump into the front of the new car. The two children’s car seats in the back give me a renewed pang of guilt.
‘How did you unlock it without sounding the alarm?’
‘The children’s home was in a pretty rough area so I picked up a few things when I was there. I never stole a car myself, but the older boys taught me how.’
‘I’m so sorry you had the childhood you did.’
He shrugs. ‘It came in handy tonight.’
We make it to the private air strip twenty minutes later, the darkness of the night and the chill in the air in perfect harmony with my mood. Milosh pulls out the two duffels from the boot and gets out, coming around my side to open the door. He pulls off his Tuxedo jacket and wraps it around me, picking back up the duffels in one swift motion, carrying them in one hand and grasping my shaking hand in the other.
His jacket practically swallows me whole and his scent envelops me, offering me a smidge of comfort as we walk towards the stairs to the plane.
‘Good evening, Mr Petrov and Miss Green,’ the air steward greets us. Milosh nods in response but all I have in me is a weak smile as I pass her.
Once we’re in the air, I unclip my seatbelt and head to the bathroom at the back of the plane. I lock the door and open a packet containing a disposable toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste before quickly brushing my teeth.
I look up at myself in the mirror and laugh without humour.
I look great. I look like my world has not just fallen apart and instead I’m taking an impromptu trip with my boyfriend, after attending an event like something out of a James Bond film.
I finish up in the bathroom and walk out, to where Milosh is watching something on a phone.
‘Whose phone is that?’ I ask as I go to sit in the seat opposite his.
‘The flight attendant’s. I emailed myself the CCTV footage from your house so I logged into my email from her phone to check it.’
‘Has it loaded?’
He nods.
‘Can I see?’
‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea.’
‘Please, Milosh, my brain can’t possibly make up any worse scenarios.’
He studies me for a moment, unease resting in his eyes, before he nods and hands me the phone. He’s emailed himself multiple videos of different angles of the house. I click on the first one and it shows a grainy picture of the driveway, the gates opening and five black SUVs driving up. One of the security guys at the front of the house walks up to the first car, speaking to the passengers for a moment before a pair of hands reaches out and twists his neck, causing him to collapse to the ground.
I let out a gasp, covering my mouth, and watch as the other security man pulls out his radio but doesn’t make it far because three big men dressed head to toe in black step out of the car and rip it from his hand. The video stops so I slide on to the next clip. This one is short and shows about six of these men walking into the house and pairing off to search different rooms.
I move on to the next clip of the kitchen where Josh and Bethany are cleaning up after dinner. Josh is by the sink and Bethany is standing next to him, packing the dishwasher. Her head rises and she drops the plate in her hand. The crash gets Josh’s attention and he turns around only to be greeted with a gun pointed at him. My heart breaks when they both hold their hands up in surrender and follow whatever instructions they’re given, walking out of the kitchen.
There are no cameras in the bedrooms, the bathrooms or my father’s study so I can’t see what happened there, but there is another clip showing the first-floor hallway as the masked men go in and out of the rooms.
I turn the phone off and pass it back to Milosh, saying nothing. I look at my hands, not quite knowing what to do with myself.
‘What do you think they wanted?’
‘I think they wanted to scare George into giving them the formula. The camera cut out after that last clip so I don’t know how many people were in the house, but I do know that they won’t hurt him until they get what they want. As far as they can tell, George is the only one who knows where it is so killing him wouldn’t be beneficial.’
I stay quiet, taking in what I just heard.
He’s alive.
He has to be alive.
And they didn’t harm anyone on camera so there’s a good chance they’re alive too.
There were bloodstains on the floor of Charlotte’s bedroom and in your father’s study. Milosh’s voice echoes back to me.
They may be injured but they’re okay.
They have to be.
I will my tears not to fall but they don’t listen. So I cry.
I cry for my father.
I cry for my house.
I cry for my family.
‘Come here,’ Milosh says, so I stand and he pulls me into his lap. He stays silent and lets me sob into his chest, rubbing my back methodically. ‘It’s gonna be okay, we’ll find them.’
We have to.