Chapter Isabelle Campbell
ISABELLE CAMPBELL
Helen didn’t have that usual smile I’d come to rely on. I know everyone has their own troubles, and I’d even avoided asking her about it that morning—but I was worried, and in one of the rare moments we were alone I decided to press her.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s not me, Isabelle. I just get uneasy on certain days.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
After a few seconds without looking directly at my face, she said, “All I can tell you and ask is to stay away from Colin today—and tell Hanna to do the same. Today’s not a good day for that.”
I didn’t understand exactly what she meant, but I needed to know whether her warning had anything to do with Hanna or me.
“What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?”
“It’s not you or Hanna.” She paused, searching for the words.
“I can’t explain it well, but on the 15th and the 30th of every month, Colin leaves in the morning and comes back different in the afternoon.
He won’t even tell me what happens, and the only time he treated me badly was when I asked him about it. ”
Alarm flared in me and I scanned the room for my daughter—she wasn’t in sight.
“I’ll keep Hanna away from those halls. I just need to find her first.”