Chapter 3
Willow didn’t accept Tommy’s apology right away. Instead, she went back to the resort to try and figure out how to get Charlie to show his face again. She felt so alone in her hunt. She felt outnumbered and like things would never get resolved; like Charlie would never be brought to justice.
Worst of all, Willow felt betrayed by Tommy. After going through so much with Charlie, being manipulated and swindled by him, it was hard for her to believe that Tommy wasn’t doing the same thing to her.
She sat in her car a while before she went inside the resort. She had to clear her head, take a moment to herself to really process things and make peace with what was in front of her. There was a lot going on. Richy was still missing, Charlie escaped captivity, and Tommy made her feel like a piece of meat.
When she said it out loud to herself, it sounded ridiculous. Willow thought that maybe she had overreacted and started to let the heat of everything get to her, and she took it out on him. But that night, she couldn”t let her guard down. She had to be sure.
Her phone rang just as she got ready to exit her car and go inside. It was an unknown number. She figured it was Mark calling to see if she found the money and to scare her more about Richy, but it wasn’t him. It was Charlie.
“Willow, listen to me. I know this is all crazy and you won’t believe a thing I say, but you have to listen, please.”
“Charlie!” Her world spun at the sound of his voice. “Where the hell are you! You need to tell me where you are right now and let’s put an end to this! There’s an innocent kid caught in the mix of things.”
“I know, Willow. I know. Damnit! Mark is behind this. All of it! Things have gotten way too out of control and now I don”t know how to stop him. He won’t listen to me at all.”
“Just give him what you owe and turn yourself into the police.”
The phone went silent but Willow knew he was still there because she could hear him breathing on the other end. He was speechless. Probably scared and anxious about who was tailing him. She didn’t have a single care in the world about any of that. The only person Willow cared about was Richy.
“Where’s Richy, Charlie? Oh, Greg. Since I now know Charlie isn’t your real name. How could you do this to me? All these years, all this time spent loving you and trying to be a good wife, only to find out in the end this has all been a huge lie and a complete waste of my time.”
“Willow,” he sighed. “You were different. I really loved you. I know that’s hard for you to believe, but you were my way out of this life I got sucked into.”
She felt her heart sink in her chest when he said that. Out of all the years she”d known Charlie, she never once heard him sound so sincere. Not even the first day they met. He sounded so scared and helpless that it made Willow want to run out and help him. She didn’t know why or how she could ever sympathize with a man who did what he did to her, but she did. Just a little.
“I know you don’t believe that, but it’s the truth,” he said. “I didn’t think things would go as far as they did. I’ve been so worried about getting caught up and thinking of ways to keep Mark at bay so that I could get my life together and right my wrongs, but he just won”t let up. He says we’re in this life forever. And I”m sure you know by now that Mark is a dangerous man.”
“Yeah.” Willow scoffed. “He showed up to Brandi’s cottage, where I”ve been staying, and trashed the place.”
“What!?” he sounded eager to get to the bottom of that. “Did he hurt you? I’ll kill him if he laid a hand on you!”
“No, he didn’t hurt me. I wasn’t there,” she said. “He was looking for whatever money there is. That’s why he took Richy.”
Charlie let out a hefty sigh as if he was even more lost about what to do. If there was one thing Willow knew about him, he wasn’t the kind of guy who would hurt a child. Women, not physically, but children, he was good with. He may not have wanted any of his own, but he would’ve never laid a finger on one. As far as she knew.
“You’re at the resort,” he said. “How is it?”
“How’d you know I’m here?”
“Come on Willow,” he chuckled. “I have eyes everywhere in Sanibel. It’s my hometown. You didn’t actually think you’d be able to come here and make a move without me knowing, did you?”
“Shelly, at the front desk. She told you I was here?”
He didn’t answer her question straightforwardly, but Willow knew Shelly was the one who told him. She had to be. No one else knew she was there—unless there was some eye in the sky that followed her every move.
“There’s a lot of things I need to tell you, Willow, before this is all said and done. I want you to know things about me that I left out, for your own protection. And I want you to know that no matter what, I really do love you. Our marriage was real. It may not have happened under the best pretenses, but my love for you is very much real. There’s just a lot of things in my life that I lost control over and didn’t know how to be honest about.”
Willow hated to believe him. She hated to think he was telling the truth and he really wasn’t as big of a con artist as he seemed. The proof was right there in her face, yet and still, she thought there was a slim chance he might have been a good guy underneath all of his dirt and grime. But how? Why did she feel that way for him? Willow couldn’t tell you.
“You”ve done a lot of damage here, Charlie. There’s people who you’ve stolen from that are still looking for you. People who may even want to harm you because of this. Monica and her father are some of those people.”
“Wait, you met Monica?” He sounded surprised.
“I did,” she said. “And she’s a really nice, sweet woman. How could you do that to her? She really cared for you and if I didn”t know any better, I would think she still does.”
“Do you still care for me?” he asked. “I know I”ve hurt you and done some unforgivable things. But please, tell me there”s a slither of you that still cares for me. You’re all I have in this world right about now.”
That hurt her even more. To think that she was the only thing someone cared about—the only person they felt cared about them—was a heavy burden for Willow to carry. She didn’t want to be that person for a man like Charlie. She wanted to be free of him and never think of him again. But there was that slither of care.
“I-I.” Willow stumbled on her words not wanting to hurt his feelings. “I don’t know, Charlie. This is all too much for me. In the beginning of our marriage, I thought we’d be together forever. I thought I would grow old and build a life with you. Now, all of that is stripped away. I can’t honestly say I don”t still care for you somewhere deep down inside, but things will never be the same for us. This is over.”
As hard as that was for Willow to say, it had to be said. Charlie had to know there was no coming back from the things he’d done. Not with her, anyway. Willow wanted to move on with her life. Find someone new. Build a real and honest life with a man who trusts her enough to tell her the truth, not with a con artist.
“Willow.” His voice sounded tired and hopeless. “I can’t express to you how sorry I am about all of this. If I could go back in time and change the past, I would, without a doubt in my mind. I wish I wasn”t so stupid. I wish I never got hooked up with Mark. I wish things were different. Now, I”m stuck in this life with no way out.”
The longer their conversation went on, the more eager she grew to find Richy. The fact that Charlie had called her and told her he knew where Mark was hiding him felt significant. And if he didn’t know, it wouldn’t have been hard for him to find out. Willow was sure he wanted the money too and she had some valuable information about him that could stop him from getting it, so she used that as her leverage.
“Where is Mark hiding Richy?” she asked. “We need to find him and bring him back to his parents safely. This has gone on long enough. Whatever beef you and Mark have between you two shouldn”t involve him.”
“You’re right,” he sighed. “Mark wants to get his hands on money that doesn”t belong to him. Money I was going to use to lighten my sentence when the time came. He can’t find that money, Willow. And you can’t tell anyone I called you. Not until we have the kid. The money is the only thing keeping him alive.”
Willow felt her nerves start to go haywire. Hearing the word “alive” in the same sentence as “Richy” made her even more terrified. She’d heard about how dangerous Mark was, but she didn”t know from experience. She didn”t want to find out either.
“Where is the money?” she asked. “Is it here at the resort somewhere? Is Shelly helping you hide it?”
Charlie let out another hefty sigh. It was clear he didn’t want to disclose where the money was at the time, but he knew time was running out and he had to do something. There was no way he could let an innocent child be murdered because of him. He was a wicked man, but not that wicked.
“It’s there.” He finally admitted. “But I can”t tell you where it is just yet. I have to know that I can trust you with the plan I have in mind. It’s time I end this with Mark for good, and that money is the only way I can do so. I don’t need Tommy getting his crummy hands on it and turning it over before I do what I have to do.”
An image of Tommy’s face came to Willow’s mind after Charlie mentioned him. It made her feel even more terrible for overreacting the way she had earlier that night. She still planned to apologize to him, but not until after she squared things away with Charlie in order to get Richy back.
“Tommy’s a good man, you know,” Charlie said. “He’s been hunting me down for a long time and probably would have never found me if it weren’t for you. I’m sure he’s made you smile a few times too, huh?”
She smiled to herself when he said that. Tommy made her smile more than Charlie knew. Probably even more than Charlie had and she”d only known him a short amount of time. But it was the truth; he did make her smile.
“Look…” he continued, “I’ll call you tomorrow to let you know how we can get the kid back. Until then, don’t tell anyone you talked to me. Not even Tommy. Mark can’t know I”m here. Not until it’s time to make him pay.”