by Cee Smith
Stolen & Fractured
Copyright © 2015 Cee Smith
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
First ebook edition: August 2015
Edited by: Erica’s Editing Services
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Extended
Acknowledgments
Soundtrack
About The Author
Sneak Peek (Shut In)
“Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.”
—Vanilla Sky
“As of today, Dominic Callas is stepping down as Executive Chairman of the board of Callas Enterprises amidst allegations that he kidnapped his now wife, twenty-three-year-old Hailey Callas. Hailey was reported missing March of last year after she disappeared during a deep-sea dive off the coast of Queensland, Australia.” The news anchor shuffled some papers, using the top of the desk to align the bottoms of the pages before the screen blacked out with a quote.
The family’s lawyer states:
“These accusations against my client are unfounded and are an attack on a man that is an amazing father and husband. A man who is as compassionate as he is brilliant. Legal ramifications will be brought against any person(s) perpetuating such accusations. The family is asking for priv—”
I didn’t even make it to the bottom of the quote before Dominic was turning off the TV.
“Don’t watch that shit. It’s just going to get you riled up.”
“I still don’t understand how they found out. Is there anyone that you know who would have said something?”
“No. I have Scout working on it. It shouldn’t be too much longer. Why don’t you relax. I’ll have Clema make you some tea.”
“No, don’t. I’ll get it.”
We waited a few months after Elliana’s birth to return to Dominic’s more permanent home in New York. After everything that had happened last year, we needed to find what normal would mean for us. Now, four months later, I wasn’t so sure that this was what I had in mind.
I made my way across the high-gloss wood, my socks dampening the sound of my footsteps through the quiet but large penthouse. We were on the top level of a high-rise on Fifth Avenue overlooking Central Park. When I told my sister, Jessa, where we were staying, she went batshit over what a place like this would cost. I didn’t know much about real estate or New York for that matter, but I knew when we pulled up that Dominic definitely was used to living like the top one percent.
The kitchen was just on the other side of a swinging door off the dining room.
Traversing the left side of the wall were dark slate-colored cabinets. On the right was a wall of windows that displayed a perfect view of Central Park and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.
It was 7 a.m., the time that Dominic would typically be getting ready to leave for some board meeting. Usually I would rush through my morning ritual of eating and showering before Elliana would wake up and I would be a slave to feeding, changing, entertaining, and generally looking after our little girl. There was always Clema around to help and she clearly had experience, seeing as how she was hired by Dominic’s parents to be his nanny and general caretaker, but it had been so long since Clema had cared for a baby that I felt like I was putting her out by having her watch Ellie. Even for the few times that I just needed to run out and grab something, it felt wrong to saddle Clema with her.
I looked beyond the wall of windows, down to the park below. The city was still wrapped in the blanket of winter—barren trees and ruddy leaves were all that adorned the park. The dreary look outside seemed to display the turmoil happening within our household. It’d only been two days since the official announcement, but I was on lockdown until further notice. Being imprisoned wasn’t new to me, but I still found myself battling feelings of claustrophobia all the same.
“Don’t leave this house without Scout, Hailey.” Scout was Dominic’s head of security and was around so often we had a wing dedicated just for his use. He was slightly shorter than Dominic, but where Dominic was tall with lean muscle, Scout was a barrel of a man with muscles that looked wound so tight, they might have burst. To say he was intimidating would be an understatement.
“Clema can make any runs that you would need. I understand you wanting to get out, but it’s not safe, not anymore. You have other people that depend on you now. I’m saying this for your own safety,” he said, his eyes awash in worry. He softened his command, blanketing his domineering nature in favor of a more manipulative one. It worked. I could no longer make the same mistakes that had allowed Dominic to kidnap me. I had a family to think about, a daughter that needed me. So instead of being obstinate, I acquiesced to his not-so-hidden demand.
On my final spring break before graduating, my sister, Jessa, and brother, Adam, had joined me on a vacation to Queensland, Australia, where we were learning to scuba dive. Adam suggested a nighttime excursion, which was where Dominic captured me, pulling me from the ocean after he’d shot me full of some drug that had knocked me out. Dominic’s methods were extreme, but for someone who was nearing his expiration date, he was resilient in a means to survive. A genetic disease put him on a donor list, but based on where he sat on the list, his chances were slim to none of receiving a new liver, and despite all of his money, he couldn’t buy his way to the top.
Through illegal means, he found out I was a match for him, thus beginning his stalking of me. He and Scout switched off following me for twelve months before finally taking me. He held me in his house in South Dakota for a couple months, only allowing me to leave for one night—to attend a ball where his colleagues were also in attendance. I took the opportunity to slip a note to a man that intended on doing business with Dominic, but that didn’t turn out so well.
How did I end up married to and having a baby with my abductor? From the very first day, even behind tightly pressed eyes, I could feel it when he entered the room. The way his body absorbed the darkness and flexed this palpable energy that anchored me down, as if my only way to salvation would be through him.
Then he kissed me.
It should have scared me; I should have been terrified of a man who would kidnap me and lick and kiss me as if he got off on the taste of my skin, but instead my body hummed with possibilities. That feeling only magnified
once we’d had sex and I became as scared as I was enthralled by the man who was like a moth to a flame—continuously returning to me to be burned by the intensity that we shared.
When we found out I was pregnant, it changed everything. I was no longer able to be his donor, forcing him to reveal the underlying reason why he took me. He didn’t just want me to be his donor; he wanted to keep me, forever. There was no denying that what he did to me was wrong, and it wasn’t something that I’d easily forgiven, but I loved Dominic and we were having a baby. Both of us knew what it was like to lose our parents, and I would’ve never wanted that for my own daughter, so I did what I believed was right for the both of us. I convinced Dominic that the only way to move forward was for us to return to my home, together.
I lifted the top cupboard up, revealing shelves stacked with medium-sized tins of rich colors that reminded me of the walls in the South Dakota home—forest greens, plum purples, ruby reds, and robin’s egg blues. I pulled out the sapphire tin of earl grey, grabbing a tea cloth before turning to the island to get my tea bag ready. After I measured out the leaves, I put the kettle on the stove and sat at the island while I waited for the water to boil.
Things had moved so fast the last few months that it was times like these—in the few moments of quiet solitude—when it all seemed to catch up to me. When the culmination of the last year finally hit me. The weight of my decisions made me feel like I would drown in the consequences if I allowed myself the time to sit in those thoughts any longer than it would take to finish my tea. Already we were seeing the ramifications of everything that happened last year. Could we handle the fallout of everything that would happen in the coming weeks? Dominic could keep me sequestered as much as he wanted, but that wouldn’t change the truth of our circumstances. Even with the released statement, there was no telling the damage that “rumor” would do to his image. He didn’t want me to worry, but I feared for our future.
The kettle whistled a screeching breath of air, echoing the feel of the screaming thoughts that ping-ponged across my mind like a pinball machine searching for a new slot to hide in. I took the water off the stove, letting it cool for a few minutes. The plume of steam from the hot water hit my face as I tipped the water into the mug with my satchel nestled against the inside of the ceramic. I felt like that cloth of tea leaves, needing to be propped up while everything poured down over me.
I wasn’t able to stew in those thoughts long because soon the side door to Clema’s room was opening and the slender woman with brown skin and comforting eyes joined me at the island. The loud whistle must have alerted her of my presence, and like usual, she was always eager to attend to our needs. I didn’t understand this about her when we first met—that helping others was ingrained in every fiber of her being—but after spending months together, without being Dominic’s victim, I began to see a clearer picture of who Clema was. In some ways, I felt I knew her better than Dominic did. Call it woman’s intuition.
“I would have gotten that for you, dear. You should relax. Let me take care of you.”
“You do take care of me. Honestly, I need something to keep me busy. I’m actually more worried about Dominic.”
“Dominic is strong. I’m sure he’s more worried about you. You’ve been through so much, Hailey. With everything that’s going on and being so far from your family, I know he just wants to make sure you’re doing OK.”
With an absent mind, I blew the steam rising from my mug and watched the white cloud float like the sail of a boat shaken loose by the wind. I knew when I came here that I would be moving even farther away from my family, but this was my new family, and though we started in a less than ideal way, there were things that Dominic did for me that I felt I owed him this.
We didn’t talk much about what our lives would be like after we moved to his home in New York, so I didn’t know what to expect. In a way we were still finding our way in a new marriage, with a baby, and for me, a new home. It was a lot to take in, and just when we were starting to get comfortable in our roles, the tabloids turned our world upside down. I feared we were only seeing the beginning of the fallout and was terrified of what that meant for everything we built in those last four months.
“There’s more water if you’d like to join me for some tea.”
“I’d like that very much.”
I moved to get up, but she stopped me with a soft hand on my forearm. “I’ve got it, dear. Sit.”
I watched in silence as she moved about, pulling a tin of tea down and fixing a mug for herself.
“It seems Elliana’s been getting better at sleeping through the night.”
“Yes, thank God. I read at four months old they should have a more regulated sleep pattern, which is a godsend for me. I mean you guys have been great, but I can’t wait until we can all sleep through the night.”
“It’s been nice having a baby in the house though. I forgot what it feels like, having a little one around. It’s been good for Dominic, too. I’ve never seen him like this. You’ve been good for him. I’ve always said that though.” Clema smirked to herself as she poured the boiling water into a mug.
Thoughts of those first few weeks in South Dakota came rushing back. She was right about Dominic. He had changed, but he wasn’t the only one. Back then, I treated Clema as if she were responsible for my kidnapping and now I couldn’t imagine being without her. She was as much my family as Dominic was.
“I treated you so awfully in South Dakota. I hate to even think about the things I said.” I cringed, which probably looked like I was wincing from the hot liquid that doused my tongue, masking my reaction to how I once treated Clema.
“You were so strong, Hailey. I admired your strength. Please don’t worry about how you treated me. I knew I deserved your anger, but sometimes it’s hard to challenge those closest to you. I wish I would have done more to convince him that what he was doing was wrong.”
She clutched the mug close to her chest and her face wrinkled, showing signs of her distress. She looked into the mug as if it replayed the secrets of her life, showing her how different things could have been. I didn’t want to interrupt. And even if I did, I didn’t really know what to say. We could go ‘round and ‘round about the who, whats, and whys, but that didn’t matter anymore. The truth was, I understood her confliction because in a way I felt the same. I didn’t want Dominic to die any more than she did. Dominic was the closest thing she had to a son, and I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to watch him slip deeper into an illness that would eventually claim his life.
“Good, I’ve got two of my three favorite girls here.” Dominic’s voice rang through the kitchen as blinding as the light that poured through the windows and kicked off the white island like a prism lighting up the sterile walls. Dominic stood between our stools, clutching Clema’s and my shoulders in an overly energetic mood that was a bit suspicious seeing as how he’d vacillated between contained rage and restrained fury since we first caught wind that the kidnapping report was going public.
“Hailey, I was thinking that you should give Jessa a call and see if she can come stay with us for a little while.”
I quirked an eyebrow, setting my mug back on the counter before I turned to my husband, looking across his stubbled jaw and into those chocolate eyes that were just as deceptive as they’d always been. His stare was unrelenting as he waited for my response. The flicker in his eyes, when I turned to address Clema, revealed he was caught off guard by my immediate avoidance of his suggestion.
“Clema,” I said, turning to the woman who most likely knew all of our secrets. She gave a subtle nod of her head, but I continued speaking more for Dominic’s sake so he knew how serious this conversation was turning. “Would you mind giving us a moment?”
“Of course. I’m going to go check on the little one. I’ll be back in a bit to get breakfast together.”
I nodded my head and watched her leave in the opposite direction toward the hallway. Before she crossed the thres
hold, Dominic—still looking in my eyes—said, “That won’t be necessary. I’ll take care of breakfast, Clema. Just take care of Ellie for the time being.”
“Of course,” she said, shooting me one last look while adjusting her oversized cardigan tighter around her midsection, as if a cold front swept through the room with the sudden chill marking Dominic’s words.
When the long corridor to the bedroom absorbed the sound of Clema’s footfalls, we stayed peering into each other’s eyes—him waiting for me to speak, and me trying to read what he was trying to hold back. Dominic always was complicated. It was nice to know that some things never changed.
“Well…are you going to tell me where this suggestion is coming from?”
“I think with everything going on, you could use the support.”
“I have support. So what’s really going on?”
“Have you even spoken to your sister since every fucking station across the globe started running this bullshit?” His cussing belied his otherwise calm and measured words, which was a drastic change from only two days before when he swept through our home like a charging bull when the news hit stations. For the last two days, the news had been spreading like wildfire, so much so that I couldn’t open a browser on the internet without seeing some pop-up or a small square of news reporting about “Billionaire Dominic Callas, Possibly Involved in Crime Against Wife.”
Under ordinary circumstances, I spoke to my sister every day, but after the news hit, I avoided just about every form of technology. I only turned on the TV this morning to see our lawyer’s statement being reported.
“You know I haven’t,” I said in a voice a bat would struggle to hear. I was suddenly ashamed that I had avoided my own twin, the person who I was closest to for the last twenty-three years.
His next moves were methodical in the absence of emotion—the way he peered into my empty mug, the way his hands caressed the porcelain through the running water, before depositing it in the dishwasher. It was a dance of domesticity that Dominic did so rarely, which drew more attention to the otherwise unimportant act.
