Page 105 of Miss Trust

Tory

The ringing phone with Chance’s number went straight to voicemail. I should have blocked him, but that would have made me an even worse employee than I already was.

Daisy raised a brow but didn’t comment. We continued down the aisles of Bed Bath and Beyond to pick out new towels, dishes, and bedding for the pool house. The remodel was Lorna’s, but we got the fun part of picking out the accessories. It occurred to me I was purchasing items for a house I wouldn’t be living in for much longer.

Daisy’s phone rang next. “Hello?” She glanced at me. “Um. Yeah, hold on.” She handed it over. “It’s for you.”

“Who is it?”

She sighed, not bothering to lie. “It’s Chance. He says it’s urgent.”

Ugh. I grabbed her cell phone. “Unless this is to voice a preference for colors of towels, I don’t want to talk to you.”

“I know. But this isn’t about me. It’s about my sister, Kelsey.”

His tone told me this was serious. “What about her? Is she okay?”

“I’m not sure. I was on the way to Dubai when her fiancé called worried about her. They’d had a fight. Then just a little while ago, she sent me a disturbing text. I might be overreacting to it, but she’s only ever been with Joel, so I have no clue how she’s doing. She may be at the beach house in Newport. Reid is on his way, but he’s further north than you are. Mona is with Penelope. Malik is with me in a plane over the Pacific Ocean. Carmen is in Vegas. I hate to ask but—”

“I’ll go.” Chance didn’t ask for help lightly, and I wouldn’t turn down a plea from a loving brother no matter how much he’d hurt me.

“Thank you. I’ll be there as fast as we can, but text me if you find her. Please.”

“I will.”

He sighed audibly. “Okay. I’ll text you the garage code to get in and the house alarm code, so you can deactivate it. If the house is empty, it should be set.”

I hung up and handed Daisy her phone. “Something may be wrong with Chance’s sister. I’m driving to Orange County to his beach cottage to see if she’s there. You want to come?”

“Of course.”

Luckily, the traffic gods were with us, and it only took an hour to get to Newport Beach.

“Wow, this is his little beach cottage?” Daisy asked, pulling up in the driveway of the gorgeous three-story mansion.

“I imagined it would be a cute little cottage.” It was too sophisticated for cute and not at all little.

We walked up to the front door and hit the doorbell. Nothing.

“What do we do?”

“He gave me the garage code to get in.” We went around the back where I punched in the code.

“It’s quiet,” Daisy remarked, following me inside.

“It is. She may not be here.”

As soon as we were inside the house, I called out, “Kelsey, are you here?”

Nothing.

I had a thought. “I didn’t hear a warning for the house alarm. Chance told me it would be set.”

Daisy and I both shared a look of concern before climbing the stairs. I called out again, but no answer. Finally, I checked the master bedroom and spotted the figure in the big king-sized bed. “Kelsey.” I rushed over and put my hand on her shoulder. There were pill bottles on the nightstand table.

She didn’t stir. “Kelsey. Wake up.” My hand went to her neck where I thankfully found a pulse. “Kelsey.”

She finally opened her eyes. I glanced over to Daisy inspecting the bottles.