A New Foundation by Rochelle Alers (philippa perry book txt) 📕

her. After all, she hadn’t put enough clothes in the bag to last more than that.

Taylor counted off the days: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It was now Sunday and Sonja hadn’t come back or returned any of his calls, but he didn’t want to believe he’d lost her. His apprehension increased knowing it wasn’t the first time she’d walked away from a relationship.

He’d become a detective when he accessed the credit card he’d given her and discovered she hadn’t used it for gas, food or lodging. He thought about calling her uncle before realizing that wasn’t a good idea. If Nelson didn’t know where she was and he had to explain what had happened, the situation could possibly turn hostile between him and the retired police officer.

Taking the cell phone off the bedside table, he called the one person he could talk to without prejudice. “What’s up, Taylor?”

“You don’t want to know, Viola.”

“What’s the matter?”

He registered the apprehension in his sister’s voice. “I need to talk to you about Sonja.”

“What did you do to her?”

“Is she there with you?”

“No. I spoke to her a couple of days ago to let her know I’m planning to leave The Cellar at the end of the summer and then hang out with you until the mansion’s kitchen is up and running.”

The news rendered Taylor speechless. “When were you going to tell me?” he asked, recovering his voice.

“I just told you.”

“Stop playing games.”

“And don’t take that tone with me, Taylor Williamson. I am not responsible for what went down between you and Sonja.”

Taylor knew he had to tell his sister about his relationship with her friend; he had no one else to talk to. “We had a disagreement and she left, and I haven’t seen or heard from her since Thursday.”

“What did you do to her?”

“It wasn’t what I did but what I said.”

“Tell me everything, Taylor, and don’t leave anything out.”

Taylor was forthcoming when he told his sister about his relationship with Sonja and their agreement to live together and the importance of trust. “I violated that trust when I saw her with another man and accused her of being unfaithful. That’s when she told me I was just like her ex-husband.”

“She’s right, Taylor. The only difference is your ages. Her ex was more than twenty years older than Sonja and a predator. He loved younger women, and as a college professor he preyed on his female students. Sonja told me he was handsome, charming and erudite, and she fell hard for him. When he noticed younger men staring at her he suspected she was flirting with them. The one time he spotted her hugging one of his male students he went into a jealous rage and accused her of sleeping with the innocent boy. She denied it, and he begged her to forgive him and that it would never happen again. But it did happen again over and over, and that’s when Sonja knew she’d made a mistake marrying Hugh Davies.

“She moved out of their bedroom and refused to host his parties. He turned on her. He placed a tracking device on her car and stopped giving her money. She looked so ashamed, Taylor, when she admitted to me that she’d begun stealing from her husband whenever he put down his wallet. Two dollars here and five dollars at another time. After a while she had enough money to buy a prepaid phone and hid it where she knew he would never find it.

“Then the monster made her a prisoner in her own home after he changed the locks on the doors in the house and refused to give her a set of keys. It was a double cylinder lock where you needed a key to unlock the door from the inside to get out. She waited two months before she began pilfering again. This time it was tens and twenties because she was planning to escape. She gave the SOB four years of her life because she’d hoped it would get better, but it never got better.

“There were times when she wanted to call her father to tell him what she had been going through but knew he would’ve murdered Hugh. She finally was able to escape after she found a second set of keys. She walked away when he went out of town for a conference. She never asked her husband to love her. All she wanted was for him to trust her. I was the only one who knew what her ex did to her, and now you know.”

Taylor felt an icy shiver eddy down his back as if doused by cold water. Sonja had told him about feeling smothered but hadn’t given him any details of what she’d endured with her ex-husband. Now he knew why she’d insisted he trust her. “I’m sorry, Viola.”

“Don’t tell me, Taylor! Tell your girlfriend.”

“I’ve called and left voice mail messages for her to call me. She hasn’t returned any of them.”

“I’m going to do this one favor for you, brother, and if you mess it up then you’re on your own. I’m going to call her and let her know I’ve spoken to you. I’m also going to tell her to send you a text to let you know she’s safe. And you’re going to text her back that you’re willing to give her as much time as she needs to get her head straight. That can be either two days, two weeks or even two months. I’m warning you, Taylor. If you put pressure on her to come back, you will lose her—for good.”

“Okay, Viola.”

“Say it like you mean it, Taylor.”

“I promise not to put any pressure on her.”

“That’s better, brother love. I’ll talk to you at another time about why I’ve decided to become executive chef for Bainbridge House.”

“Thank you, baby sis.”

“You’re welcome. I’m on vacation for the next two weeks, so if you need a shoulder I’ll rent a car, drive up and hang out with