Stefan was going to be the next one to get a piece of my mind. He had obviously been the one to tell my dad about her being a stripper. It wasn't his business to do that, and he was going to find that out first hand.
I was fucking pissed, a shaken bottle not done popping yet. My dad went down, and now it was Stefan's turn.
He had wriggled his fingers into my world. And I didn't like that one bit. I thought he had let it go after the whole incident at the mansion. A couple weeks had gone by, and he acted like his usual self. A sneaky, creepy butler.
I was able to relax, thought he maybe realized that he'd gone too far. Now I knew he didn't, he had just waited to tell my father. Waited to make sure he had exposed her at the perfect time for my dad to really jab her with his serrated blade.
He was going to pay for this, and I was going to make sure he understood how badly he fucked up.
Crossing through the living room, it was empty. He hadn't brought her to that phone, but it was close to the party. For an important phone call like that from her family, she might have wanted to have a little more space from the hoots and hollers of drunken guests.
“Noella? Stefan?” I called out through the hall as I entered. There was nothing but silence, no muffled voices, no patter of feet. Where the hell did he take her?
Spotting Claudette, one of the maids, I asked, “Claude, have you seen Stefan and Noella? She had a call and I'm not sure what room they went to.”
“No, Sir. I haven't seen them. But maybe they went to your father's office.” Shrugging her shoulders, she continued dusting the pictures lining the walls.
Turning towards my father's office, I stopped to listen. There was still nothing, no sounds, no movements. Everything was dead silent.
My heart started to beat against my chest, breathing heavily, my lungs strained to keep calm. The two of them were nowhere to be found.
Alright, calm down. They have to be around here somewhere. Maybe she got bad news? Maybe she needed to get some air? Rubbing my forehead, I started for the backyard.
There was a courtyard outside, plenty of lounge chairs filled the area around the pool. Noella could be there, getting her head together, I thought, as I scanned a few more empty rooms. She had just been belittled and embarrassed, and I had no fucking clue what her phone call was about.
Standing at the double glass doors, I tried to look through the glass. The reflection from inside mirrored the room behind me, I couldn't see a damn thing. Gripping the handle I tore the door the open, and walked briskly into the darkness.
Shifting my head side to side, my eyes bulged out, trying to make out any shapes in the black winter night. “Noella! Stefan!” I yelled out. And still nothing.
Fear began to settle in my skull, crawling down my spine and wrenching its fingers into my chest. Running through the snow, I reached the front of the house. Twisting my head in all directions, I looked for anyone. Any shape, any person I could find.
“Mr. Alexander? Is everything alright?” Anthony, the valet attendant asked, walking up from behind.
Jerking around, I ran my hand over my jaw. “Have you seen Noella? Or Stefan?” Leaning forward I rested my palms on my knees. I was out of breath from running and the frozen air I had swallowed.
“Yes, they came through a little while ago. Why?” Arching his brow, he drove his hands into his pockets.
“Where did they go? Did you see where they went?” Gripping his shoulders, I squeezed down hard, shaking him.
“Stefan said he needed to drive her somewhere, they seemed to be in a rush too. What's going on, Sir? Are you okay? Concern started to blend with his confusion.
“Where did they go, Anthony? I need to know where they went.” For the first time in my life, I felt completely lost. My head ached, trying to put pieces of vague insight together. Why would she leave without coming to tell me? Why would she leave with him?
“I'm not sure, Sir. Stefan said something about her family and getting her to them.” Furrowing his brows, he said, “I think he said a name... Uh, Bernadette.”
Opening my eyes wide, my mind was spinning. Bernadette? Bernadette? Is that a hospital? Her mother's name? I was trying to figure out what place he was talking about exactly. If Noella needed to leave and be somewhere, why didn't she come and get me? Or waited for me and told me what was going on?
Digging into my pocket, I yanked out my cell phone. Scrolling to her name, I hit the call button. The ringing seemed to climb through my whole body, vibrating through my bones and shaking me to the core.
The sound was endless, each drawn out tone, rolling and being followed by another. A click echoed and it was her voicemail. Fuck! Answer your phone! Dialing again, I still got nothing.
Even my text messages went unanswered. Anthony's words replayed over and over in my head. Then it hit me.