The End of a Marriage (Colette and Matheo) novel Chapter 198

Chapter 198

Graham leaned against the fireplace, his jaw clenched tightly.

Maggie’s words echoed the fears already circling in his mind. Isla had

lived within the protective walls of Thornfield Manor all her life, her

world no larger than the rolling fields and familiar faces of Willow

Creek. She didn’t understand the harshness of the outside world, its

dangers, its cruelty. She had no knowledge of navigating life beyond

this small, insular town where everyone knew her and, for the most

part, watched out for her.

If she had truly left town–ventured into the unknown–his chest

tightened at the thought. Isla, with her soft–spoken nature and

unworldly innocence, wouldn’t stand a chance against people who

didn’t care about her or her history. She could be lost, alone, or

worse. The possibilities clawed at his mind, dark and relentless.

By evening, a shadow deeper and heavier than even the grief after Robert Lancaster’s death had fallen over the manor. The atmosphere was thick with dread and uncertainty, the kind of fear that came from not knowing, from imagining the worst. Each passing hour without word from Isla felt like a weight bearing down on Graham’s chest. Guilt gnawed at him relentlessly now. His father had entrusted Isla’s care to him, explicitly reminding him that she wasn’t just part of the estate he’d inherited, but a part of his family, his responsibility.

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“Take care of her for me, son,” his father had said in those final,

fragile days.

Graham remembered the little girl Isla had been when he was a

teenager, chasing him around the gardens in her dungarees and

pigtails, laughing as he handed her toffees. Over the years, she had

grown quieter, more reserved, but she was still that same girl to him.

She had been like a shadow, always present but never intruding. And

now she was gone, slipping away into the unknown when he hadn’t

been paying attention. “Isla,” he muttered under his breath, his voice

heavy with regret. “Where did you go?”

As night fell, Graham finally gave the order for Edwin to call the

police. Within ten minutes, a pair of officers arrived at the manor,

their somber expressions mirroring the household’s mood.

They began with the basics, taking down Isla’s description and the

timeline of events. “You say she was last seen at dinner last night?”

the lead officer asked, his pen scratching across a notepad.

“Yes,” Graham said, his voice clipped. “This morning, she was gone.”

“Does she have any other family, anyone she might have gone to stay

with?” the officer asked.

Graham frowned, thinking. “There’s an aunt in Missouri,” he said

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finally, though his tone was uncertain. “But to my knowledge, Isla has never met her. It seems unlikely she would go there.”

“Still,” the officer replied, “it’s worth confirming. Do you have a way

to contact her?”

“I’ll find her number,” Graham said. He made a mental note to check his father’s papers for the information.

The officer nodded, flipping a page in his notepad. “Aside from Mr. Lancaster’s passing, has there been any other conflict or event that might have made Ms. Isla decide to leave? Any arguments or

disagreements?”

Graham shook his head firmly. “Nothing happened,” he said. But even

as he spoke, a shadow of doubt crept into his mind. Was there

something he had missed?

“Noted,” the officer replied, his tone neutral as he jotted down Graham’s response. “What about relationships? Did she have a boyfriend or close friend she might have gone to stay with?”

Maggie interjected this time, her voice shaking. “No boyfriend. And her friends in town haven’t seen her either. Master Graham and Edwin spoke to them earlier.”

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