Page 347 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 7

“It was more about the castle than the lake. God, she loved that castle. She always said that someday she’d live in a castle likethat.” My voice caught in my throat as I said it.And now she’ll never get the chance.

Tanner walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll find her, Ash. And we’ll find her a castle to live in.”

The thought made me smile. Even if there was no way he’d actually be able to make good on that promise. Well…he could certainly buy her a castle. But the odds of him finding her were slim.

“So you baked your cupcakes and headed to the lake,” said Marty. “Then what?”

“I expected to find her sketching Belvedere Castle, but instead, all I found was her half-finished sketch lying in the grass. And Rosalie was nowhere to be seen.”

“Half-finished? Can you put that in terms of minutes? And what time did you arrive? If you can give me some estimates, then I can put it all together to determine roughly what time Rosalie disappeared.”

Damn.That was smart. I’d never thought to do that, and the cops investigating her case certainly hadn’t. But there was just one problem. “I know I got there just before 8 a.m. But Rosalie and punctuality were not friends. She was a free spirit. She’d always make plans with me, but I never knew for sure if she’d show up. And don’t get me started about her art… Sometimes she’d work on a piece for twenty minutes and then frame it on her wall. Other times she’d work for days and it would end up in the trash. So I have no idea how long she’d been there.”

Marty nodded. “No problem. And do you remember if it was particularly windy?”

“Uh…no. Why?”

He waved it off. “I can check the forecast from that day. If it was windy, then it’s unlikely that her drawing would have lingered on the ground for very long. Putting her time of disappearance closer to your arrival.”

Another thing I’d never thought of. I closed my eyes and put myself back at the park on that day. “Actually…I do remember. It was a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. And just a slight breeze.” Her birthday was always perfect. Just like her.

Marty took more notes. “Got it. Please continue.”

I kept my eyes closed and relived the horror of that day. “I texted her. Called her. Waited for her. I wasn’t too worried at that point. Like I said…she was kinda flaky. I assumed she’d forgotten something at home or something. After an hour, I got tired of waiting and went by her apartment.”

Marty flipped through his notes and asked me to confirm her address and the time that I’d arrived there.

I nodded. “I tried calling her work and her friends. No one had heard from her all day. And no one…” I stopped and brushed a tear off my cheek. “No one ever heard from her again.”

Tanner handed me a tissue from his desk.

“The police got involved that night. They brought out sniffing dogs and made a whole scene of searching the entirety of Central Park. The news picked up the story. The whole city was searching for my sweet, beautiful sister. I’d been so hopeful those first few days. With so many people involved, how could we not find her? But as no clues turned up, the public lost interest. And then the police did too. I think the case is technically still open, but I’m pretty sure it’s just a file in some database. I doubt any cop has thought about Rosalie in years.”

The look on Marty’s face told me I was right.

“I haven’t forgotten about her, though. And I still go to the lake every year on her birthday. My stupid ex-husband would come too. We’d eat her favorite cupcakes and I’d sit around telling him all my favorite stories about her. Even if she was gone, telling the stories made it feel like a little part of her was still with me. And then when the sun had set and my voice was hoarse from talking so much, we’d leave one cupcake for her and go home.”

“Maybe when you go tomorrow she’ll be there waiting for you,” said Tanner to try to cheer me up. It was a nice thought - and that idea was partially why I went back every year - but nothing was going to stop the tears running down my cheeks. It felt like it had just happened yesterday.

“Do you remember…” started Marty, but Tanner cut him off.

“I think that’s enough for today,” said Tanner. I’d never heard him sound so stern.

“No,” I said, sniffing back the snot threatening to run down my face. “I want to answer all his questions.” I needed to bestrong for Rosalie. I turned back to Marty. “What do you need to know?”

“Was Rosalie acting strange at all before she disappeared?”

“Not really.” I blotted away my tears as quickly as I could. “She’d been distant for a few weeks, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Depending on how wrapped up in her art she was, I wouldn’t hear from her for weeks. And then she’d call me every day for a month.”

“Had anyone new come into her life recently?”

“Yes, but I’d be hard-pressed to tell you who. She was always getting new roommates and dating new boys. Every time I talked to her it seemed like she had a new boyfriend.”

“From a dating app?”

“Uh. I know she was on Tinder at one point. But then she got tired of that and tried another. And then she claimed to give up dating apps altogether, but her endless stream of suitors continued.”

The questions continued like this for at least another hour. I tried to get a read on if my information was helping at all, but Marty was a brick wall. His face betrayed nothing. But his questions gave me hope. There were at least three times when he pulled some obscure detail out of my brain that I had never thought was important.