LAURA GREENE
A DISAPPEARANCE
Mystery Thriller
WHO DO YOU TRUST NOW?
Copyright © 2021 Laura Greene – All rights Reserved
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
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About the Author
Chapter 1
Why didn’t they just kill me? Melody ponders, frustrated. It’s not that she wanted to lose her life, but that she was certain she was a goner this time.
Her lifeless body lies still, with exhaustion. It’s not like her to be so limb. If she could move it she would, but she really can’t right now, and it’s beginning to worry her. Whatever she has been through, she can tell, has taken a toll on her physically.
Just moments ago, Melody regained consciousness from what seemed like a rather abrupt blackout. Her mind is foggy; she can’t recall a thing. As hard as she tries to remember what happened to land her in this situation, searching her mind, a wall seems to have been placed on her brain, blocking any recollection of the most recent events of her life.
But she is alive.
For now, at least. Her eyes are still shut though she has spent the last few minutes trying with all her might to open them. Barely, do her eyeballs waver beneath her non-fluttering eyelids. It’s as if her body is shutting out each attempt to draw in memory of… Was it minutes? Hours? Days? She does not know. But she must find out.
Melody’s love of adventure has landed her in many dangerous predicaments this past month and a half that she has spent in Scotland. She did not plan to take this trip, but Uncle Tobias drew her in with a threat to shut down her entire archeology dig. With her team anticipating this trip, she just couldn’t stand to let him eradicate her project. She hates to admit it, but her uncle is powerful and has been known to stop major operations of small countries with just a phone call.
She hates to admit weakness, but she had no choice. Perhaps, that is why she is so frustrated. Uncle Tobias sent her to find her estranged father, and Deacon Island, an isle of Scotland was the last place he was located. Few outside of her family can really appreciate the awkwardness of trying to locate someone you feel you should know well, but know so little of.
Yet, here she is.
It’s been years since she last saw him. Her father would disappear on international trips that Uncle Tobias planned for him, without so much as a goodbye. Then show up unannounced, just to leave again shortly after his arrival. He just upped and left her for much of her childhood and teenage years, and over time, Melody learned to focus on her mother’s side of the family. At least there, she had a sense of stability.
It had honestly been easier to ignore her father’s side of the family, that is, until Uncle Tobias infiltrated her life – and he cannot take no for an answer. It’s not that Melody does not care for her father, but she spent so many years hoping that her father would come back and live a more stable lifestyle where he can be present in her life more, then as the years went by, she learned he was not going to change. The only change she could make was her own – to move on with her life.
Then Uncle Tobias sent one of his goons. Before long, Melody Harker had a new alias – she was now Melody Winter. She was no longer an archeologist, for the sake of her safety and to appear more believable in her new role, she became a teacher to little Rebecca, niece to Will and Max Deacon, and her motive became researching for a book she is writing on the history of Deacon Island.
Little did she know that she had taken over her father’s life and replaced him in the very house where he was last seen before disappearing. It was difficult at first, maintaining her alias, but it got easier with time as she discovered clues and learned who might have had reason to get rid of her father.
She was so close.
Melody stretches her neck to one side. Her dizziness is wearing off and she is regaining feeling in her limbs. She stretches her arms and legs. She can tell they have been stiff for some time. Then, with laborious, desperate breaths, her chest moves up and down longing to fill with air again. The sharp, painful stings as she breathes remind her that she is above ground. It fills her with hope; but her eyes are still heavy with sleep.
Now, she focuses her attention on reopening her eyes.
How long have I been out? She wonders. For the second time since she arrived on Deacon Island, her body feels like she has been dragged down a hill of jagged rocks. What happened? For Melody, danger is starting to become her new normal.
A thrilling discomfort rushes
