Chapter 9 Jasper's POV Half a month . More Rewards > Half a month of waking up to an empty house . Half a month of calling Scarlett's phone just to hear her voicemail . Half a month of pretending everything is fine and hale . She doesn't seem to be joking this time . She's really angry . I stare at the untouched breakfast . The eggs are cold . Again . The toast , soggy . Virginia can't make anything right . " You need to eat something , " she says , sitting across from me . " You're getting too thin ." I push the plate away . " I'm not hungry . " " You're not a robot . How can you not be hungry when you didn't eat anything last night ? " There's something in her voice I can't quite place . Bitterness ? " Maybe it's time to accept that she's not coming back ." The doorbell rings before I can respond . I check the time - it's barely nine in the morning . Who the hell visits this early ? Through the peephole , I see James and Blair Stone . Scarlett's parents . My stomach drops . " Jasper , " Blair says the moment I open the door . Her eyes are red - rimmed , her face pale . " Have you heard from Scarlett ? " " No. " The word comes out rougher than I intended . " Not since she left . " " It's been two weeks since we talked to her , " James adds , his voice tight with worry . " Two weeks without a word . This isn't like her . " I step aside to let them in . Virginia disappears upstairs , probably sensing the tension . " She's pregnant ," Blair continues , pacing the living room . " Eight months pregnant , and she's out there somewhere alone . What if something happened to her ? What if she went into labor early ? " The thought makes my chest tighten . " She wouldn't put herself in danger . Not with the baby . " " Wouldn't she ? " James turns to face me . " You left her on a highway in the middle of the night . She walked away from everything she knew . Does that sound like someone making rational decisions ? " 1/5 Chapter 9 More Rewards His words hit like a punch to the gut . Because he's right . I did that . I left my pregnant wife alone on a dark road because Virginia needed me . God , what kind of man does that ? " I've been trying to reach her , " I say weakly . " She won't answer my calls . " " Have you tried her friend ? That girl Chloe ? " Blair asks . My head snaps up . Of course . Chloe . Why didn't I think of that earlier ? " I know where she lives ," I say , already grabbing my keys . " Come on . " The drive to Chloe's apartment feels endless . Every red light is torture , every minute another moment Scarlett could be in danger . Blair sits in the passenger seat , wringing her hands . James stares out the window , his jaw clenched . Chloe's building is in the artsy part of town , all exposed brick and fire escapes . I take the stairs two at a time , my heart hammering against my ribs . I pound on her door . " Chloe ! Open up ! " The door swings open , and there she is . Scarlett's best friend , looking like she just rolled out of bed . Her dark hair is messy , her eyes sharp with annoyance . " What the hell , Jasper ? It's not even ten- " She stops when she sees Blair and James behind me . " Oh . " " Where is she ? " I demand . " Where's Scarlett ? " " Not here . " Chloe crosses her arms , blocking the doorway . " And before you ask , no , you can't come in . " " Please ," Blair steps forward . " We just need to know she's safe . We haven't heard from her in two weeks . " " Two weeks ? " Chloe's laugh is bitter . " That's funny . You waited two weeks to care about her ? " " What's that supposed to mean ? " James asks . " It means you replaced her with your real daughter the second you found out the truth . You froze her accounts , gave away her inheritance , and basically told her she didn't belong in your family anymore . " Chloe's voice rises . " And now you want to play concerned parents ? " " That's not- " Blair starts . " Isn't it ? " Chloe cuts her off . " You let Virginia move into Scarlett's childhood bedroom . You 215 < Chapter 9 More Rewards > gave her the jewelry you'd been saving for Scarlett . You made it crystal clear who mattered more . " The words hang in the air like an accusation . Because they're true . Every single word . " Is she here or not ? " I ask through gritted teeth . " No. She's not here . " " Then where is she ? " " Somewhere you can't hurt her anymore . " Chloe's eyes narrow . " All of you . " " We're not trying to hurt her , " Blair says , tears streaming down her face . " We love her . We raised her . She's our daughter too . " " Funny way of showing it . " " Just tell us where she is ," I plead . " I need to know she's okay . " " Why ? So you can drag her back here ? So you can make her watch you choose Virginia over her again ? " Chloe shakes her head . " She's done with that . She's done with all of you . " " She's my wife- " " No , she's not . " Chloe disappears into the apartment for a moment , then returns with something in her hand . " Not anymore . " She holds up a photo . It takes me a second to realize what I'm looking at . Divorce papers . Signed and dated . -My signature is right there at the bottom , neat and official . " She got these back last week ," Chloe says . " Congratulations . You're officially divorced . " The world tilts . " That's impossible . " " Is it ? You signed them , didn't you ? " " No. " The word comes out like a croak . " I never signed anything . " Chloe's expression shifts slightly . " What do you mean ? " " I mean I never signed divorce papers . I never even saw them after she left . " " But ... " Chloe looks at the photo again . " This is your signature . " 3/5 < Chapter 9 More Rewards > " It's not mine . " I lean closer , studying the image . The handwriting looks like mine , but something's off . The ' J ' is too curved , the ' r ' too straight . " Someone forged this . " " Who would- " Chloe stops mid - sentence . Her eyes widen . " Oh my God . " " What ? " " Virginia . " The name comes out like a curse . " That manipulative little- " " Virginia wouldn't do that . " But even as I say it , doubt creeps in . The divorce papers that went missing from my house . Virginia's insistence that Scarlett leaving was " for the best . " The way she's been pushing me to move on . " Wouldn't she ? " Chloe's voice is deadly quiet . " The same woman who's been sabotaging your marriage for three years ? The same woman who times her panic attacks to ruin every special moment you have with Scarlett ? " My stomach drops . " You think she's been doing it on purpose ? " " I don't think it . I know it ." Chloe steps closer . " That woman has been playing a long game , Jasper . And you fell for it completely . " " Where is Scarlett ? " I ask again , more desperate now . " Please . I need to fix this . " " She's gone . " Chloe's voice softens slightly . " She left the city . She's starting over somewhere new . " " Where ? " " I can't tell you that . " " Why not ? " " Because she asked me not to . " Chloe meets my eyes . " She said if anyone came looking for her , I should tell them she's happy . She's free . And she's never coming back . " Never coming back . My wife - my pregnant wife is gone , and she's never coming back . " She's having my baby ," I whisper . " Oh yeah ? And you're just realizing this now ? " Chloe sneers , the look in her eyes making me shift my gaze . " Well , she's gone now . And she's going to raise that little girl far away from all of you . In a safe environment where she won't be hurt anymore . " " We can change ," Blair says desperately . " We can make this right . " " Can you ? " Chloe asks . " Can you undo three years of making her feel worthless ? Can you 4/5 < Chapter 9 More Rewards take back all the times you chose Virginia over her ? Can you give her back the family she thought she had ? " Silence . " I didn't think so . " Chloe steps back into her apartment . " Do yourselves a favor . Move on . Find happiness with your real daughter . And leave Scarlett alone . " The door slams in our faces . I stand there for a long moment , staring at the closed door . My wife is gone . My baby is gone . What the hell have I been doing ? Now they're gone and it's all my fault . " I need to find her . " " How ? " James asks . " We don't even know where she went ." " I'll hire a private investigator . I'll search every city if I have to . " " Jasper- " " No. " I turn to face them . " This is my wife we're talking about . Pregnant and missing . I will find her even if it means turning this city upside down . " < Chapter 10