Read Online Tormented (Evolution Series Book 2) by Kelly Carrero - Free Book Online

there would be no reason to doubt her. The only thing I could think of was that she may have only known my mum as her pen name. I was never sure why, but my mother used another name to publish her work. At first, I had thought it was because she wanted to keep her work life separate from her private life, but as I got older, that didn’t make as much sense. After all, she lived for her work, so much so that she was hardly ever home.
    “What about Melissa Hart?” I asked.
    There was instant recognition as soon as I said that name, and my heart skipped a beat when her thoughts immediately went to a conversation she’d had with Melissa Hart in the coffee room that morning about how their boss was forever busting their balls.
    “Breathe,” Aiden said. It still felt strange being able to talk to him when we were so far apart, but I was so glad I could.
    “She’s here,” I said to him.
    “I’ll just get her for you,” the receptionist said with a concerned look on her face. She was wondering what the hell was up with me, why my eyes had practically popped out of their sockets after I asked her about Melissa. She picked up the phone, but paused before dialling . “Are you sure you’re okay?”
    “Um, yeah,” I replied, trying to pull myself together. But just the thought of seeing my mum was making me feel like jumping up and down, screaming, and passing out, all at the same time.
    “Hi, Mel,” the receptionist said into the phone. “I have a young lady out here wanting to speak with you.” She paused, then lifted her eyes up to me and said, “Just a sec,” into the phone. She had forgotten to ask my name because of how weird I was acting.
    “Jade,” I answered before she had a chance to ask.
    Sandy smiled at me, then repeated my name into the phone before hanging up.
    “Melissa will be out in a moment,” she said. “If you’d like to take a seat while you wait…” She pointed towards the sitting area to the side of her desk.
    “Thanks.” I barely managed to speak with all the adrenalin pumping through my body.
    Before I had a chance to take my seat, the sound of high heels clanking across the laminated floor hit me. But when the owner of the heels came into view, I was able to let out the breath that I was holding. It wasn’t Mum.
    “Jade?” the blond-haired woman asked when I turned to head toward a chair.
    Turning back to face her, I said, “Yeah?”
    She stopped in front of me and held out her hand. “I’m Melissa Hart. You wanted to speak with me?”
    I reached out and shook her hand so as not to seem rude. “I’m sorry, but I’m after the Melissa Hart who writes for The Gold Coast Bulletin.”
    She looked at me for a moment before responding. “That’s me,” she replied, trying to work out why I was acting so weird. She was also hoping that I would get on with asking what I had come there for, so she could get back to work.
    The woman standing in front of me truly believed she was Melissa Hart.
    I knew that the next few words that were going to come out of my mouth were going to make me look like I was off my face, tripping on some mind-altering drug, but I had to ask. I had to know. And what I needed to know wasn’t going to come from their mouths; it would come from their thoughts. “Look, I’m looking for my mother, Nikki Sommers , who works under the pen name Melissa Hart. She’s worked for this paper since I can remember. Do either of you know her?”
    I was right in my assumption that they would think I was nuts, but I wasn’t prepared for hearing that they had both never heard of Nikki Sommers , and the Melissa Hart standing in front of me was the same Melissa Hart whose name appeared in the paper every day.
    Before either of them had a chance to voice their thoughts, I asked, “What about Harry Cross? Is he around?”
    “Who?” Melissa asked, getting ready to call security on me. On second thought, she was thinking maybe she needed to call the police.
    “Your boss?”