Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1209

His lips moved a couple times before he finally squeezed out a sentence.

“I didn’t know anything happened to Winona. I swear, I had no idea!”

“Call the police.”

Tarquin spoke up suddenly, his voice calm and steady.

Those three words nearly gave Zane a heart attack. “Sarah can’t have anything to do with Winona! There’s no need to call the cops!”

Keaton raised an eyebrow.

“And how can you be so sure? If she’s not involved, then what was all that yelling about? Besides, calling the cops isn’t going to hurt her. Why are you so rattled?”

Zane: “…”

Keaton went on, “Call the police. If Sarah really has nothing to do with Winona’s disappearance, the police will figure that out. If she does, maybe she’s the key to finding out who’s behind all this!”

The mastermind?

Zane: “!”

Before he could protest, Elysia had already dialed 911.

“Hello? I need to report something. We…”

Zane’s chest tightened, his breathing grew ragged. Panic flooded him.

This was spiraling so far out of his control he could barely think.

The police arrived fast, separating Winona and Sarah, who’d both been fighting like cats in an alley.

Sarah was a mess—her face swollen, lips split, bruises everywhere. She couldn’t even cry properly; every sob made her cut mouth bleed.

But Winona, she was wailing, loud and desperate.

“She’s evil! Arrest her! She hit my husband, and she beat me too! She locked me in the cellar and whipped me! She cut me with a pocketknife, just look!”

Winona rolled up her sleeves and pulled up her jeans, showing the cops her scars—raw, angry marks crisscrossing her skin.

Zane caught sight of those wounds and thought about the cellar. He was so scared he could barely breathe, let alone say a word in Sarah’s defense.

“Winona!” Zane called after her.

Caroline stepped in front of him, her face thunderous. She slapped him, hard.

“You need to explain everything that’s going on with you and your cousin. And you’d better bring some proof, something that’ll convince us!”

“If you can’t explain yourself, don’t even think about taking Winona home!”

“And don’t forget—Winona wouldn’t accuse Sarah for no reason. You’re the one who brought Sarah into our family. If she’s involved in Winona’s disappearance, you’re just as guilty! You’ll have to answer for it!”

With that, Caroline stormed inside.

Zane made to follow, but Ridley grabbed his arm.

“Don’t. Your mom’s furious right now. Give her space. I believe you, son.”

Classic good cop, bad cop—Ridley playing the understanding dad, Caroline the furious mom.

Meanwhile, Tarquin and Keaton leaned against the wall, hands in their pockets, watching the whole show go down like they had front row seats at a Broadway drama.