Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 164263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 821(@200wpm)___ 657(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 821(@200wpm)___ 657(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
“A human heart.”
His horrified eyes flick up to meet mine. “What the….?” He pulls the plastic back and he steps back from it as if seeing a ghost. “Are you sure?”
“I….” I grip the table, feeling woozy too. “I don’t know.”
“What’s going on?” Philippe asks from behind him.
“Somebody sent something….” William shakes his head in disbelief. “Call the police.”
Whispers in the hallways, police interviewing people, fingerprints, and bodyguards everywhere you look.
A morbid cloud hangs over Monte Carlo.
Edward hasn’t said a word to anyone since the package arrived yesterday. He walked into his room, locked the door, and hasn’t come out.
I guess, what else is there to say?
Edward’s closest friends are with his and Alora’s family inside. DNA testing was carried out yesterday, but no results or leads so far.
I sit on the deck alone, an outsider. As we were looking for Alora, Edward asked me to be here, but now…. I’m not sure if I should go or stay…. Or if I’m intruding or what the hell to do.
Helene is at the store trying to hold Alora’s world together and her sister can’t stop crying.
My mind trolls every possibility of who could do such a thing, of what to do next.
How can I help?
I know I only just met Alora and our friendship was young, but she’s had such a profound effect on everyone she knows.
Deeply loved for the caring, sweet person she was.
Was….
The lump in my throat hurts again, a reminder of the tears I cannot cry.
God…I can’t even imagine what Edward is going through right now.
I glance at my watch: 7 p.m.
I’ve hung around all afternoon waiting for the DNA results to come in but the lab closed two hours ago, so one can only assume they mustn’t be coming today. My phone vibrates in my pocket, Helene.
“Hi,” I answer softly.
“Any word?”
“No.” I stare out over the sea.
“I’m still praying.”
“Same…but.” I stop myself from saying my worst fears out loud, because if I say them out into the universe then they might come true.
“What?”
“They confirmed it was a human heart.”
“I know.”
“You don’t just find human hearts lying around,” I murmur. “You definitely don’t send them to random people if there isn’t a connection of some sort.”
“I know,” she sniffles through tears.
We hang on the line for a while, both lost in our own thoughts.
“I’m going to get going home, I feel like I’m in the way here,” I whisper.
“Okay,” she replies softly. “Thomas.”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for being there, it would mean a lot to Alora.”
My nostrils flare as I try to keep it together, I need to get off the phone before I have my own meltdown. “Keep me posted?”
“Of course.” I hang up and walk to the door and wave over William, he gets up and comes to the door.
“I’m going to get going.”
“Okay.” He shakes my hand. “Thanks for being here.”
“How is he?”
“Still hasn’t said a word.”
I nod, unsure what to say next. “Can you let me know if there are any developments?”
“Of course.” He pulls me into a hug and damn it, I wish to god this wasn’t real. I turn and walk off the yacht and as I walk up the marina I glance back at the superyacht.
Five stories of hell.
EDWARD
With my hands in my pockets, I stand at the window and stare out over the sea.
I watched the sun rise and go down, cemented to this spot.
Alora’s words swirl around in my psyche, over and over like a spell cast.
I’m not going to dim my light to feed your shadows.
She knew…. And deep down, I knew.
My shadows were always going to catch up with me. There is a darkness that follows my soul.
Steals everything from me that I love.
My vision blurs and I angrily wipe my eyes with my forearm.
I can’t do this, I’m not strong enough.
As soon as the results come in….
I go to my drawer and take out my Glock, I check it’s loaded and hide it in my bathroom laundry basket because I know they will take it from me when the time comes.
“Edward,” my father’s voice says urgently from the other side of the door. “Open up. The results are here.”
I close my eyes. I don’t want to know.
“It’s not hers.”
I glance to the door. “What?”
“Open the fucking door.”
I tear the door open to see my and Alora’s fathers, standing side by side in the hallway. “There’s no DNA match. They don’t know whose heart that is, but it’s not hers.”
My body screams with adrenaline as I hear my pulse beat hard.
“Don’t you see,” my father stammers. “If they killed her, it would have been hers.”
My eyes search theirs as my breath hitches in my throat.
“She’s still alive.”
THE END