"Yes, sir."
He releases me abruptly, shoving my face away, my neck cracking at the force of his hand. Pain shoots down my side as I brace myself from falling, and I ignore it all because this is almost over. Everything is going according to plan. Three of the six men that he calls his allies are dead, and my mother is alive and doing well. A few weeks ago, I thought I'd never make it through this, and here I am, the ending so close I can fucking taste it.
"Be here at six p.m. on Wednesday. I'll be waiting for you. Get changed and get the fuck out of my house. Don't touch anything or I'll make sure to make you pay for it when that cunt finally becomes mine in just a few days." He leaves the room, my heart pounding in disbelief that everything has worked so far.
Are we really going to pull this off?
I hesitate before leaving the room, not wanting to follow too closely on his tail. Gathering my things, I slip into the bathroom and change out of the ridiculous outfit and into my regular clothes. Leaving the rest of the garments there in a heap and shoving my clutch up under my arm, I march down the hall with my chin held high and leave this place for what I can only hope is the very last time.
The outside air hits me unlike ever before, smelling fresher and cleaner than I recall. A smile creeps across my face but I try to hide it until I'm down the walkway and turn onto the sidewalk. I decide to stroll a little further, putting a couple houses between me and Ricardo's place prior to ordering an Uber.
I pull out my phone, stop near an intersection, and click on the app, tires squealing drawing my attention from my screen to the car zooming in the near distance. Stepping back, I watch as it approaches and slams on the brakes in front of me. I lose a breath as Silver gets out of the driver's side, his face solemn, not matching the look on mine. I blink, unsure what could possibly be wrong when everything else is so right.
My lips part, and I go to say something but it comes out jumbled.
"I came as soon as I found out," Silver says, something seriously haunting in his tone.
"Found out what?" My heart tightens at the endless possibilities running through my mind. I glance around him, not seeing Miller or Alec with him. "The guys? Are they?"
Silver shakes his head. "They're fine, Cora, it's about your mom."
"Oh," I say, so sure of myself. "She's fine, I just heard a recording like ten minutes ago." I throw a thumb in the direction I came but my words don't seem to pacify his distraught nature.
"Cora, Angel, I just came from the morgue. Your mom, she's dead."
This time, it's me shaking my head. "That's impossible. She, she's fine."
"I need you to listen to me, Cora. Your mom is dead. She's been dead a while now. She's been on ice."
"I don't believe you. There must be some mix-up." I refuse to accept what he's saying because it can't be true. "Take me to her."
For the next few minutes, it's like I'm frozen in time, my mind racing and my heart pounding but nothing making any sense. How could he possibly know who my mom is or that she's dead? Especially when I just heard her voice.
I step onto the ground behind what I'm assuming is the morgue and walk toward the back entrance of the building.
Silver opens the door for me and points ahead once we're inside. "This way," he says, but it sounds like he's in a tunnel, or really far away.
I glance at him to confirm he's right next to me and continue walking, one foot after another, closer to the woman who cannot possibly be my mother. There must be a mistake, that's the only explanation for any of this.
Silver nods an acknowledgment at the man standing in a cold room, the guy latching onto a handle and pulling out a long tray with what I can only assume is a covered body on it.
I approach, convinced this is a mix-up, and reach for the cover to reveal the body.
Silent tears stream down my cheeks, and I stare at the woman who looks just fucking like my mom, only she's pale and grey, her face somehow sunken in despite her appearing bloated.
"No," is all I can say.
Every shred of hope I had gained rips out from under me in one solid motion as my legs grow weak and I collapse into Silver's arms.
He holds onto me, and my world falls apart, everything I sacrificed up until this point has been for nothing.
39
MILLER
We accounted for so many variables, just not the one where Cora's mom was already dead.
This whole entire situation was fucked up, but there was still hope, a chance that we could right all the wrongs and make her suffering mean something.
