Yes, you did, I wanted to say as I stared at my blood-covered hand. But I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move.
Am I dying? Is this really how I’m going to go out?I thought, as the pain in my head intensified.
It was poetic, in a way, that this is how it would end. I was always my own worst enemy. I wanted to laugh at the irony of it all.
No. This isn’t real. I’m having a nightmare. My thoughts continued to race.If I die, will anyone even know? Will they just replace me with this imposter? Surely not. Sam wouldn’t. Would he?But then I realized I didn’t care anymore. I was sick of fighting. I’d lost.
You want to be me so badly? Go for it. Enjoy.
I couldn’t tell if I said the words out loud or to myself. The throbbing in my head was starting to numb and I could feel myself losing consciousness. As I drifted, I imagined her dealing with the consequences of everything I’d put into play. Dealing with the Scott family. Potentially going to prison herself.
Adrenaline shot through me when the horrifying realization hit.No, no, no.I hadn’t actually put anything into motion yet. I had some “evidence,” but no one knew. I hadn’t even set a backup plan with @RavenRumours to leak everything if something happened to me.
If I died, Colton’s secrets—and any sort of justice—would die with me.
I used my final bout of energy to yank my necklace off and throw it at her feet.Take this. You’ll need it.
And then everything went black.
*
I didn’t know how long I’d been out when I briefly regained consciousness. I just remembered feeling cold. So cold.
“Shhh. It’s all going to be okay. This is going to help you.”
Those were the last words I heard before the needle went into my arm and flames engulfed me.
Chapter 36
Naomi’s heart hammers in her chest, pounding louder with each passing moment in terror, shock, and bewilderment. She remembers the “Harlow is dead” anagram.
Harlow is dead.
Here lies Harlow Hayes.
No, she thinks.That can’t be right. This is just a sick joke.
Because if Harlow Hayes is buried here, in Faye’s grave, then where the hell is Faye?
Harlow
Present Day
The seagulls circle like vultures above the choppy sea. Everything is gray—the water, the birds, the foreboding clouds.
Crack!A door slams, making me jump. I look out the windows on the other side of the room, the ones overlooking the sprawling gated gardens out front, and see the gate has come unlocked, wind thrashing it against the frame.
A wisp of fog creeps through the gate like a ghost and I shudder. I debate leaving this place, hiding out in Nashville or Los Angeles instead, but this house has a hold on me. A part of my soul. A part ofher. Even though she’s no longer here. Her body, at least.
I shudder, remembering that night. The thunder rumbling in the distance. Her face in front of mine. And then her arms. Aiming for me.
Her expression changed from sour to pleading. The ground started to move beneath me. The sound of blood whooshed in my ears.
You take things too far! So impulsive. So reckless. I imagine you reprimanding me.
But I promise I didn’t mean to hurt her.
Chapter 37
