“What about the other one?” I asked, unable to look away from the sheet-covered body on the remaining slab.
“Oh, that’s from another incident.”
I collapsed to the floor with the enormity of my relief, not bothering to hold back the sobs that wracked my body.
It wasn’t Whit. He was alive. Hehadto be.
That’s all I needed to know.
The next day, we sat in the chairs at the hospital entrance, Henry and Addie quietly snuggled up against me, while we waited for the police officer who was to pick us up and take us to Dottie’s to retrieve Whit’s car and what remained of our belongings. After that? I had no idea where the hell we were going to go.
A quiet swoosh of the automatic doors drew my attention to the entrance. A statuesque woman strode in, each purposeful step echoing in the silence of the hospital waiting room. She was dressed all in black, wearing black combat boots and dark shades, her short dark hair slicked back.
Henry sat up straight, his smile beaming. “Hi, Cora!” he called. “We’ve been waitingfor you!”
This brought a smile to the woman’s face, softening her harsh features in an instant. “Hello, Henry. I’m delighted to finally meet you.” Then she offered an incline of her head to Addie. “Adelaide.”
When she turned her attention to me, she clasped her hands in front of her, then bent her head forward briefly. “It’s good to finally meet you, Zellie,” Cora said. “Whit has told me so much about you.”
“You’re Whit’s sister,” I said. I’d sensed it the moment she’d walked in, before Henry had greeted her by name. Maybe it had been something he’d told mebefore.Maybe he’d shown me photos.Some of the memories were still a little foggy. I had so much to learn about him even after all my returned memories came into focus. I shook my head slightly. “Addie’s sister too, I guess.”
Cora nodded. “Yes,” she answered simply. “I’ve come to take you home.”
“I don’t have a home,” I told her. “Are you taking us to the house in Charleston?”
She shook her head. “No, Whit had arranged for another house before the unfortunate events of the last two days. I had already planned to arrive today to escort you to safety should anyone try to stop you from leaving. I’m sorry I didn’t arrive sooner.”
There was genuine regret in her voice. And of course it was Cora that Whit had brought in on his plans. Hadn’t he told me that she was the only one he would trust with our safety?
I rose to my feet, a ghost myself as I drifted out to the car waiting for us, my emotions flat, deadened—perhaps a side effect of the shock. Or maybe a defense mechanism to keep the grief and despair from overwhelming me. I didn’t care where we were going. It didn’t matter anymore. As long as Henry and Addie were safe, I didn’t care.
So, I didn’t ask any questions as we drove to the airport or during our flight on the Proffitts’ private jet. Not even when we sat in the car that drove us to the countryside of what I soon recognized from various signs we passed as somewherein England. But when the driver finally turned off onto a winding road, I could smell the ocean, feel the salt in the air. And soon after, a house came into view—a two story manor with a walled garden with plenty of room for Henry and Addie to run and play. And a spire.
“Good evening, Ms. Proffitt,” a man in a uniform wished Cora as we exited the car. “The manor has been prepared according to your specifications with the additional security measures put in place.”
I heard Cora respond, but the yipping of a puppy drew my attention away. A little brown and black dog that couldn’t have been more than a few months old came bounding out of the house and straight for Henry.
“Daisy!” he cried, scooping her up into his arms, struggling to hold onto her as she squirmed with excitement, eager to cover his face with puppy kisses. Addie giggled and ran over to Henry to snuggle with their new friend.
“Whit,” I whispered as I entered the house, taking it all in. I closed my eyes for a few seconds to keep the tears at bay, then climbed the stairs to the second floor, peering into each of the bedrooms before finding the master suite. Off to one side of the room, a set of doors opened out onto a balcony that afforded a view of the rose gardens and beyond to an expanse of land that ended at cliffs overlooking the ocean.
He’d found it. My dream. The house we were supposed to live in together as a family. I placed my palm flat against my chest, searching for the faint connection. It was so weak, struggling. It was then that the pain of losing him, the fear of never seeing him again overtook me, and I sank down against the balcony railing, my sorrow too heavy to hold as I grieved for not just the loss of whatwasbut forwhatcould’ve been.
I don’t know what drew me outside that morning three months later. There was something in the air, something that made me restless, that made sitting still impossible.
“Are you alright?” Cora asked, joining me on the porch, coffee mug in hand.
I pulled my cardigan tighter around me and nodded. “Where are Henry and Addie?”
“The nanny is getting them dressed and ready for their lessons,” Cora replied, her brow furrowed much like her brother’s did when he was concerned about me.
I nodded, distracted, but then turned back to Cora and offered her a grateful smile. “Thanks, Cora. For everything. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you.”
It was true. Cora had become a trusted friend and sister to me, a loving aunt to Henry, helping me navigate our new reality. She’d taken care of finding tutors and a nanny who were still loyal to Whit and could be trusted. Whit had made a lot of enemies, Cora explained, and our safety was her chief concern. She’d assured me Whit would come to us when it was safe to do so. And after he’d healed.
She hadn’t needed to elaborate on that part. I knew what Whit needed. I tried not to think about the fact that it would be someone else’s blood helping him heal—even if it was just what he could access from a supplier who’d already gathered it from a willing donor.
I’d finished my final class and received my degree. And with Cora’s help, I began sourcing used books for the bookstore I planned to open in the quaint little village where we now lived.
