Goodbye, Mr. Regret

The only effective way forward was to start with Vince.

Vince slid behind the wheel, started the car, and gunned the engine. His heart slammed against his ribs. If Jessica really was Salome...

He shut his eyes, unable to let his thoughts go any further.

If it was true, the pain was unbearable.

He'd been right there, always by her side, yet he'd watched her suffer and when Timothy set that cruel trap-he'd even chosen, just once, to turn his back on her.

Timothy knew Salome too. She'd always depended on him as a child, always wanted to be near him.

Timothy probably knew more about her than anyone.

On top of that, he'd once confided in Timothy about her birthmark—something so intimate, so private. Now, Timothy and Jessica were married. If Jessica was Salome, if she had that birthmark, Timothy would definitely be suspicious.

So, when Timothy claimed he had news about Salome... what if he meant Jessica?

If that was the case-and Timothy used information about Salome to torment them in court, to force Jessica back to The Gilded Whisper Estates-then Timothy's actions were truly unforgivable.

Vince's hands shook as he pulled out his phone and dialed Jessica.

"Hello, Vince?" Her voice trembled through the speaker, and his heart twisted with worry and a tenderness he could barely contain.

"Jessica, where are you?"

"I'm on my way back to my hometown."

"With Herbert?"

"Yeah, he's giving me a ride."

Vince's voice quavered, and Jessica wondered if Timothy's condition was more serious than she'd realized. Why else would Vince sound so shaken?

Timothy dead. But whenever she remembered the

I

"Okay."

"I'll hang up now."

him the

something had happened to Timothy, Vince would have told her, wouldn't he? There was no way he'd just leave

could find some clue, something

without proof. He didn't want

really was Salome, he needed to understand her childhood, her life, everything

car sped down the

Whisper Estates in just over twenty minutes; now, they'd only been on the road for half an

merging onto the

Timothy was wheeled out of surgery

Jessica and Vince to be waiting for

to see

when he opened his eyes, only Sheila was

his back, so he lay

voice tight with worry.

stable," the

"the

smaller wounds, but they've all been treated. Nothing internal, just some new tearing along an old abdominal wound. You should all

body has its limits."

"Thank you, doctor."

and Vince were gone.

had

past, if he so much as scraped

spill over with

remember those

everything changed so

several times now, yet she hadn't come to