He looked at Emmy, seeing the emotion in her blue eyes. She was so much like his sister. All heart. “You’re so much like your mom, you know that? And she would be so proud of you.I’mso proud of you.”
Emmy threw her arms around him and hugged him.
He ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He had no idea what he was going to say to her, but he knew he needed to try and make this right. He knocked on the door as soon as he got there, and when there was no answer immediately, he knocked again.
“Poppy!” he called out. “Please open the door, I really want to talk to you.” He waited and finally heard the sound of feet shuffling across the floor. He heard the chain on the door being unlocked, saw the door handle move, and the anticipation grew as he watched the door handle going down and down and . . .
The door opened and a man stood there. “What do you want?” The man sounded irritated.
“I’m looking for Poppy. She lives here,” he said.
“Well, she doesn’t live here anymore, I moved in yesterday. Place is a total shithole, though, and looks nothing like the photos of it. And the landlord is charging a fortune to stay here. He’s a total rip-off artist.”
“Uh . . . I’m very sorry to hear th—” Ryan cut himself off. “You say you moved in yesterday?”
“Yeah.” The guy put his hand up on the door. “Only good thing about this place is the lock on the door. It will keep the bloody ex out.” He laughed loudly.
“Well, okay, I won’t keep you then,” Ryan said and started walking away.
“The girl you’re looking for, does she have long brownish hair?” the man asked.
He turned. “Yes.”
“I saw her yesterday. She’d packed a bag, and it looked like she was in quite a hurry.”
“I’m sure she was,” Ryan said under his breath.
He hung his head and walked away. He couldn’t rectify the mistake he’d made with Poppy right now, but he could rectify another one. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and started dialing the number.
CHAPTERNINETY
Poppy
It’s night-time. The room is dark and Ignacio is sleeping peacefully. Thunder strikes and he wakes up. A massive puff of smoke fills the room, and out of it Ramona appears. Her hair is long and auburn, she no longer wears glasses, and she is glowing. Ignacio is terrified and scrambles to the other side of the room.
IGNACIO
You . . . (trembling) You, but you are dead. We found the remains of your body after the explosion.
RAMONA
(Lets out an evil laugh) No, I am not dead. I am here, and I have come back to avenge my name. I have come back to take up my rightful position as head of the company.
IGNACIO
(Scrambles to his feet) Never! It’s my company now! Never, over my dead body.
RAMONA
(Another evil laugh) Dead body. Funny you should mention that. Because that is exactly what you’re going to be soon.
Methat Ishmail bursts through the door. He is carrying a huge sword.
IGNACIO
What are you doing here?
METHAT
