Page 320 of The Heart You Kept

Edward sways and I reach out to steady him on his feet. “It’s okay,” I whisper, but it’s not. It’s as far from okay as it can possibly get. “William,” I call.

Silence.

Edward looks down at the blood dripping off his hand and sways again.

Our eyes both float to the heart in the box and I too become unstable.

Dear god.

“William,” I scream. “Philippe, somebody get up here.” I hold Edward up with all of my strength. “I’ve got you.”

The sound of footsteps comes running up the stairs, the room spins hard.

A million dark thoughts race through my mind at speed.

Who would do such a thing?

William appears first, his eyes immediately drop to the blood on the floor. “What happened? Are you injured?”

“I….” Edward’s eyes flutter as he fights shock.

“What’s wrong?” William’s eyes dart between us in question.

“Somebody sent that,” I whisper. I point at the box as I step back from it.

He peers into the box. “I don’t understand, what is it?”

“A human heart.”

His horrified eyes flick up to meet mine. “What the….?” He pulls the plastic back and he steps back from it as if seeing a ghost. “Are you sure?”

“I….” I grip the table, feeling woozy too. “I don’t know.”

“What’s going on?” Philippe asks from behind him.

“Somebody sent something….” William shakes his head in disbelief. “Call the police.”

Whispers in the hallways, police interviewing people, fingerprints, and bodyguards everywhere you look.

A morbid cloud hangs over Monte Carlo.

Edward hasn’t said a word to anyone since the package arrived yesterday. He walked into his room, locked the door, and hasn’t come out.

I guess, what else is there to say?

Edward’s closest friends are with his and Alora’s family inside. DNA testing was carried out yesterday, but no results or leads so far.

I sit on the deck alone, an outsider. As we were looking for Alora, Edward asked me to be here, but now…. I’m not sure if I should go or stay…. Or if I’m intruding or what the hell to do.

Helene is at the store trying to hold Alora’s world together and her sister can’t stop crying.

My mind trolls every possibility of who could do such a thing, of what to do next.

How can I help?

I know I only just met Alora and our friendship was young, but she’s had such a profound effect on everyone she knows.

Deeply loved for the caring, sweet person she was.