AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lachlan will be away this weekend for work, I don’t think he suspects anything. He’s leaving at six thirty this evening.
Eden
Lachlan was about to close the email when he realized this one had a response—unlike the others, which were only Eden’s emails.
Eden,
I know this is hard, but I promise it’s going to be worth it. For our family.
Please, do whatever you have to do to keep this from Lachlan. He cannot know about this. He will never forgive me.
J
Lachlan read the email response over and over again.
He will never forgive me.
Lachlan must’ve known him—must’ve known JO.
He opened all of the emails and read them again, but it was the last one that he kept turning over in his mind.
I know this is hard, but I promise it’s going to be worth it. For our family.
Please, do whatever you have to do to keep this from Lachlan. He cannot know about this. He will never forgive me.
Lachlan’s hands shook as he realized he may have made a huge mistake.
He cannot know aboutthis. Notus.
He sucked in a sharp breath. Now that he knew what he did about Jim, he had to rethink every assumption he’d made.
Lachlan sat staring at the computer, his mind reeling.This. Perhaps it hadn’t been an affair at all, but some kind of arrangement, a deal—it’s going to be worth it. For our family.
Lachlan’s soul trembled as he read the emails over and over.
His heart wanted to believe it was a business arrangement, but his brain couldn’t make up its mind.
He still couldn’t imagine why Eden would’ve gotten involved in the Valley Kings’ business, but this theory made more sense to him than her having an affair—especially one with her brother-in-law.
What were you doing, Eden?
MITCH
Mitch chugged his sixth espresso for the day. His temple throbbed and his eyes felt like they were going to fall out of their sockets.
His office phone rang and he almost jumped out of his skin.
“Mitch speaking,” he said, hoping he sounded less startled than he felt.
“Mitch, this is Angela, the coroner. I have submitted fingerprints, dental, and DNA analysis for identification. I don’t have the results yet,” she said, “but I think I know who this man is.”
Suddenly Mitch was wide awake and alert, but no longer skittish.
“You do?” he asked quickly.
“Yes—I used to nanny for a family, and the son chopped off the tips of two fingers while I was looking after him...” Her voice trailed off, sounding pained even after all these years. She cleared her throat. “It was a disaster, but the man you recovered from the riverbank is missing two tips, on the matching fingers. It might be a coincidence, but I think that’s unlikely,” she said. “It also looks like him... ignoring the bloating and marbled skin, obviously.”
“What’s his name?” Mitch asked eagerly. His limbs began to tingle with that weird sensation that came before a big moment.
