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Prologue
End of Fallen Knight
Creed
By the timeI pull into my driveway after taking a detour to the gym, then the office, Rory’s car is gone.
I hate avoiding her like this, but I need time to figure out how I’m going to handle things.It doesn’t help that Adam’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks, which is always a difficult time.Hopefully, she’ll understand why I need to start extricating myself from this situation.That she’ll see I’m not abandoning her, but moving on with my life.
Maybe this will give her the freedom to move on withherlife, too.
When I step into the house, everything’s quiet.The kitchen’s a bit of a mess, dishes scattered across the island, a stack of dirty pans piled in the sink, evidence of a rushed breakfast.On the refrigerator is a hastily scrawled note, reminding me about AJ’s football game in thirty minutes, giving me just enough time for a quick shower.
I grab a banana from the fruit basket and quickly eat it.Just as I toss the peel into the garbage bin, my phone buzzes.I pull it out of my pocket, secretly hoping it’s Esme.Instead, I see my father’s name.
While we’re much closer than we once were, he still doesn’t call me out of the blue like this.Whenever he needs to discuss something, he typically stops by my office.Or calls my work mobile.Not my personal one.
“Is everything okay?”I ask, dispensing with a normal greeting.
“Did you see the news?”
Heat rushes over my face, my worry increasing.
Were paparazzi stationed outside Gladwell this morning?Did they catch me leaving Esme’s apartment and try to make a quick buck by selling a photo to the media?We’d just agreed to wait until August to avoid this kind of thing.Did we screw ourselves over already?
“I haven’t.I—”
“A car was pulled from Sufford Lake in the Brimford Recreation Area.A fisherman discovered it yesterday evening.”
I blow out a breath, shoulders falling in relief that this isn’t regarding Esme and me.
“What does this have to do with—”
“It was registered to Callie Sloane.Her remains were found in the trunk.”
Silence falls over the line as I squeeze my eyes shut.I can’t say I’m surprised.She’s been missing for ten years.Regardless of any evidence of foul play, I’d assumed she was dead.At least her family will finally get some closure.
If she has any family.
From what I remember, Hayes Barlow was the only person who seemed remotely interested in finding her.
“Were they able to determine the cause of death?”
“Evidence of sharp force trauma was found in her ribs, indicating she most likely died from a stab wound to her lower right abdomen.”
“Stab wound?Wasn’t Gianna Valealsostabbed in the lower right abdomen?”
“I won’t lie and tell you I didn’t immediately think the same thing when I heard, but as of right now, the authorities are treating them as two isolated events.At least until they can investigate things further.”
“Any idea who’s responsible?”I ask.
“Right now, their lead suspect is Hayes Barlow.”
“Really?”I blink repeatedly, taken aback by this revelation.“What led to that conclusion?”
“Her car was found just a few miles away from a lake house Hayes Barlow owned.”
“Why?”I scrunch my brows, a heaviness settling in the pit of my stomach.
