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“Don’t say that,” Sebastian cuts me off. “If we’d been there any sooner, we would be dead, too. It’s Richard’s handiwork,” he adds, with fury in his eyes. “He’s tying up loose ends.”
I shiver. “Who else would he go after?” I wonder.
“I don’t know.” Sebastian frowns. “Anyone connected to the crash, any possible witnesses…”
I gasp with a sudden realization. “Oh my God, Seb. What about Scarlett?”
All the color drains from his face. “Fuck!”
He snatches up one of the burner phones we bought, and quickly dials. “Scarlett?” he tries, before cursing. “It’s her voicemail.”
“Try again. I’ll drive,” I add. We trade seats, and I quickly get back on the road again, driving fast towards the main motorway, as Sebastian places call after call. He keeps getting voicemail, his alarm clear in every word.
“It’s me, I can’t explain, but you have to get out of the house,” he says, gripping the phone so tightly his knuckles are white. “Go to the village, stay somewhere with people around. I’m on my way to get you. Please, be careful!”
I drive faster. Sebastian hangs up, and directs me down the winding country roads, our anxiety growing. We’re an hour away, and there’s no shortcuts to be taken. All I can do is pray that I’m wrong about Richard. That he wouldn’t hurt an innocent, not like this.
“Up there,” Sebastian barks, pointing to the driveway. He flings the door open and scrambles out before I’ve even brought the car to a stop. I hit the brakes, and quickly follow him as he races inside.
“Scarlett!”
I hear an agonized yell, and my heart stops. I hurry down the hallway and find Sebastian on his knees in the living room.
He’s cradling his sister’s lifeless body in his arms.
“Wake up,” he’s yelling, desperately shaking her limp frame. “Scarlett, you have to wake up!”
I look wildly around. There’s an empty pill bottle on the floor beside her. It’s an overdose—or something made to look like one.
“Get her to the car,” I order Sebastian, springing into action. “We don’t have time to wait for an ambulance. We have to get her to an ER, now!”
He stares at me blankly, already numb. “Sebastian,” I rush closer, and feel Scarlett’s throat for a pulse.
There.
“She’s still breathing,” I tell him. “It’s not too late. Come on!”
The driveto the hospital is a blur, breaking the speed limit on the narrow country roads. Sebastian rushes Scarlett inside, and soon she’s swept up to an operating room, and we’re left to pace the waiting room in agonized silence for hours. Waiting for news.
“I’ll kill him,” Sebastian vows, fists clenched at his sides. “I’ll goddamn tear him apart.”
“Later,” I say softly. I’m not about to argue with him now. His sister means the world to him; he’s spent his life trying to protect her. I can only imagine the helpless rage he feels right now. “Let’s just keep it together now. For Scarlett.”
I see a familiar looking doctor emerge, and rush over to greet him. “What happened?” I demand frantically. “Is she OK?”
“She’ll live.”
I sag with relief. “Oh, thank God.”
“We pumped her stomach,” he continues, looking grave. “But she was very lucky. If you hadn’t found her when you did…”
If Richard hadn’t tried to kill her.
“I need to see her,” Sebastian says. It’s not a request, but the doctor hesitates anyway.
“Please,” I add. “Just for a moment? We’re her friends,” I add, lying.
He looks at me sympathetically. “Make it quick. She needs to rest. And don’t upset her.”
