Not What She Seems (30 page)

A lump formed in her throat. “I’m sorry, Vincent. Of course you didn’t.” She touched his arm.

He smirked. “Not that I wasn’t ever tempted. William could be a horrible person sometimes.”

Emily nodded. “Yes, he could.”

“But sometimes I could see in him someone else.
Someone afraid to fail—afraid to not live up to his father’s expectations.
He lashed out when he felt the most vulnerable. I think I could see past his façade more than most people.” Vincent stared at the floor. “As kids, he would pick on me ruthlessly, then turn around and stand up for me. He beat up Geoffrey Olsen for knocking me down on the playground.” He chuckled. “He got sent to the principal’s office for that one. But he didn’t care. He defended me when it really mattered.”

A mix of emotions rushed through Emily as she thought about William. “You were the only one who truly understood him, I think.”

Vincent shot another glance at the hallway. “Please don’t say anything.”

“No, I won’t say anything.” Emily glanced at Steven who shook his head.

Vincent stepped back. “If this got out it would ruin Theodore.”

Emily nodded. “I understand.” The hallway remained dark, with no movement from beyond. “I should go see if Connor needs help.” She started down the hall, her eyes adjusting to the dim light. The second door down proved to be the bathroom. It was empty.

Edna must have seen we were talking, and took Connor to a back room.

She flipped on the bathroom light. A warm glow cascaded down the hall. As she turned she noticed a box of hair dye on the counter.

I didn’t know Edna dies her hair.

She continued down the hall, expecting to hear Connor’s chattering, but silence filled the house. After passing three empty rooms, she noticed light coming from behind a closed door. It opened up into a bright sun room. Her heart pounded. Edna and Connor were not there.

Emily turned around. “Edna?” she called.

Vincent came down the hall. “Isn’t she in there?”

“No.” Panic rose in her chest. “She and Connor are gone.”

Chapter Thirty Nine

“I’m not gone, dear.”

Emily whirled around to face Edna, emerging from a dark bedroom, her face pale. Emily’s heart hammered in her chest. “What were you doing in the dark? And where’s Connor?”

Vincent ducked back down the hall.

Edna smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “He fell asleep. I laid him down in my room to rest. I didn’t want to wake him so I left the light off.”

“Well I need to leave, so I’ll just go get him.”

“You know, dear, you could just stay the night here. Your darling boy is so tired, I’d hate for you to have to take him out in the bitter cold.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I couldn’t.” Emily brushed past Edna, pushing open the bedroom door. She felt the wall until she found the switch. Warm light flooded the small room. Connor lay still on the bed, on top of a quilted comforter.

Emily smoothed the hair from Connor’s forehead and kissed it. “Wake up honey, time to go.”

Connor didn’t move. His breathing was so even, for a minute Emily did wonder if it would be better to stay the night. After a brief moment of uncertainty, she decided a hotel would be the best place for them. Emily gently shook his shoulder. “Connor, baby, it’s time to get into your coat.”

Connor didn’t stir. An icy cold pricked at her spine. Connor was never this hard to wake up. She tapped his hand, and moved his arms. Finally, she picked him up, laying his head on her shoulder. She carried him out of the bedroom.

Edna stood in the hall, her hands behind her back. “Are you sure you don’t want to spend the night? It looks as if he’s out like a light.”

“No, thank you. I’ll just get Steven to help me put his coat on.”

Edna shuffled her feet, but didn’t move out of the way. “Steven left, dear. So did Vincent. I really think you should stay here tonight.” Edna’s voice sounded funny. “I’ll take care of everything.” She reached out, and Emily felt a painful stab in her arm, and warmth shot down to her elbow. Emily jerked back, but it was too late. She could feel the drugs coursing through her already. Edna pocketed the needle.

“What have you done?” Emily tried to push past Edna, but she was too strong.

“I said I would take care of everything.” Edna’s face took on an eerie glow with the bedroom light shining down the hall. She pushed Emily to her knees. “Just lay down dear, it will be over soon.”

Emily’s head began to spin, and her arms felt limp. She felt Connor slide down her, to the carpet. She opened her mouth to speak, her words coming out slow. “You drugged my son.”

“I had to. You see, he’s William’s son. He looks just like him. I can’t have him running around reminding Vincent of the pain he’s been put through.” Her eyes narrowed. “The pain you and William caused.”

“What?” Emily tried not to nod off. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, Vincent tries to cover it up, but I know. I can tell. He’s my son, you know. Oh, it’s not that hard to believe, now is it? Theodore loves me. He always has. When I got pregnant around the same time his wife did, he said he’d take care of me and my baby, if I would move away and give him up for adoption. That broke my heart, you know, but I did it for Theodore. Then when Vince’s adopted father lost his job, Theodore gave him one. That’s when I moved back, and opened up a diner with the money Theodore gave me. You see, he took care of me.”

Emily’s eyelids began to slide shut. She forced them open.

“I wanted to be close to my son. But watching that William boy torturing him was horrible. Vincent lapped up every little bit of attention that boy threw at him. He didn’t know any better. Then when he fell in love with you… well William couldn’t stand that. He had to have you, to show Vincent he could have anything he wanted. When he beat you, Vincent would come to me crying, so hurt from what that beast was doing. That’s why I had to kill him.”

Astonishment flew through Emily. Edna killed William?

“After you left, things were normal around here. Vincent got over you, and was starting to be truly happy. Then you had to come back with William’s son and that billionaire, and rip Vincent’s heart out all over again.”

Edna’s words sounded far away, like they were coming from the other side of a gymnasium. The sound of a doorbell floated past. The hallway blurred, and blackness seeped in around her.

******

Steven stood on Edna’s porch, waiting for someone to answer the door. When he had noticed Emily’s luggage in his trunk, he almost felt relief. He was worried about the way Edna pushed him and Vincent out the door, and this would give him an excuse to make sure everything was okay. Seconds passed, and no one answered. He pressed the bell again.

The door opened a crack, and Edna frowned. “What do you want?”

“I need to speak with Emily.”

Edna pinched her lips. “Emily is already in her night clothes. Come back tomorrow.” The door closed in his face. His stomach twisted into a knot.

Edna’s lying. Emily doesn’t have her night clothes.

He pressed on the doorbell again. This time when the door opened, he shoved it, sending Edna to the floor.

He pushed his way inside. Edna scrambled to get up. From the corner of his eye Steven saw Emily’s feet sticking out from the hall. Edna came at him, her face red and her eyes wide. Instinct overtook him, and he swung the suitcase still in his hand, connecting it with her jaw. She fell backwards, bounced on her behind and sprawled out on the carpet, knocked unconscious. He dropped the suitcase, and ran for the hall. Emily’s lifeless body lay on the floor, her hair covering her face. Connor lay beside her on his back, his arms open wide.

Steven felt Emily’s neck for a pulse, relief coursing through him as he found one. He could see Connor breathing, so he flipped open his phone and dialed the police.

******

The first thing that Emily was aware of was a quiet beeping noise. As the sound continued, she also heard bustling around her, as if people were shuffling to and fro. She opened her eyes to find brilliant hospital lights shining down on her.

“She’s awake,” someone said.

Steven’s face appeared in front of her, lines creasing his forehead. “You and Connor are going to be okay.” She felt him squeeze her hand. “Connor’s right here, with you.” He nodded toward another hospital bed where her son lay, curled up under the thin white blanket.

She worked her mouth a moment before mumbling “What happened?” The dizziness dissipated a little.

A nurse tugged at the blood pressure band on her arm, tightening it. “You were injected with an antihistamine. Knocked you right out. Don’t worry, once it leaves your system you’ll be fine. The doctor just wants to hold you overnight for observation.” She smiled and patted her arm, then followed another nurse out of the room.

Steven brushed his fingers against her face, sending sparks through her. “I thought I’d lost you when I saw you lying on the floor like that.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing his touch to warm her. “How did you know to come back?”

He smiled. “I realized I had your suitcase. When Edna said you were already in your night clothes, I knew something was very wrong.”

Gratitude overcame her, and she blinked back tears. “I don’t deserve you.”

“I know.” He winked, and a laugh escaped her.

He pressed his lips on her forehead, and then picked up her hand. “Edna confessed to murdering William.”

Her eyebrows went up.
“Really?”

“She spilled it all to the police. I guess she’d been holding on to that for long enough.”

She
smiled,
feeling like the nightmare was finally over. “I never would have guessed that she was capable of what she did.”

Steven nodded. “I guess no one knew who she really was.”

Emily closed her eyes, and found it hard to open them again. Drowsiness pressed on her like a thick blanket.

“Well, I’d better let you get your rest.” Steven stood, still holding her hand.

“Thank you, Steven.”

He squeezed her hand once more before letting it go. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She felt her heart jump. “I love you,” she said.

“I love you too, Emily.”

The End

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this book I invite you to leave a review, and tell a friend. Without a big publisher name behind me, I rely heavily on word of mouth. :)

Coming Soon: Witness Protection – (Romantic Suspense) Joni witnesses a violent crime and is put in the witness protection program. Unfortunately, things go very wrong.

To be notified when I have a new book out, join my mailing list! You can join on my website at www.victorinelieske.com

Also by Young Adult Science Fiction Romance
Victorine
Lieske: The Overtaking,

More information about
Victorine
:

Website:

http://victorinelieske.com

More low cost
ebooks
:

http://addictedtoebooks.com

Blog
:

http://victorinewrites.blogspot.com

Facebook
Fan Page:

http://facebook.com/victorinelieske

Email:

[email protected]