Chapter 1
J uly
W alking up to the large brick building, Emilie pulled her lower lip between her teeth and took a deep breath. She stared at the bleak, windowless walls and wondered what it was like inside. She would only see the visitors’ area, but that would be more than enough. She’d never been inside a prison before and just the thought made her a little queasy .
Forcing herself to put one foot in front of the other, she paused and turned to her friend Becca Lamonte. Six months pregnant and literally glowing, she stood next to Emilie patiently, her silver-blue eyes following her friend’s as she looked towards the building .
“It’s all right,” Becca said gently. “She can’t hurt you .”
“Sometimes words are more painful than weapons,” Emilie said quietly .
“You don’t have to see her,” Becca reminded her. “We can turn around and drive right back to New York .”
“No, I have to,” Emilie said, clearing her throat. “I need to ask her some questions, maybe get some closure .”
“I still think you’re crazy,” Becca murmured, thinning her lips into a flat line of disapproval. “We found out just how crazy she was during the trial—why do you need to revisit this ?”
“I don’t know.” Emilie stared off into the distance with almost sightless eyes. “I just do .”
“All right.” Becca squeezed her arm. “I’ll be waiting for you in the car. Do what you need to do .”
“Thanks.” Emilie gave her a faint smile. “And thanks for coming with me—I don’t think I could have done it alone .”
“That’s what friends are for .”
E milie hadn’t seen Therese in two years. Two years ago, almost to the day, Therese Anderberg had tried to kill Emilie and her older brother, Karl, in Las Vegas. She’d stabbed him with a needle containing a lethal dose of a sedative and it was only because the paramedics had arrived quickly that Karl had lived. Emilie could still see his large body falling to the ice that day, struggling to stay conscious while Therese laughed and laughed, as if him dying was the funniest thing she’d ever seen .
Today Emilie wished she had it in her to laugh at Therese, but she didn’t. All she could feel was pity as her old friend came into the room. Therese had always been tall and thin, but she was practically emaciated now. Her orange jumpsuit hung limply on her body and her face was pale and drawn. Her blue eyes sparked with energy when she spotted Emilie, though, a smile lighting what had once been a beautiful face. She seemed harder now, as though prison had truly changed her, and Emilie could only stare with a little bit of shock, a little bit of fear and a lot of pity. This woman had almost destroyed her life but looking at her now she couldn’t seem to hate her .
“You came!” Therese said happily, as though seeing Emilie made everything okay .
“You said it was important.” Emilie sat in the chair across from her, folding her hands in her lap .
“I thought we were besties! Why haven’t you come before now?” Therese demanded, cocking her head .
Emilie frowned. “You know, that whole thing where you tried to kill my brother? And me, for that matter .”
Therese waved an impatient hand. “I wasn’t medicated then—but now I am, so we can be friends again !”
Emilie raised her eyebrows. “I don’t think so, Therese. Too much has happened. You killed people, threatened me, tried to ruin my life. That’s hard to forget .”
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” Therese protested, her lips forming a small pout. “Please, Em, can’t we be friends again? I don’t have anyone else here in the U.S .”
“Have your parents been to see you?” Emilie delicately changed the subject .
“Not since the trial.” Therese sighed. “They say it’s too far to come to visit once a week for 30 minutes .”
“You must write ?”
Therese shrugged. “I haven’t the patience. Mama deposits a little money in my account each month so I can get a few things, but it’s not enough. It’s rough in here—I could use a little help, Em. You’re the reason I’m here, after all .”
Emilie rolled her eyes. “I didn’t kill anyone, Therese .”
“You’re the reason I came to the U.S.!” Therese grunted. “You told me I had a chance with Karl !”
“That was the first time you came,” Emilie said patiently. “The second time he was already married to Kate and you knew better .”
“They say I’m a paranoid schizophrenic,” Therese said after a moment. “I used to suffer from delusional thinking and hallucinations, and that’s why I believed Karl abandoned me while I was pregnant and all those other things. Now that I’m medicated I don’t get those symptoms. You don’t have to be afraid—I’m okay and don’t want to hurt anyone else .”
“That’s good to hear,” Emilie nodded .
“I heard you and Viggo got married.” Therese suddenly looked like a teenager again, her smile sweet and her face almost angelic. “Are you totally in love ?”
Emilie sighed, trying not to show much emotion. “We divorced last month. We only got married because of the baby—our daughter .”
“You had a baby!” Therese’s eyes widened. “Can I see a picture ?”
“I wasn’t allowed to bring anything in with me,” Emilie held up her empty hands. “But I’ll send you one in the mail.” She would do no such thing, but Therese seemed to accept it at face value .
“I’d love that!” Therese suddenly frowned. “Why did you get divorced? You’ve always loved him. Wasn’t he faithful ?”
“It was a mistake,” Emilie said softly, trying to keep Therese engaged without giving her too many details. “What I felt as a teenager wasn’t the same now that we’re adults .”
“He couldn’t stay away from men, hm?” Therese asked knowingly .
“No.” Emilie figured there was a good chance Therese would read about the trial online and hear about Jamie and Viggo anyway .
“Well, you’re better off,” Therese shrugged. “You were too good for him .”
“Then why did you get me involved with him? It was your idea that I hook up with him at the club that night …”
“That was when I was having the hallucinations and such,” Therese hedged. “I thought I needed those compromising photos and by involving Viggo it was easy to get you to play along since you’d always wanted him .”
“I still don’t understand why you did that. Even if you occasionally had those delusions, you had to know that I couldn’t make Karl love you… Back then we were close—why would you do that to me ?”
“I thought I was in love and holding on to you was the only way I felt I could hold on to him .”
“But you involved Viggo and Otto .”
“Viggo meant nothing to me and Otto is a stupid pig.” She shrugged .
“So you ruined my life, and almost Viggo’s as well, for no reason?” Emilie felt herself getting angry all over again. “Why? There had to have been a reason !”
“I don’t know!” Therese shot back. “Jesus, haven’t you been listening? I’m schizophrenic! I barely know what that means—but they give me these damn meds that make me twitch sometimes and feel dizzy all the time... I just do the laundry a few hours a day, go outside an hour a day, and I get an hour a day in the library. That’s it—I have nothing thanks to this stupid disease, so asking me the same questions over and over is a waste of time !”
“Then why am I here ?”
Therese paused. “I could use a little money .”
“Money?” Emilie blinked .
“Not a lot, maybe a hundred dollars a month. For tampons and toothpaste that doesn’t taste like ass… Come on, Em, it’s not a lot .”
Emilie pretended to think about it as she realized Therese had just played right into her hands. “Tell you what,” she said. “If you can tell me some things I need to know, I’ll get you some money .”
“Like what ?”
“Do you remember when we ran into each other in London? About eight years ago? You were on holiday with a couple of your girlfriends and we went dancing at that club with the dance floor on the roof ?”
Therese nodded. “Oh! Yes, of course. You were frightened—something about a bondage session gone wrong .”
“What do you remember about that ?”
Therese frowned. “You asked me to go to that hotel and see what was going on… The police were bringing out a body but no one had any information. A young man had died under suspicious circumstances .”
“I left the next day,” Emilie said. “And you promised you’d try to find out more. You told me at one point that they were looking for someone—there had been fingerprints in the room they couldn’t identify—but you said they stopped looking relatively quickly .”
“It was a while ago, but from what I recall, the search died off almost immediately. You thought you were somehow involved, yes ?”
Emilie nodded .
“Why are you thinking about this after all this time ?”
“I need to know, one way or another .”
“Let it go,” Therese hissed, glancing around. “You don’t want to wind up like this .”
“Do you remember anything else? His last name? Any details ?”
Therese rolled her eyes. “Seriously, you’re such a bleeding heart… Who cares? It was years ago and no one knows anything about it .”
“What do you remember?!” Emilie pressed in frustration .
“There was nothing to remember! It was a non-story within a day .”
“You brought it up once, when you were getting me to sleep with all those men.” Emilie tried not to squirm at the memory .
“I was trying to make you do what I wanted—there was no new information .”
Emilie sighed. “All right. I’ll find out how to send you money when I leave .”
“You’d better.” Therese’s eyes suddenly glinted like they used to in the old days; cold and maniacal, as if she was planning something sinister. Again .
“Threats mean nothing anymore,” Emilie pointed out .
“I still know things. And people .”
Emilie scowled. “You haven’t changed at all, have you? Always ready to hurt someone .”
“It’s your fault I’m in here and, damn you, I deserve better !”
“Better? What about Trey Montoya? Did he deserve better? What about Larissa and her baby? Did they ?”
“They deserved what they got and so will you!” Therese growled. “Just wait. I’m not done with you! And I can still reach the authorities in London, even from here !”
“Then give it your best shot,” Emilie replied .
With nothing else to say, Emilie got her things as quickly as she could, made arrangements to get Therese a little money, and was grateful to step out into the bright sunlight. She took a few deep breaths, and momentarily closed her eyes, letting the warmth of the sun take away the chill that had settled deep inside of her. She knew what she had to do and she would do it. Even if she had to go to prison, one mistake, made when she was just 19, wasn’t going to control her life anymore. She was done. She was going to London and she would face whatever was waiting for her. One way or another, she was going to be free of this and then she would take Therese’s advice to make the most of whatever time she had when she was done .