Chapter 36
36
OWEN – FIVE WEEKS LATER
It didn’t take the aviation criminal investigators long to piece together the sequence of events that led to Jade’s plane crash. The CCTV footage from the perimeter of the station and from inside the hangar revealed the man who seemed to be hell-bent on destroying Jade.
Cobra.
Using an old key to let himself through the abandoned crash gate at the far end of the base, he used his old pass to get inside the hangar and then tampered with the fuel gauges.
He knew exactly what he was doing to show there was more fuel in the tanks than there actually was. He then sabotaged Jade’s locator beacon.
On a mission to seek revenge against Jade, he blamed her for his demise and losing his job. The cruelty of his hatred toward Jade knew no bounds.
The police informed Jade that he is likely to serve a minimum of eighteen years for his attempt to murder.
The hate I feel for that man will die on the day he does, but it soothes my nerves a little knowing he will be behind bars for a really long time.
Jade still cannot recall what happened on the days leading up to the crash, the crash itself, or the days following, although she’s been listening to the Mayday recording every day on a mission to spark something hidden deep within her brain.
She’s praying something will trigger her memory as she’s desperate to remember.
It hasn’t so far, and some days she still struggles with processing even the smallest of tasks.
Jade’s understandably frustrated, and the doctors have warned her it could take weeks, even months, before her memory problems and fatigue resolve themselves.
I, on the other hand, am relieved she doesn’t remember and that she’s getting the time off to rest and cook our little bean to perfection.
She survived a horrific trauma. Her memory loss is a protection of sorts, and to survive in such a miraculous way, as well as protecting our baby too, is nothing short of an astonishing feat. Jade is still signed off work for another couple of months and as the news broke of our romantic involvement, I was no longer allowed to live-in on camp, so we rented a place a mile away from base, and only a couple of houses down from Gregor’s.
We know our rental is a short-term solution. In the meantime, because it’s been a crazy few months, all we are praying and hoping for is some peace. At least until the baby comes.
Which is wild.
I’m going to be a dad.
Not that I am not one already, but I cannot wait for our baby to arrive and complete our little family.
Right now, it’s early in the morning and I’m going through this morning’s mail, and my hand lands on a handwritten envelope addressed to me.
Curiously, I rip it open and frown as I stare at a two-page letter.
Dear Owen,
I trust this letter finds you well and that your beautiful family is thriving in England.
I know you won’t believe me when I tell you, but I’m sorry for all the pain and hurt my husband and his father put you through.
For over ten years I have lived a life I was never happy in, and you may think it was foolish of me falling pregnant with Sean when I was younger, being forced into marrying Gideon, but believe me, I have paid the price for my foolishness every day since.
I know we have never been close, and it’s too late for us now, but I do wish you all the very best with your new life. With Mom and Dad leading the way, neither of us ever stood a chance.
I left him, Owen.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
I have started a new life, somewhere far away from the man who has made my life a living hell.
By the time you read this letter, I will be long gone.
Please thank Lincoln for supplying me with your address and bank details.
I hope what I placed in your account is enough to jumpstart your new dreams that I really want you to chase. It’s yours after all.
With the life insurance, I also sent checks to each one of the employees from Castleview Printing Press to compensate them for their job losses with a letter of apology from both of us. I’m sure Gideon won’t miss what I took to give our employees what they deserved.
You and I are good people. We knew what our father did was wrong. So, let’s not make the same mistakes he did.
The deeds for the castle are in a safety deposit box at the bank on the high street in Castleview Cove. I gave an envelope to Lincoln with the code to access it.
I signed it back over to you. Sell the place and use the money for you and your new family.
Good luck.
Keep dreaming and dream big.
Be happy, Owen.
Camilla )
P.P.S. In years to come, if you ever get the urge to look me up, ask Walter Forrester, your PI. I’ve heard he’s a master at finding people.
Not sure if I believe the letter is from my sister, I throw it down on top of the breakfast bar and dig my phone out of my pocket.
Taking care of my girls has been a full-time job, so I haven’t been able to start with the finance consultancy, which means I know exactly how much money… or lack of it, I have in my bank.
“Holy fucking shit,” I gasp, grabbing the edge of the breakfast bar from fear of falling over.
“Everything okay?” Jade calls from the living room as I continue to stare at the hundreds of millions sitting on top of the money I already had in my account.
I stutter, “Yeah, it’s just, the, um, utility bills went up again,” I lie, unable to stop looking at my screen.
I text Lincoln.
Me
Did Camilla leave an envelope with you?
I chew on my thumbnail, impatiently waiting for him to respond as the bubbles bounce across the screen, showing he’s replying.
Lincoln
She did yeah. I planned to give it to you in two weeks when you are in Scotland for a visit. Looking forward to having a beer with you.
Holy cow.
It’s true.
On unsteady feet, Poppy waddles through to the kitchen and grabs my leg, then stretches her arms over her head. “Uh, uh,” she beams at me, asking me in her own language for me to pick her up. Bending at the knees, I scoop her up and rest her on my hip.
“Look what Aunt Camilla sent Owen,” I whisper, then hold up the phone to show her, making a shocked-looking face, and Poppy mimics me. Her eyes flaring, she makes a funny O shape with her mouth, making me chuckle. She’s been copycatting facial expressions for the past few weeks and it’s the cutest thing to witness.
Tapping the notes app open on my phone, I pull up the list of people I borrowed money from, and at the top of it sits the man who has been the best father figure I never asked for, Knox Black.
I make a plan then work out what I have left.
“I know exactly what I want to do with the money, Poppadom.”