Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
SARAH
“What did you say?” Chris demanded.
“You heard me!” Grace screamed. “Alex is dead!”
“What are you talking about? Chris asked.
Sarah wondered the same thing, frowning as Grace paced frantically, her eyes wild and crazed. Alex was dead. How could that be true? Sarah didn’t understand. Chris tried to restrain Grace, who was hysterical, like a chicken with its head cut off, or like chicken little, screaming that the sky was falling. Fighting her own rising panic, Sarah turned to Jason, but he was paralyzed with shock, his face drained of color, brows furrowed.
Sarah was wondering what the hell was happening when another question supplanted itself in her mind.
Where was Phil?
She’d hoped to talk to him this morning, alone, after their conversation last night, when she’d confessed Alex’s revised plan to him.
“He’s going to kill you,” Sarah had said.
“Wow … well, I would ask if you’re serious, or if you were sure,” Phil said. “But I already know the answers. Because I know Alex. I know what he’s capable of so I know you’re serious and you’re sure.”
“I wish I weren’t,” Sarah said.
Phil looked at her. “Thank you for telling me.”
“I had to,” she said.
Shaking his head, Phil said, “No, you didn’t. Considering what happened?—”
“The past is not important right now,” she said, not wanting to think about the horrible things that had been done that night. “You need to concentrate on the present. Alex wants to kill you. What are you going to do?”
Chuckling mirthlessly, Phil sighed. “I’m going to make sure I don’t get myself killed.”
Sarah had stared at him. “What does that mean?”
Phil didn’t answer, just told her he needed to think and wanted to be alone.
Sarah spent the night tossing and turning, wondering if she’d done the right thing, telling Phil about Alex’s plans. What if she’d been wrong? What if Alex had just been overreacting to the situation? Sarah didn’t think Alex was capable of murder. Yes, Alex was deceitful, narcissistic, and manipulative, but a murderer?
Now she was even more worried because Phil’s reaction, his response, had been cryptic, mysterious. What was he thinking? What was he going to do? Sarah’s only comfort had been what Phil had told her before she left his room …
“When I said I would ruin your lives, I didn’t mean you,” he’d said, his gaze sincere, almost poignant. “You don’t have to worry. You’ve already suffered too much.”
But Sarah knew that wasn’t true.
She hadn’t suffered nearly enough.
This morning, after showering, doing her skincare routine and make-up, she’d donned a peach sundress with thin straps and headed downstairs to breakfast. Not that she wanted to eat. She had no appetite. She had no desire to be here, on a damn island in the middle of the Caribbean.
As Sarah walked down the steps, she was thinking that she could have avoided this nightmare. She never should have come. Should have ignored Mia’s invitation. Should have lied and said she had conflicting plans. When Mia told her Phil would be there, she should have refused the invitation. But Mia had insisted she come.
“Alex needs Phil’s help,” Mia had said. “He has a plan, but he needs you to help make it work.”
“What does that mean?” Sarah asked. “Why does he need my help?”
“Alex wants you to make Phil feel guilty if he refuses to help the firm,” Mia explained. “You need to remind Phil what he did to you and how you’ve suffered.”
“Wait,” Sarah said. “I thought you said Alex wanted Phil and me to make amends.”
“You can make amends if Phil agrees to help Alex but if he doesn’t … “
“Then Alex doesn’t want us to get past what happened?” Sarah asked, parroting the phrase Mia had used.
Ignoring the question, Mia asked one of her own. “Can Alex count on you?”
“Should he?”
Mia said, “You owe him … and you owe me.”
Sarah had scoffed. “What exactly do I owe you?”
“Everything,” Mia said. “I let you get away with a lot, Sarah.“
Sarah understood what she meant. Mia knew Sarah had slept with Alex when they were in college, and thought Sarah should be guilt-ridden about it but Sarah wasn’t going to feel bad about meaningless sex.
“Sarah—”
“Fine, I’ll come,” Sarah said.
She’d agreed to show up at Alex’s getaway but not because she believed she owed Mia. As far as Sarah was concerned, Mia could go to hell and take Alex with her. She didn’t owe Mia anything.
Sarah decided to go to the island because she did want to make amends with Phil.
She wanted to tell him the truth.
Before heading downstairs, Sarah had stopped by Phil’s room and knocked on the door. He didn’t answer. She called his name … no answer. She figured he’d gone down to breakfast. Hopefully, she could get him alone or pull him away so they could continue their conversation from last night. She wanted to know what his plans were considering what she’d told him about Alex. Part of her wanted to tell him sh e might have misheard what Alex said, wanted to tell him Alex might not have been serious. She didn’t want any violence between the men, and hated the idea that she might be the cause of conflict …
And now Sarah couldn’t help wondering, where was Phil?
“What’s going on?” Mia asked, walking into the kitchen, a scowl on her fresh-scrubbed face. “I could hear you from upstairs. What is happening?”
Crying, Grace ran over to Mia. “Alex is dead!”