22
“Still no news?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
The staff shook their heads, their expressions apologetic. “We’re doing everything we can, Mrs. Urie. We’ve contacted everyone, and the search teams are working around the clock.”
I nodded, but their words did little to ease the knot in my chest. Preston had been missing for days now, arith each passing hour, the fear inside me grew.
I sat by the window, staring out at the rain streaking down the glass, my phone clutched tightly in my hand. I had sent countless messages to Preston, desperate for any response.
“Where are you?”
“Please come home”
“I’m sorry, Preston. Please, just answer me.”
But there was nothing.
Guilt consumed me.
11:51 AM c c
Hargoed je My Love Altes in Mya
Guilt consumed me.
This was my fault. I should have believed him. I should have trusted him when he said the video wasn’t real Instead, I pushed him away, and now… now he was gone
The weight of my mistake felt unbearable.
“I’ll fix this,” I whispered to myself, as if saying it out loud would make it true
With no other leads to occupy my mind, I decided to confirm what had been gnawing at me since meeting Alestair. I arranged for a DNA test, submitting samples from both him and Preston.
When the results arrived, I held the envelope in my trembling hands, my breath catching as I tore it open.
Match: Identical twins.
I stared at the words, my mind reeling. How was this possible?
Alestair, who had been waiting nearby, seemed just as shocked when I showed him the results.
“L… I don’t know what to say,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair. “I grew up in an orphanage. No one ever told me I had a brother.”
Despite the confusion, Alestair didn’t hesitate to step in. “I’ll help,” he said firmly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to find him. I’ll even handle the media to clear his name. Preston doesn’t deserve this.”
I nodded, grateful for his support, even as the weight of everything threatened to crush me.
Days turned into an endless blur of searching and waiting
There were no leads, no updates–just an overwhelming silence that felt suffocating.
My thoughts spiraled as I sat alone in the house, my hands trembling with every text I sent to Preston’s
unanswered phone.
The stress became unbearable, and one evening, as I sat clutching my stomach, I felt a sharp, searing pain.
“No,” I whispered, panic setting in as the pain grew worse.
The staff found me moments later, pale and shaking, and rushed me to the hospital.
When I woke up, the room was quiet, save for the steady beep of the monitors beside me.
Something felt wrong–empty
“Where’s my baby?” I asked, my voice barely audible.
The doctor looked at me, her expression sympathetic. I’m so sorry, Mrs. Urie. We did everything we could, but
the stress was too much…”
Her words faded into the background as my world shattered.
The baby was gone.
Tears streamed down my face as I turned away, unable to process the loss. Everything I had fought for, everything I had tried to protect, was slipping through my fingers.
Hours later, a nurse entered with a package.
“This arrived for you,” she said softly, placing it on the table beside me.
I stared at it, dread pooling in my stomach. Slowly, I reached for it, my hands trembling as I opened the box
Inside were black roses, their dark petals ominous and cold.
And there was a letter.
I unfolded it, my heart pounding as I read the words scrawled in red ink:
You will never find Preston again because he is dead.
The box fell from my hands, crashing to the floor as a scream tore from my throat.
“No!” I sobbed, clutching the sheets, my body shaking uncontrollably.
Preston couldn’t be gone. He couldn’t be.
Id do was cry But the words on the letter felt like a death sentence, and all I could do was cry
I was still reeling from the letter when my phone buzzed on the bedside table.
Alestair’s name flashed on the screen, and I snatched it up, hope clawing its way through the despair.
“Zoe,” Alestair said quickly, his tone urgent. “The police have a lead on Madison. She was spotted at the airport.
trying to leave the country.”
I sat up, my heart pounding. “Where is she now?”
“They blocked her at the gate,” he explained. “She’s in custody. They’re holding her at the airport until further
instructions.”
“I’m coming,” I said immediately, throwing off the blanket and swinging my legs over the side of the bed.
“Are you sure?” Alestair asked cautiously
“Yes,” I said, my voice firm. “I need to see her.”
The drive to the airport felt like an eternity. My thoughts spiraled as I imagined what Madison might say, what
she might know
When I arrived, the sight of her sent a surge of rage coursing through me.
Madison sat in a chair, her hands chained in front of her, looking smug despite the situation. Her perfectly styled
hair and flawless makeup didn’t match the chaos she had caused.
As soon as I saw her, I marched up and slapped her across the face.
“Where is Preston?” I shouted, my voice trembling with anger.
Madison slowly turned her head back to me, a cruel smile curling on her lips. “Oh, Zoe,” she drawled. “Still so
dramatic.”
“Answer me!” I yelled, my chest heaving.
She chuckled, her laugh cold and cutting. “Well, let’s just say he’s gone underwater Perhaps being eaten by a shark as we speak”
Her words hit me like a blow, my knees nearly buckling. “You’re lying,” I whispered, my voice shaking
Madison raised an eyebrow, her expression dripping with mockery. “Am I?”
She reached into her bag, which one of the officers handed her under supervision, and pulled out a phone. She tapped the screen a few times before holding it up for me to see.
The video played, and my blood ran cold.
It showed Preston driving a yacht, his expression focused as he pursued what I could only assume was Madison’s vessel. The water was choppy, the waves slamming against the sides of the yacht.
Then it happened.
The yacht hit something–another boat or a hidden obstacle, I couldn’t tell. Preston was thrown violently, his body hitting the side before he disappeared overboard into the dark water.
The video ended abruptly, leaving a suffocating silence in its wake.
“No,” I whispered, tears streaming down my face.
