Chapter 138

Hearing the news, my first instinct was disbelief. Ann was still that sweet, ambitious young girl in my heart. Hadn’t the doctor said she was out of immediate danger after the operation? How could she be gone?

I collapsed to the floor, my body trembling. I’d faced death myself; I knew what it felt like. When the knife pierced me, I didn’t feel pain at first. I stared down, seeing blood dripping onto my wedding dress, the knife’s tip still glinting, menacing and cold.

Only after a moment did the pain hit, quickly followed by fear—the fear of the unknown that accompanies death. I didn’t care who attacked me; all I wanted was to run. I didn’t want to die.

And Ann? So young. How did she face her end? Alone on that cold hospital bed, surrounded by machines. She must have been terrified. I covered my face, overwhelmed with sadness and the urge to cry. Even without a heart, every part of me ached.

I picked myself up and stumbled toward Ryan. Chase looked as shocked as I felt, his voice shaky. “How did she die? I spoke to her doctor. Things weren’t great, but she wasn’t supposed to be in immediate danger. I insisted on saving her at all costs!”

Ann had been our only witness that night. Perhaps she’d seen the attacker’s face. Now, she was gone, lost at a crucial moment. A vital witness, yes, but it wasn’t the clue that mattered—it was Ann’s life. She was a person.

She’d suffered so much in Shadowmoor, and I’d been relieved when my father freed her. If I’d known she’d die after returning, I might have preferred she stay there, where at least she was alive. As long as you live, there’s hope.

“If you don’t believe it, go to the hospital,” Ryan said, his face etched with exhaustion. “Chase, it seems you didn’t listen to a word I said.”

Ryan’s anger yielded to calculation. He picked a white chess piece from the box, then swapped it for a black one, placing it on the board with a decisive snap. He was showing Chase that both he and Derek were merely pieces in his game, interchangeable at his whim.

Chase, still nursing his injuries, showered and changed. His mountain-treated knees weren’t healing quickly; he limped downstairs and headed to the hospital.

Outside Ann’s doctor’s office, police and Ann’s parents waited. Heather wept, demanding answers from the hospital. I knew she wasn’t there for trouble or compensation; she genuinely wanted to understand.

Robert, a distant relative, was involved because this was linked to my disappearance. He had both personal and professional reasons to be here. I bypassed the grieving Hammond family and approached the body, draped in a white sheet, a short distance away.