Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
If he wanted to get a hold on the situation, he needed to face her now. Maybe he could give her some pills to make her sleep the rest of the night so he could have the whole house to himself. He could use his twelve bucks to run to the store, buy some waffles and Cap’n Crunch, and eat as much as he wanted while watching cartoons. His mom never let him have that kind of food. Excitement took hold of him.
With that idea in the back of his mind, he twisted the doorknob to his mom’s room and pushed it open. But he shouldn’t have, because as soon as he saw her, he felt the urge to vomit.
She hung from a cord wrapped around a frail beam in the ceiling, feet dangling, her face a dangerous blue purple. The end of the cord was wrapped tightly around her neck and her eyes were wide open, looking right at him.
He wanted to scream.
Wanted to cry.
He wanted to call his uncle and tell him to come and get him right away.
He didn’t do any of those things though.
Instead, he sighed with relief as his mother’s lifeless body dangled from the ceiling.
PART ONE
ONE
DOMINIC
Many things can change the course of someone’s life.
A new job.
An eviction notice.
Being diagnosed with a terminal disease.
Life is never as simple as humans believe. We coast along, adapting to new environments, clinging to hope, but we all have our faults that trigger those changes. Our flaws are, ultimately, our downfall, and they are what weigh heavily on Dominic Baker’s mind as he sits in his office.
He listens to his wife Jolene move about in the kitchen, causing dishes to clink and pots to clatter. Prior to him entering his office, the kitchen had been vacant, which meant Jolene must’ve gone for a jog. He should’ve gone with her, but with the campaign for his second term as governor going and elections fast approaching, he was drowning in stress.
They’re due in uptown Raleigh so he can speak to a collective in the park. According to Jim Pilton, his campaign manager, over six hundred people will be attending today. Everyone is anticipating his presence—the well-known, forty-year-old candidate with the brown skin and perfect smile. Everyone has high hopes for Dominic Baker, the man uplifting North Carolina. That’s his slogan, anyway. Uplift North Carolina.
Now, he wishes the campaign wasn’t happening at all. He wishes that four years ago, he hadn’t been selfish and taken the role as governor. He’d have more privacy and much less to lose.
Dominic has always wanted to be in politics, though. It was his dream since high school, and he wasn’t going to let a minor mishap mess that up. He’d gone to college, run for school boards, the Raleigh city council, and was even lieutenant governor of the state prior to becoming official governor. He’d worked hard to build his status, networked with professionals, and the hard work had paid off. But, as with any successful career, there are mistakes that shape us and secrets we long to bury, and Dominic realizes this as he studies the letter on top of his desk.
Written in permanent marker that bleeds through the thin sheet of notebook paper are the words: I KNOW WHAT U DID. WHERE’S BRYNN?
Reading them again causes his heart to slam repeatedly against his ribcage, but not as hard as it had when he’d found the letter wedged between the stack of mail in his mailbox. He’d gone out to check the mail, sifted through the junk and bills, until the folded sheet of paper fluttered to the ground. He picked it up and as he’d read the words, all the loose envelopes scattered from his hands. He felt his chest cave in on itself, his throat coated with something thick and heavy.
He turned rapidly, taking a sweep of the neighborhood, but nothing was out of the ordinary. Suburban houses were off in the distance, fir and elm trees providing privacy . . . and places for anyone to hide. The only car parked on the street was the police cruiser on the other side. One of the officers started to get out of the cruiser and help him with the scattered mail but with a wave, Dominic told him he was fine and proceeded to collect the papers whilst hiding the note.
With shaking hands, he made his way toward the house, gripped the doorknob, and clicked it shut behind him. He waited by the door a moment, out of Jolene’s view, and took several breaths before stuffing the letter into his front pocket. He dropped the rest of the mail on the coffee table and bustled toward his office. That was nearly ten minutes ago, and still, he can’t stop his hands from shaking.
Who sent this? Who would do this? And how the hell do they know about Brynn? His eyes flicker up, and he listens harder for his wife who is still in the kitchen rummaging around and oblivious to his fear.