A Hurt So Sweet Volume Four - Isabella Starling Page 0,56

Estate. Just you.

It's not signed, but it doesn't need to be. My gut instantly recognizes her tone, her words. It's her, and she wants something.

I grab onto Dex's arm to steady myself and he embraces me. I feel my own body shaking in his arms. Neither of us says a word until minutes later, when we finally pull apart and stare into one another's eyes with resolution.

"We're going to get Reign back," I say, and Dex nods.

"I'm going to tell your father," he says next.

"Dex, she said not to tell anyone."

"Calm down." He kisses my forehead. "I haven't said anything to the cops. It'll be just us, and your father. We need to overpower her. We need to get Reign back."

"You don't even know if he's with her," I manage, but when I look at him, the hope in his eyes mirrors mine. We want the same thing, and this is the closest we've come to getting it back. "We need to leave soon."

He nods. "Emilian already knows. I've been waiting for you to come back. Where were you, anyway?"

Guiltily, I remember my errand and wave my hand as if it was nothing. "Shopping. Come on, we need to head over there."

We get in the car with Leroy. The drive to Oakes Estate is torturous. Every second of it, I spent staring out the window, looking for a familiar shadow or a sign. But there's nothing. Night is starting to descend on Eden Falls, bringing its secrets with it.

"Do we have a plan?" I finally ask Dexter once we pull into the Estate's driveway.

"You and Emilian will wait close by while I meet with her," he explains. "I'll be talking to her, since she only contacted me."

We get out of the car and walk up to the entrance where Emilian's already waiting.

The events of the last few years have made him seem smaller, more fragile. I regard him with cool indifference, but offer a curt nod in acknowledgement. He does the same with me and my husband.

Together, we set up camp in the family dining room. The house seems empty and sad now that Father is the only one who lives here. I can't help but notice how lonely it seems here.

"There's already been a sighting," Dex fills the silence. "A woman of her age, similar features, in town. At first they thought she was homeless. An addict."

"Why?" I ask, furrowing my brows.

"She was painfully thin," Dex shrugs. "But do you remember the Meyers? The doctor she killed... It was his son who saw her in town. He's positive it was her."

"We'll have to be careful tonight," Emilian cuts in. "Our priority is Lily Anna."

"No," I interrupt him icily. "Our priority is Reign."

"You don't even know if she has him," Father snarls.

"I don't give a shit," I spit back. "I want him back. I don't care about her. She's better off dead if you ask me, because if I get my hands on her, I'll kill her myself."

"Likewise," Dex growls.

Father stares at us, shaking his head as he laughs. "I'm not letting you hurt her."

"Of course not," Dex mutters. "She's the last person around that you can hurt, isn't she? You've gotten rid of Pandora's mother. Of Bryony. Brazen and Tianna are gone. You have nothing left. No one."

Emilian looks so shocked about Dex's words I almost start to feel guilty. For a moment, I'm convinced his facade will break. He'll show his vulnerability and let us see how hard the past six years have really been on him. But a moment later, his mask is back in place, the turmoil forgotten. He won't break. He can't let himself do that, not even now.

"That's beside the point," he hisses after a long pause. "You two worry about your son, and I'll take care of the girl."

"Fine," we grunt in unison.

The rest of the evening, we set up watch around the cliffs. Father and Dexter pace the outer perimeter, hoping to get to Lily Anna before the meeting. I wait in an old boathouse, hidden behind a broken wooden canu. It gives me just enough shelter so Lily Anna will think I'm part of the shadows, while providing a good view of the cliffs.

And it's why I see her first.

Lily Anna climbs over the edge of the cliff. It's her - definitely her, with the same defiant upturned chin and beautiful doll-like face. But she's painfully thin. Emaciated.

My fingers tighten on the canu so much I'm afraid I'll break the wood,