Blood And Promises Novel by Sabrina Hart Chapter 12

Blood And Promises Novel by Sabrina Hart Chapter 12

Giovanni accepted the order and left.

Richard stood where he was, staring at the bloodstained garment lying quietly on the floor. The dim light in the living room cast an ominous shadow over it.

Suddenly, he felt that the small house he had lived in for years was so empty it made his heart race with anxiety, so quiet he could hear the rush of his own blood and the frantic beating of his heart.

He did not sleep the entire night. The light in the study stayed on until dawn, and the ashtray was filled with cigarette butts. The people he had sent out began to report back one after another:

“Reporting, Major General Cantrell, the courthouse confirmed that Mrs. Cantrell went there alone yesterday morning and collected the divorce decree.”

“The newspaper confirmed that Mrs. Cantrell went there early yesterday morning, paid a large sum, and requested a divorce announcement on today’s front page.”

“The crematorium… The staff on duty said nothing unusual happened yesterday afternoon, and they didn’t see Mrs. Cantrell or Ms. Macias. Only a temporary worker said he seemed to hear some noise in the abandoned processing room at the back, but didn’t dare to check…”

The clues were scattered and fragmented, as if they could all be explained, yet as if they were all shrouded in a layer of mist. The vague statements from the staff on duty made him suspicious, but the ‘bruises’ on Rebecca and her tearful complaints of being ‘pushed around’ seemed to fit.

That bloodstained garment was like a thorn lodged in his heart—impossible to pull out, impossible to ignore.

On the third day, there was still no news of Samantha. She had not returned to the Army Band, had not contacted any friends, nor had she gone to her family. She seemed to have vanished without a trace, like a drop of water merging into the sea.

Richard sat behind his desk, dark circles under his eyes and stubble growing on his chin. He could not focus on a single word in the documents in his hands; all he could see was Samantha’s face flickering before his eyes.

Her bold and radiant smile, her slyness when she curled up in his arms and hooked his finger, saying, “Richard, you must not let me down,” her stubbornness as she knelt on broken glass, pale but refusing to bow her head, the sudden shattering light in her eyes when she saw him protecting Rebecca, and finally, the way she raised her face and asked in that calm, despairing voice, “Can you trust me just this once…”

A sharp, unexpected pain stabbed through his heart, leaving him almost unable to breathe. For these three days, he had not been able to stop thinking about her for a single moment. This feeling of losing control was unfamiliar and terrifying to him.

He could not wait any longer.

“Investigate! Use every connection we have! Train stations, bus stations, airports, docks! Go through every means of leaving the city! You must find her for me!” he growled hoarsely into the phone.

The order was quickly carried out. Soon, information began to come back. At the airport, a record was found: Samantha had purchased a one-way economy ticket to Junction City the afternoon before the announcement was published, and it had already been used.

Junction City… Richard suddenly stood up, knocking over the chair behind him. That was Lindsay’s hometown; she still had some distant relatives there, though they had not been in touch for years.

He immediately grabbed his coat, putting it on as he walked out: “Book me the next flight to Junction City! Now!”

“Yes, sir!”

The car sped all the way to the airport. In the departure hall, just as Richard received his ticket, a slender figure rushed over and blocked his way. It was Rebecca.

Her face was pale, her eyes swollen and red from crying. At that moment, she clung tightly to Richard’s arm, her voice pleading and choked with sobs: “Richie! Don’t go! Please, don’t go! She’s just playing tricks, trying to force you to give in this way! If you go, you’re falling right into her trap! Think about it—every time she got upset before, didn’t she always find a way to make you coax her?”

Richard paused, looking at the tear-streaked face before him—the look that once made him feel she needed protection and pity. Now, however, an inexplicable irritation welled up inside him. He shook off her hand, a bit too forcefully, causing Rebecca to stagger and look at him in disbelief.

Richard stared at her, his gaze as sharp as a hawk’s, his voice icy: “Becca, tell me honestly, did you know anything about the injuries on her body?”

Rebecca’s face turned instantly as white as paper, tears streaming even harder, her body swaying as if she might collapse: “You… you still suspect me? Richard, we’ve known each other for over ten years—don’t you know what kind of person I am? And Samantha—don’t you know her temper, her tricks? Is there anything she wouldn’t do? Staging things, playing the victim—what does that matter to her?”

She cried her heart out, as if suffering a great injustice: “Is it that you believe everything she says? In your heart, am I really such a malicious person?”

Looking at her familiar, fragile, helpless tears, listening to her mention their years of friendship, Richard’s hardened defenses softened for a moment.

Yes, Becca had always been kind since childhood, even rescuing injured birds she found—how could she… But that bloodstained garment, that bloodstained garment covered in salt…