I Heard Their Hearts Before Mine Stopped Chapter 04

I Heard Their Hearts Before Mine Stopped Chapter 04

That shameless woman. The whole family is worried sick about her, and she ran off to a motel with another man just to get back at me. I was wrong about her. She would not even help look for Sadie’s bracelet. She was even more vicious and despicable than I had imagined.

Gavin shot to his feet and slammed his fist on the table.

“What a disgrace! We’ve bent over backward to keep her happy, and now she’s dragging the Foster family name through the mud!”

Dad slung his jacket over his shoulder.

“Let’s go to Wrenfield Motor Lodge. I’m dragging that ungrateful girl back here and making her apologize to Sadie in front of Owen!”

Mom stood up despite her weakness. “I’m coming too. I want to see exactly what kind of selfish, ungrateful daughter I raised!”

The five of them, convinced they had the right to judge me, stormed off downstream.

In their minds, I was probably hiding in some warm room, enjoying the thrill of betraying my family.

Ahead on the riverbank, several search-and-rescue workers in orange uniforms stood clustered together.

They had just lifted a heavy body wrapped in plastic sheeting from a pile of rocks where the water had receded.

The lead captain turned and met Dad’s furious gaze. He glanced at the family photo Dad was holding and walked over with a grave expression.

“Are you Lena’s family? If so, we need you to identify the body.”

The captain set down the photo he had been holding and removed his cap, revealing his short, rain-soaked hair.

“We found her a little over a mile downstream on the rocks. She was caught in some branches. Please come and identify the body.”

Dad staggered back, his dress shoe leaving a deep print in the mud.

“That’s impossible. Absolutely not. Lena was one of the strongest swimmers at school. There’s no way she ended up a mile downstream. You’ve made a mistake.”

Sadie grabbed Dad’s sleeve, trembling, tears streaming down her face.

“Dad, Lena was texting Tyler from Elk Hollow last night. Everyone saw that Instagram Story. She is probably hiding at the motel after finding someone in the same clothes to scare us. She wants us to feel guilty. She wants Owen to regret everything.”

Mom’s pale face twisted with rage.

She rushed to the plastic-wrapped body and pointed at it.

“Lena! You’re really doing this now? Pretending to be dead just to punish us? Open your eyes right now! Look how badly you have frightened your sister! How far are you going to take this?”

Owen stood behind them, staring at the plastic sheet, fists clenched.

The captain stepped forward and blocked Mom.

He unclipped a clear waterproof bag from his belt and slapped it onto a nearby wooden table with a loud smack.

“This was in the victim’s pocket. See for yourselves.”