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Back The Sorority Murder Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise
  3. Dedication
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  18. Thirteen
  19. Fourteen
  20. Fifteen
  21. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  22. Sixteen
  23. Seventeen
  24. Eighteen
  25. Nineteen
  26. Twenty
  27. Twenty-One
  28. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  29. Twenty-Two
  30. Twenty-Three
  31. Twenty-Four
  32. Twenty-Five
  33. Twenty-Six
  34. Twenty-Seven
  35. Twenty-Eight
  36. Twenty-Nine
  37. Thirty
  38. Thirty-One
  39. Thirty-Two
  40. Thirty-Three
  41. Thirty-Four
  42. From the Missing Journal of Candace Swain
  43. Thirty-Five
  44. Thirty-Six
  45. Thirty-Seven
  46. Thirty-Eight
  47. From the Journal of Candace Swain
  48. Thirty-Nine
  49. Forty
  50. Forty-One
  51. Forty-Two
  52. Forty-Three
  53. Forty-Four
  54. Forty-Five
  55. Forty-Six
  56. Forty-Seven
  57. Letter Found in the Journal of Candace Swain
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. Booklist
  61. Excerpt

Lucas walked into my life at the writing lab. Right away I felt uncomfortable around him. He personally knew Adele, and I thought, Does he know what happened? But of course he doesn’t. I couldn’t lie to him if he asked and say I didn’t know her, because what if he found out that I lied? So I admitted that Adele and I had a biology class together and said it was so sad about what happened. I expected him to agree and move on, drop the conversation.

But he didn’t.

I’ll never forget what he said.

“Her mother is still looking for her. She barely sleeps, she barely eats, she wants to know what happened. Her dad didn’t even want her younger sister Amanda—my girlfriend—to go to college at all because he feared something would happen to her.”

Lucas told me all about the Overton family. How Amanda went to college anyway, out of state, against her father’s wishes. He told me how what happened to Adele tormented her family. That all they wanted was the truth, peace, a body to bury. Well, his girlfriend wants to bury her body, but her mother still thinks she’s alive.

All I could think of while he talked and talked was that Adele was dead. She was dead, and I knew it, and I could be the one to help give her family peace.

But I said nothing. Then I told Lucas I couldn’t tutor him anymore, I was quitting the writing lab. But he kept showing up wherever I went. When I was at the library, he was there. At the dining hall, he was there. It felt like he was stalking and watching me. I knew he knew something, but what and how could he know? What did Lucas Vega know about Adele’s last day? Why was he hounding me?

Guilt was eating away at me.

I was there, which maybe makes me an accessory? I stood there and did nothing, said nothing. I let others make her disappear. They lied, and I lied with them. This lie that has eaten me from the inside out.

And no matter how hard I try, nothing I do can right this terrible wrong. Except tell the truth.

I realize I’ve been waiting years for the right time, but it’s always the right time to tell the truth and do the right thing. Now is the time.

I will convince Taylor to come forward with me. There’s strength in numbers, and she must be as conflicted as me. Because how can anyone live with this guilt?

Thirty-Five

Regan drove Lucas home, then turned off the ignition and hopped out of the truck with him, saying, “I’d like to check out your apartment to make sure it’s safe.”

“Sure. Thanks.”