Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
Walking through the parking lot, Emma was frustrated at being no closer to the answers she needed. Struggling to think of her next steps, she neared her SUV and saw a flash of white on her door.
Emma froze.
Concentrating, she realized a white envelope was wedged in her driver’s side doorframe near the door handle.
She stepped to the door, took up the sealed envelope. Nothing was written on it.
She tore it open to find a single sheet of paper with the printed message.
20 YEARS. YOUR RECKONING IS ALMOST HERE.
Forty-Three
Orange County, California
Present day
Emma’s knuckles whitened on the wheel as she drove home while glancing at the note on the passenger’s seat.
Who is doing this? What do they want?
A horn blasted. She’d drifted from her lane.
Catching her breath, she concentrated on her driving and her problem.
A second note.
Emma had clung to a faint hope that the threat had ended with Marisa—and that she could unearth more about it. But this new note changed that. It meant there was more than one person behind it.
How do they know about me? How did they find me? My name is sealed yet they’ve found me. I need to know who they are and I need to know why they’re threatening me.
How would she find out?
Unlike at school, she had no chance of gaining access to security cameras. She didn’t know anyone who might help her. What about going to Lee, Marisa’s cousin, or her friend? Was Marisa’s work on the “secret project” related to this?
How far can I afford to push this?
She didn’t dare go to police. She didn’t dare go to Ben. She had to protect him and Kayla—she could fix this.
Emma swallowed. But Ben’s going to Eternity.
The walls of her life were closing in on her; the pressure had her dying for a cigarette even though she’d quit years ago.
Again Emma glanced at the note and wanted to scream.
With the anniversary coming, could it be some kind of tabloid, slimy media types who pay people off for information? But how did they know I would be at the funeral?
Are they following me?
She looked at the traffic in her rearview mirror and vehicles flowing around her.
Are they following me now?
Again she drifted from her lane. Again a horn honked.
Emma corrected her steering, gritting her teeth and making a vow.
I’ll survive this. I’ll protect my family and I’ll survive.
Forty-Four
Cielo Valle, Orange County, California
Present day
I just know something’s up with Emma.
The thought nagged at Kayla.
It was Saturday afternoon. Emma had gone to a funeral and Dad was out, meeting with some FBI guy to help with his Canada book. Kayla was not sure when they’d be back.