Chapter 4

Brendan Fox lounged in the doorway like he owned it.

My stomach dropped.

Once I was sure the Rose in my house was a fake, Brendan was the first name I landed on.

The kid was her lover, after all. Aside from me, no one on earth knew Rose better.

Was this his play? Get inside, work with her, walk off with the inheritance?

I was still turning it over when the door opened.

Rose didn't so much as glance at Brendan. She grabbed my hand, delighted, and pulled me inside.

"Sid, dinner's ready."

"Go wash up. I'll get your soup."

Brendan panicked and wedged his body against the frame.

"Rose! What is this?"

"You're the one who said the old man in this house made you want to throw up. Now the two of you are back together, is that it?"

"So what happens to me? I waited four years for you!"

I had no interest in trading words with Brendan.

And I knew it was pointless anyway.

Every time I'd ever fought back, Rose had only made me pay worse for it.

But her face went cold.

She hooked her arm through mine and shoved Brendan out the door.

"I was a fool before. I did things that wronged Sid."

"You disrespect my husband again and I'm done with you!"

Then she threw the bolt and left Brendan crying and pounding outside.

I sat down on the couch, completely lost.

I couldn't read what Rose was after.

While I was still floundering, she suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me and slapped herself twice across the face.

"Sid, I can't remember what I ever did to hurt you before."

"But I swear, from now on it's only ever you."

"Everything I got wrong, I'll spend the rest of my life making up to you."

The sincerity on her face nearly broke my mind.

There was fear, yes, but more than that, hatred.

If Rose had just kept her pants on and not cheated.

If she'd only bowed her head and admitted it sooner.

I would never have come this far.

I wouldn't have spent four years living scared.

But I buried her myself. With my own hands. So why was there another Rose kneeling here, swearing over and over that she was mine alone?

The last two days had hit me one after another, and my defenses were gone.

I didn't want to guess anymore.

So I asked her straight:

"My wife died a long time ago."

"Who the hell are you?"

She got to her feet, stunned, and threw herself into my arms.

"Sid, I know I was wrong."

"Hit me, curse me, whatever you want. Just don't say things like that."

I pushed her off. I was about to tell her the truth when the doorbell rang.

Rose went to answer it. A team of officers stood there, fully armed.

"Mr. Gilbert. Acting on a tip, we found the body of a woman in the abandoned pigsty at your family home. She's been dead about four years."

"Our records show you bought a train ticket back to your hometown yesterday."

For a moment everything blurred.

Then I stood up, calm.

I was reaching out my hands to turn myself in when one of the officers held up a photo.

"This is the victim. Take a look."

The second I saw that photo, my mind went blank.

Every question, every thing that hadn't added up, finally strung together.

I understood.

I finally knew what had happened.