I felt a terror I'd never felt before, but I couldn't cry. Tears would only make it more difficult to escape. I ran through the tall trees, my heart pounding against my chest. I didn't know where I was going, and the thick foliage and dark skies confused me. If I'd been in this area before, I couldn't remember it. I hoped I'd run into someone who could help me, but there wasn't a soul around, except for the person who was after me.
The wind gusted as the rain pelted my head. My clothes were quickly drenched, the water on my face freezing with the cold wind. My foot slipped as I hit a rock. I stumbled, hitting my hand against a tree to steady myself. The wood left a deep scratch, and blood dripped down my fingers, but I couldn't stop.
My breath came hard and fast. A crack of thunder was so loud it almost knocked me off my feet. Seconds later, there was a flash of lightning. Maybe I could use the storm to my advantage. Perhaps the rain would make it more difficult to find me.
Then I heard someone crashing through the brush.
I sped up, but I feared I wouldn't be fast enough.
Crashing through the trees, I came to a terrifying, dizzying stop as I realized I was at the edge of a cliff. I looked down at the whitecaps below, the dark, churning water ready to suck me under. I couldn't let the sea take me. I looked to the left, then to the right.
One impossible choice.
Would it be the right one?
I turned to the left and sprinted toward another thick grove of trees. I needed cover. My lungs strained from the pressure I was putting on them. Within minutes, I was running out of gas. Exhausted and disoriented, I didn't know which path to take, which trees to cut through. Every turn led into a deeper, thicker forest, paths that seemed untraveled by anyone.
Tears pricked my eyelids. The worst thought I'd ever imagined was raging around in my head. Would I die tonight? Was this it?
A voice rang through the trees. "There's nowhere to go. Give up."
"Never," I muttered, not daring to scream the words, because that would be stupid, and I'd done enough stupid things already. I broke through another thick patch of trees and found myself back out in the open, with only a few feet between me and the edge of a cliff. I'd run out of room.
I'd made the wrong choice.
Eileen stormed toward me, only slowing down when she realized she had her prey. But she also seemed confused.
"You aren't the one I want," she yelled. "Where is she? Where did Kelsey go?"
"You'll never find her. And you'll never get away with this."
"Of course, I will. I'm a Chadwick. No one takes us down."
There was nothing but confidence in her voice.
"Why did you kill Melanie?" I asked, wanting to get her talking until I could find a way out of this impossible situation. "Why did you do it, Eileen?"
"Because she was pregnant, and she wanted to have the baby. She was going to derail Gage's career, his chance at going pro. She was ruining everything."
"She didn't have to die. Gage could have just stayed away from her."
"He wouldn't have stayed away from her. The fool was in love with her."
"Then you should have killed him," I said bitterly. "I'm sure he forced Melanie to have sex with him."
"There was no force. They were stupid children thinking they were in love. She told me that herself."
Her words confused me. I'd never heard Melanie talk about Gage. Of all the Chadwicks, she'd mostly talked about Carter, but maybe that had been a cover. Carter had usually been where Gage was. Maybe she'd used Carter to get closer to Gage, the way I'd sometimes used Ben to get closer to Drake.
"I tried to pay her off," Eileen continued. "I offered her money. She threw it in my face. She disrespected me."
"So, you killed her? How did you even do that?" I asked in bewilderment.
"I told her we both needed to calm down, and I offered her some tea."
"You poisoned her tea?"
"It was so easy," Eileen said with a simple shrug. "Melanie just went to sleep. Then her heart stopped. It was quite peaceful after the yelling. All I had to do was get rid of her."
I felt sick to my stomach at what she'd done, but I couldn't give in to my emotions. I had to keep her talking. "The sheriff—Tom Ryan—he helped you, didn't he?"
"Tom had no choice. We dragged her to the cliff and pushed her over. She was already dead, Willow. She didn't feel anything."
"Why didn't Tom have a choice?"
She stared back at me. "I think you know already."
"Because he was Gage's father?"
"So, Dillon told you. Well, it doesn't matter. Tom is dead. Dillon is dead and you and Kelsey won't survive the day. I'll go back home. We'll all mourn you and then we'll go back to our lives far, far away from here."
A terrifying chill and a crushing hatred for Eileen ran through me. "Melanie was an innocent girl. How could you kill her? How could you throw her into the sea?"
"She would have destroyed my son's dreams." There wasn't even a hint of regret in her voice. "Now Kelsey has done the same thing. I will find her, and I will kill her, too. Gage will never recover from her betrayal. And Carter will never be the same man. Kelsey will die. Make no mistake about that, Willow, but you will no longer be a problem for me."
I was running out of time. I could rush her, but I'd seen what happened when Dillon did that. I searched desperately for some way out. Maybe jumping into the ocean was my best bet. But as I looked at the raging sea and saw all the jagged rocks, I knew I wouldn't survive.
"You have no options," Eileen said, an odd calm in her voice now. "But I'll kill you first. You won't feel the rocks or the cold. It will just hurt for a second."
"How can you kill me? You know my parents. You've practically been an aunt to me."
"Our family relationship is a joke. Your mother has been fucking my husband for years. I can't stand her."
"You've always pretended to be her friend."
"It was easier that way. I'm actually sorry that you're the one who got in my way, sweet Willow. You were the nicest one in your family. But now you know too much. You've asked too many questions. You used to be someone no one noticed. Now you have everyone's attention."
"What about Tom?" I asked, desperate to stall as long as I could. "Did you tell him Gage killed Melanie?"
"Yes. I told him he had to protect his son. He agreed. He had no idea that Gage was innocent."
"Was Gage innocent? What did he know?"
"Nothing. He knew nothing. He thought some stranger had abducted Melanie. I didn't realize that fool Dillon knew the whole story until this morning when I spoke to Tom. He said Dillon was asking a lot of questions. Tom was worried that Gage had done something to Kelsey, too. He said he couldn't help me hide another murder. That Ben was in charge now, and he would protect Ben over Gage."
"So, you killed Tom."
"I had no more use for him."
"When did you figure out Dillon had Kelsey?"
"After I talked to Tom. It's the only thing that made sense. It just took me a little longer than I thought to find his cabin. I'm done talking. If you need to say a prayer, say it now."