CHAPTER 9

It was nightfall, the moon shone brightly in a cloudless night and Tom stood in front of the Banks’ residence. Unbeknownst to Yvonne and Suzanne, he had been here before. But only as a guest. He had been invited to the Mayor’s ball the last Christmas as a guest and speaker. He had even chatted with William Banks that night and had found the man to be as charming as the media had made him out to be.

“You look like someone I used to know,” William had laughed as they stood by the firewall, sipping Chardonnay while a violinist strode past them playing Last Christmas. 

Did I remind you of Yvonne? He thought to himself. Life would certainly have been vastly different had he grown up a member of the Banks family, and not just someone who bore the same surname. 

But what’s past is past. I’m here to say goodbye to him. 

Tom stepped up to th