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CH 51: ASHES AND ANSWERS

Author: Eden Grey
last update Last Updated: 2025-11-04 22:16:04

Annie's POV

While we were a few metres away from the safe house, I saw it burning heavily.

The safehouse was still burning when we arrived.

Flames shot through the roof while thick black smoke billowed into the night sky. Fire trucks surrounded the property but they were not trying to save anything because there was nothing left worth saving. The entire structure had collapsed inward leaving only charred walls and smoldering debris.

I jumped out of the SUV before Jack even brought it to a complete stop. My legs felt weak as I stumbled toward the burning ruins while heat from the fire made my skin prickle even from twenty feet away. Everything I had built was inside that building. All my records and weapons and money were turning to ash right in front of me.

"Annie stop," Jack grabbed my arm while pulling me back from getting too close. "There is nothing you can do here except get yourself hurt or arrested when the fire department starts asking questions."

"How did they get here so fa
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  • THE BRIDE OF DECEPTION   CH 57: NOWHERE TO RUN

    Annie's POVClaire drove through backstreets while avoiding main roads where traffic cameras might capture my face.Every few blocks I would see someone staring at their phone then looking around like they were searching for something which made me sink lower in my seat. The news had turned me into the most wanted person in the city within an hour of Mrs. Patterson's death."We need to find somewhere you can hide until this blows over," Claire said while checking her mirrors constantly. "My apartment is too obvious because anyone investigating you will eventually connect us and search places I own.""Everywhere is too obvious," I replied while watching pedestrians walk past without knowing a wanted murderer sat in a car right next to them. "I cannot stay in this city without being recognized eventually because my photograph is on every screen and newspaper."Claire turned down an alley then parked behind an abandoned warehouse that looked like it had not been used in years. Broken win

  • THE BRIDE OF DECEPTION   CH 56: FRAMED

    Annie's POVClaire grabbed my arm while pulling me toward the back exit of the orphanage. The sirens were getting louder which meant the ambulance would arrive within seconds followed quickly by police who would want statements about how Mrs. Patterson died. Neither of us could afford to be questioned right now with a dead body on the floor between us."We need to leave immediately," Claire hissed while shoving open the back door. "If the police find us here they will arrest both of us before we can explain what happened.""Running makes us look guilty," I protested even as my feet carried me through the doorway. "We should stay and tell them the truth about what we saw."Claire laughed without any humor while leading me through the alley behind the building. "What truth Annie? That we came here in the middle of the night to question an old woman who then died of poisoning right in front of us? That sounds incredibly suspicious no matter how we explain it."We reached Claire's car the

  • THE BRIDE OF DECEPTION   CH 55: ACCUSATIONS

    Annie's POVI grabbed my phone while dropping to my knees beside Mrs. Patterson's convulsing body. My fingers shook as I dialed for an ambulance while watching foam continue to bubble from her mouth. Claire was trying to hold the old woman steady but her movements were too violent to control."I need an ambulance at the Riverside Orphanage immediately," I said when the operator answered. "A woman in her seventies is having severe convulsions and showing signs of poisoning. She needs help right now or she is going to die."The operator asked questions about symptoms while I relayed information as clearly as possible despite my racing heart. Mrs. Patterson's convulsions were slowing down but that was not a good sign because it meant the poison was shutting down her nervous system. Her breathing came in shallow gasps that sounded wet and labored."Stay with me Mrs. Patterson," Claire urged while stroking the old woman's hair. "The ambulance is coming. You just need to hold on for a few m

  • THE BRIDE OF DECEPTION   CH 54: THE JOURNAL

    Annie's POVMrs. Patterson disappeared into a back room while Claire and I waited in uncomfortable silence. I could hear her moving things around while drawers opened then closed in quick succession. Part of me hoped she would not find the journal because that would mean Claire's story might still be fabricated. But another part needed to see whatever evidence existed regardless of how much it would hurt."You have been very quiet since we got here," Claire observed while watching my face. "Are you starting to believe what I told you or are you still convinced this is all some elaborate scheme?""I do not know what to believe anymore," I admitted while rubbing my temples where a headache was forming. "Every story you tell sounds plausible but that does not make it true. You could have coached Mrs. Patterson on what to say before bringing me here tonight."Claire shook her head while something that looked like hurt crossed her expression. "I understand why you doubt me, Annie. I gave

  • THE BRIDE OF DECEPTION   CH 53: THE ORPHANAGE

    Annie's POVClaire insisted we visit the orphanage immediately even though it was nearly midnight. I wanted to refuse because exhaustion pulled at every muscle in my body after everything that had happened tonight.But the look on her face told me this could not wait until morning.The orphanage sat in a neighborhood I barely recognized from my childhood memories. The building looked smaller than I remembered with peeling paint on the shutters while weeds grew through cracks in the front walkway.A dim light glowed in one of the downstairs windows suggesting someone was still awake despite the late hour."Why are we here?" I asked while climbing out of Claire's car. "What does this place have to do with our birth parents or the people who killed them?""You will understand once we talk to Mrs. Patterson," Claire replied while walking toward the front door. "She has been working here for forty years which means she was here when we arrived as infants."Claire knocked on the door then w

  • THE BRIDE OF DECEPTION   CH 52: THE TRUTH BETWEEN SISTERS

    Annie's POVClaire drove us to an apartment building on the east side of the city that I had never seen before. The building looked ordinary enough with cracked concrete steps leading to a entrance that needed paint. She parked in an underground garage then led me through a series of locked doors that required keycards to open."This is one of my safe locations," Claire explained while unlocking the apartment door. "Nobody knows about this place except me and two people I trust with my life. We can talk here without worrying about surveillance or interruptions."The apartment was small but clean with furniture that looked expensive despite the building's rundown exterior. Large windows overlooked the street below while heavy curtains blocked anyone from seeing inside. Claire gestured for me to sit on the couch while she poured two glasses of whiskey from a bottle on the counter."I think we need to have an honest conversation for the first time since I showed up in your life," Claire

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