Chapter 5
21.28
4:24 pm
with fear. “Clinton! What about me?”
But deep inside, Alynna felt a flicker of dark satisfaction-Chloe was gone. Out of the picture.
That meant she won, didn’t it?
Clinton didn’t look back. He tore out of the hall, ignoring the startled guests, the gossip that clung to him like wet smoke.
The drive home was a blur of screeching tires and ragged breathing. His hands shook on the steering wheel. Chloe’s message replayed in his head again and again.
When he burst through the front door, the house was too quiet. He called for her. No answer. He checked every room-her clothes, her books, the trinkets she’d held onto from her mother-gone.
Clinton sank to the floor in the empty bedroom, his mind reeling. He dialed her number again and again. Voicemail. Silence.
Something sharp twisted in his chest, something he couldn’t name. Regret? Loss? Anger? It festered in his bones like poison.
His voice cracked as he bent forward, hands buried in his hair, his breath coming in ragged
gasps.
“What have I done to you, Chloe…” he whispered into the emptiness. “What have I done?”
4:25 pm
