No Mercy, No Forgiveness

The phone alarm rang. Geoffrey glanced at the time, clocked out right on schedule, leaving Sean alone in the office.

The office was empty.

Sean clenched the Heirloom Pendant in his hand until blood seeped from his palm before finally releasing it.

Stepping outside, he spotted Stuart lying barely breathing on the roadside. “Take him back,” he coldly ordered.

Pearl.

An eerie silence filled the rooms. In the corner of the living room sat a glaringly bright red case, jarringly out of place.

Geoffrey returned home precisely on time and settled onto the sofa Maureen used to favor.

Everything felt the same, yet utterly different.

He didn’t know how long he’d sat there when his gaze drifted to that case.

Sean had sent it over–Maureen’s belongings. He hadn’t opened it until now.

Approaching the case, Geoffrey bent down and lifted the lid.

The passcode was painfully simple: his birthday.

He knew because Maureen had used his birthday for every lock in this villa.

Inside lay everyday items and clothes, sparse for a woman’s belongings.

Geoffrey couldn’t bring himself to sift through them. He shut the case again.

Without eating, he retreated to the bedroom they once shared.

The moment he entered, Maureen’s cremation urn and her black–and–white photo stared back at him.

Skeletal remains couldn’t yield DNA after cremation, but Geoffrey remained certain–Maureen wasn’t dead…

She absolutely wouldn’t die!

She wouldn’t dare die!

How could someone as pain–averse as Maureen dare to die?

She was just deceiving herself to be with Gareth.

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investigated–perpetually single, Maureen’s prince charming, her childhood

him all

early

his assistant

seemed unchanged–until subtle

bowl at

more photograph in the

texts when working

light upon returning

leaving work

company witnessed

deliberately

secretaries exchanged

Mr. Sutton

since she died, he

288 Vouchers

Mr. Sutton, I’d never

I were as pretty as her, I’d make sure to

special assistant, overheard their conversation and spoke up to

liked meddling, but he was better at

doing nothing but work, having people look for Maureen, and crushing Gareth’s

wasn’t

never gave up searching

Year’s Eve,

Maureen would always accompany Geoffrey back to

this year was different. Geoffrey

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Chapter31

288 Vouchers

he was when Maureen first left, now Geoffrey mostly sat alone,

and left in a hurry for

white

reason, it felt

window,

better not let

door behind him

turned to see his mother,

wrong with

like you’ve become a different person