The Bound Between Us

Chapter 925

What exactly was the connection between Julie and Autumn?

Anastasia's mind kept looping the question. Julie had died in prison-she'd even sent Nelson to find out who had claimed Julie's body, but so far, nothing. Now, out of nowhere, Autumn had appeared. She'd cozied up to Katelyn, gotten close to Daria, and yet Anastasia had never thought to link her with Julie.

As far as anyone knew, Autumn had only just arrived in Riverdale, following Mr. Walker, who'd taken a new job here. Word was, this was the Walkers' first time in town; before this, they'd spent years doing charity work out in the sticks.

Anastasia racked her brains, but the link between Autumn and Julie just wasn't adding up.

Then, thanks to Herman's deep pockets, they got into the cemetery and found the urn Autumn had left behind. The urn had been swapped out ages ago-no name, no photo, nothing to suggest who was inside. Just a plain box. How could anyone say for sure it was Julie?

Anastasia shot Herman a look and quipped, "You ever notice in those cheesy soap operas, people are always saying stuff like, 'I'd know her even if she was ashes'? Please. If anybody could really ID someone by their ashes, I'd call her my fairy godmother."

Herman let out a rare laugh, warm and genuine. It'd been ages since Anastasia had cracked a joke.

He squeezed her hand. "Odds are, it's Julie. I'm just as curious as you are— what's the deal between her and Autumn?"

The thing was, with Julie gone and Autumn's mysterious background, digging too openly wasn't an option. Getting to the truth about their connection was proving to

be tricky.

mom and Autumn are pretty tight, right? Maybe your

Autumn was picked up earlier by an official car. If Mr. Walker gets

things, but crossing Mr. Walker was the last thing they needed. Only Herman could roast his own mom and get

"So,

Herman's eyes. "Well, Autumn's getting close to Daria. If Joseph finds out, what do

That's his kid, after all. Whatever he does is his business. Do you think Autumn

just stayed quiet. Without proof, he didn't want to worry her. If it really was Autumn, then Anastasia was better off not knowing just

changing the subject. "How about grabbing

so caught up following Autumn, neither had eaten a

long since she and Herman had sat down for a proper meal

a cozy little wonton shop, just like old times, each with a

said suddenly. "It's her first birthday back with the Salstroms. We can't

worried about the gossip and whether

next year," he'd said before. To be fair, he'd skipped Emmie and Nancy's first

next year is next year,” Anastasia replied, sipping her soup. Her voice was calm, steady. "We

ne. Like

about me. you said, as long as it's

life

not the