Chapter 2

Whatever hesitation had been in his eyes was gone. Replaced with fury.

"Seraphina, are you out of your mind?"

"Your mother raised a daughter like you? She deserved what she got."

The ambulance left and dust settled behind it.

I drove alone and ran every red light and got Mrs. Beatrice into surgery.

Then I went to pay and found the account empty, worse than empty, a million dollars in debt with my name flagged as a defaulter.

The account was linked to Dominic's. I already knew who had done it.

I went straight to the top floor and found Melanie in the VIP suite.

Dominic was sitting beside her hand-feeding her soup.

I kept my voice level.

"Melanie. Where is my money?"

She shook like she'd been caught and her voice came out small.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I thought I could grow it for you so I took the savings and put them into investments but I lost everything..."

"Investments. You have a nursing degree, Melanie. Not finance."

Dominic stepped in front of her.

"It's just money. I'll transfer it right now. Leave her alone."

He sent fifty thousand on the spot.

Before I could leave, Higgins stumbled into the room, face white, voice cracking.

"Ma'am. Mrs. Beatrice's organs failed. She's gone."

My mind went blank and my legs nearly gave out.

Dominic didn't even look up. "Good. Now stop hovering and get out. You're upsetting Melanie."

He turned to the bodyguards. "Get rid of the body before she wakes up. I don't want her seeing that."

They moved for the door and I blocked them.

"You're not touching her."

Mrs. Beatrice wasn't my mother by blood but she was a good woman and she treated me like a daughter from the start.

I wasn't going to let her be destroyed and do nothing.

"Illegal chemicals. No license. Melanie, you are not stupid. You are a killer."

"You are going to answer for what you did."

Melanie buried herself in Dominic's arms and wept.

"That's not true, sir. I didn't want to hurt anyone..."

He looked at me like I was something on the bottom of his shoe.

"It was her time. Stop trying to drag Melanie into this."

A snap of his fingers and the bodyguards closed in and locked me in a basement with no windows.

Hours later Dominic came down and stood in the doorway and looked down at me.

"Melanie flew out to arrange a proper burial. She didn't have to do that."

"The least you can do is thank her."

I looked up and he was holding his phone out, video call running.

On screen Melanie was picking her way along a muddy path outside a church and pallbearers struggled behind her with the casket.

Then she tripped and took two of them down with her.

The casket hit the ground and caught the slope of the churchyard hill and rolled and didn't stop until it dropped into the drainage ditch at the bottom.

I had nothing left.

"Dominic. You are worse than nothing."

He didn't even look at me, just kept calling into the screen.

"Melanie! Are you okay? Don't be scared. I'm coming right now."

He turned and walked away.

I let my eyes close.

I wondered, when Dominic found out whose body had been desecrated, whether he'd still feel so easy about it.

After they let me out I called the attending physician.

"Doctor, I need a signed statement."