Chapter 154
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Stella disconnected and drove to Jordan’s location. The Icy dread pooling in her stomach crystallized the moment she saw Jordan’s face. His expression was granite. “Jordan,” she breathed, her voice tight. “Where is she?”
Jordan held her gaze, his eyes filled with a profound, unsettling gravity that only deepened her fear. After a heavy silence, he spoke, his voice low. “Stella, brace yourself. Some things are inevitable.”
“What is it?” Stella whispered, her eyes locked on his, searching for confirmation of the horror she sensed.
“No matter what, remember I’m right here,” Jordan murmured, his hands coming down firmly on her shoulders, anchoring her. Then he stepped aside. “This way.” His voice was gentle as he guided her forward.
Each step felt like wading through tar, a physical resistance against the truth waiting ahead. Yet, a terrible compulsion drove her forward. Leaden footfall after leaden footfall. The silence was a suffocating blanket.
Then she saw it: a solitary shape on the cold ground, shrouded by a stark white sheet. Stella’s breath caught, sharp and painful, her heart dropping like a stone.
Stella sank to her knees beside the shrouded form. A morbid, undeniable need seized her–the need to see, to confirm the nightmare. Her
hand, trembling violently, reached for the edge of the sheet.
Kevin arrived just as Stella’s fingers found the stiff edge of the sheet and pulled it back.
The face revealed was hauntingly familiar, yet grotesquely altered–a sickening, mottled grey–blue. Recognition slammed into Stella, followed instantly by a wave of visceral revulsion. Even her iron will couldn’t withstand the horror. Her legs buckled, sending her collapsing backward onto the cold ground.
Jordan was there instantly, hauling her upright before she fully hit the ground. “You can’t stay down here,” he said, his voice rough with concern, his hands gripping her arms. “It’s freezing.”
“Emily?” The name was a disbelieving rasp, scraped raw from Stella’s throat.
Kevin approached, his face ashen. He stared down at the distorted face for a long, agonizing moment. Then, with tenderness, he reached down and carefully, reverently, drew the sheet back over Emily’s face.
Stella sagged against Jordan. He took her full weight, half–carrying her to a nearby bench and easing her down.
“She’s…” Stella swallowed hard, the word sticking. “Dead?” It was barely a whisper.
Jordan met her eyes and gave a single, grim nod.
“No.” Stella shook her head. “How could she be dead?” She stared at Jordan, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“Emily knew the truth,” Jordan stated, his voice flat and cold. “And the killer knew we were closing in. She became a liability. Silence was the
only option left.”
Stella reeled. Despite their estrangement, the memory of their friendship crashed over her in a suffocating wave. Indifference was
impossible.
“How did she die? And when did you find her?” Stella asked, her voice trembling
“Just now,” Jordan said. “Coroner’s preliminary estimate: time of death: about 24 hours ago”
“24 hours,” Stella echoed, the implication hitting her. “The sighting at the hospital was just a decoy. Bait to make us chase a ghost while…”
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Chapter 154
Her voice cracked. “…while she was already here. Like this.”
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“Yes,” Jordan confirmed, his jaw tight. “A diversion. Another body muddies the waters, draws heat. She needed to bury the truth with Emily.”
It was all conjecture, suspicion swirling thick in the air, but concrete proof linking Anna remained frustratingly elusive.
“Cause?” Stella forced the word past numb lips.
“Signs of poisoning,” Jordan stated, his voice devoid of inflection. “And strangulation. Coroner can’t confirm primary cause yet.” He paused, the next words dropping like stones. “She suffered, Stella. Before the end.”
Stella’s gaze drifted back to the shrouded form, then found Kevin standing apart, a shadow of grief on his face. “Kevin? Why are you here?”
Kevin remained lost in his grief. The days they’d once shared all rushed back, sharpened to a razor’s edge by the brutal finality before him. Seeing her life extinguished so violently, it was a gut punch.
“I called him,” Jordan said quietly. “She mattered to you both. He should know it.”
Kevin turned slowly, his eyes red–rimmed and hollow. “Jordan called, saying she was… gone.” His voice was thick. “I had to see her. Say goodbye.” He gestured weakly towards the sheet, a tremor in his hand. “But this… this is monstrous.”
“Is she insane?” Stella burst out, her voice trembling on the edge of hysteria. “She’s with Monroe. Doesn’t she fear he’ll discover this? How many lives,” her voice cracked, “how many does she need to destroy?”
“Without witnesses? Without proof? She’s spotless in his eyes,” Jordan stated coldly. “And Monroe’s blind devotion? He’d dismiss any
accusation against her.”
Stella shuddered violently. “How terrifying she is! Poisoning? Strangling? Wait… Did they find any of her fingerprints on Emily?”
Jordan shook his head.
‘Of course.‘ The chilling realization settled in. ‘Anna is careful. Precise. From orchestrating Grandma’s death to silencing Emily. All because Emily knew her crime! So does that mean anyone who crosses her path will become her target?‘ Stella wondered.
Feeling the tremors intensify against him, Jordan pulled her into a fierce embrace. “Stella…”
“Why?” The word was muffled against his coat. “How does she become… like this?”
Jordan held her fiercely, offering silent, solid comfort.
Kevin stood apart, adrift. The urge to offer comfort warred with the cold understanding that he was now an outsider in her circle of solace.
Time blurred. Stella remained curled against Jordan, shock a leaden weight pressing down. The sheer brutality of Emily’s end was a raw
wound.
The jarring ring of Jordan’s phone shattered the heavy silence. It was from the police. They said Anna was there.
Jordan ended the call. He met Stella’s haunted eyes. “She’s at the station. Do you want to face her?”
Stella forced herself to calm down. “Of course. I need to see her performance.”
“But your condition…” Jordan said, his worry clear in his voice.
“Are we bringing Emily with us?” Stella’s gaze was flint. “I need to see Anna’s face when she sees what she’s done.”
Jordan hesitated, but Kevin’s voice came from the edge of their space, quiet but firm, “She needs to go, Jordan. This has to happen.”
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Jordan met Stella’s unwavering gaze. “Alright.” His voice was steel. He took her hand, his grip an anchor. “I’m with you.”
Kevin watched Stella accept Jordan’s hand, her fingers curling around Jordan’s without resistance. Seeing how close they were, Kevin felt a pang in his heart.
The somber black van from the coroner’s office arrived, its back doors yawning open like a dark mouth.
The drive passed in suffocating silence. Stella stayed curled against Jordan’s side, her head a heavy weight on his shoulder. Jordan kept her hand locked securely in his, a silent anchor against the turbulent sea of her grief.
After about half an hour, they finally arrived at the police station. Before they went in, Jordan turned to Stella, searching her face. “Ready?”
Stella seemed to have collected herself. She took a deep, steadying breath, squared her shoulders, and stepped towards the doors. “Ready.”
