Alek took her hands and held her gaze, looking into her right eye, then her left. “I wanted to show you something, so you don’t feel so alone in that regard. Is there somewhere private we can talk?”
She made a sweeping motion with her arm. “Anywhere you’d like. There’s no one here but Wayne and us.”
“In that case, how about…the lounge?”
Evelyn took his hand and led him to the East Lounge. She kicked the door stopper aside and let the door fall shut, then sat in a plush armchair. The books deadened the air, and the only sound was the rain hitting the window. “Is this private enough?”
A hungry look glinted in his eyes, then vanished. “This…is perfect.”
22
After hours of fruitless searching, Vanessa parked in her own driveway. She checked the front door, then the back door, hoping to find a note from Donny. There was none.
Sighing, she let herself in. She crossed the kitchen and examined the fridge—a place where Donny used to leave sticky notes, teasing her about dirty dishes or unwashed laundry. Again, nothing.
“Where are you, Donny?” she asked out loud. She walked from room to room, slowly, as if listening for a ghost. She was about to return to the kitchen for her keys when a shrill tone broke the silence.
She placed a hand on her chest, calmed herself, then answered her cell phone.
“Vanessa, it’s Paulette. Where are you right now?”
“I’m at home. Why? Did you find him?”
The law enforcement officer hesitated. “Stay where you are. I can be there in thirty minutes.”
Vanessa gripped the phone tighter. “You didn’t answer my question. Did you find him?”
“Just hang on. I’ll discuss what we found when I get there.”
Anger rippled through her body. “No, Paulette. Tell me. Now.”
Paulette didn’t speak for several moments. “I—I’d really prefer to talk about this face-to-face.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’m getting in my car and I’m going back out there to look for him.”
“No, don’t do that.” Paulette sighed. “We found him already.”
“And?”
“He’s gone, Vanessa. Donny is dead.”
Though it was exactly what she expected to hear, the words felt like daggers. She stumbled across the room—Donny’s old room—and sank to the floor with her back against the wall. It took her several tries, but she managed to get one word out. “How?”
“We found his truck half-submerged in the river. He…his body was still inside.”
“You think it was suicide?”
“No one’s drawing any conclusions yet, and I don’t want you to, either. The fact is, your brother’s gone. That’s enough for now—no need to worry about why or how. When I get there, we can talk about it.”
Vanessa pinched her eyes shut. “I think I’d rather be alone right now. Goodbye, Paulette.” She ended the call. Her breathing came in sharp gasps; anger boiled inside her until she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She began to scream, and she threw her phone against the wall.
How had she missed the signs? Why had he done it? The answer was obvious—Evelyn learned his secret, and he couldn’t bear the shame.
For a moment, Vanessa blamed Evelyn for Donny’s death. But the feeling quickly passed. Evelyn had every right to be angry. Donny had turned out to be a monster.
But knowing Donny’s sinister past did nothing to assuage Vanessa’s pain. Waves of anger and guilt took turns crashing over her. Behind the waves, an ocean of questions loomed. She stood and walked shakily to her room.
She logged onto her computer and brought up one of Donny’s blogs. He hadn’t posted anything in over a month. She checked his other blogs and his various social media accounts. There was nothing unusual, no veiled cries for help. His profile pictures had the same goofy smile; his public comments brimmed with sarcasm.
She couldn’t take it anymore. She closed the internet browser and opened her email instead. Her inbox was littered with advertisements for bodybuilding supplements and martial arts supplies, but there, close to the top, was a message from Donny. She opened it and scanned its contents with wide eyes. There was a link to a cloud-based storage site, and a hastily written message.
Someone trying to get in. Love you and sorry for everything. Please save Evelyn. She does not know who he is. Check phone hard drive.
The room around her faded into blackness. There was nothing left but the message and the need to know the truth. She clicked the link, following it to a webpage with another link in the center. She clicked it, and a dialog box opened. Would you like to run MobileClone.exe?
She clicked “yes,” and the screen went blank. A moment later, her screen transformed into a replica of a smartphone. Frowning, she clicked through a few apps. There were games, contact lists, and pictures of Evelyn and Alek smiling together. She clicked through the settings and eventually found the hard drive. The program allowed her to navigate deep into the operating system. Clicking through, she found program files, stored media, and a folder labeled “special memories.”
She opened the folder and let out a soft cry. The images were too horrible look at, and she quickly closed the program. Clenching her teeth, she vowed to avenge her brother and to honor his last request.
Alek squeezed his hands together, alternately massaging one palm, then the other. “Your life isn’t a train wreck, Evelyn—it’s a testament to your enduring optimism. You’ve been through so much, but you still believe in happily-ever-after. You never stopped searching for love.”
He swallowed and continued. “I’m thankful for it, because if you had quit, you never would have given me a chance. You think your life is a mess, but I think it’s inspirational. I can be myself around you, and seeing the pain you’ve been through makes me feel like I can share my pain with you. Without judgment.” He took a deep breath. “There’s something I want to show you, something I haven’t shown another living person.”
Evelyn scooted closer to him and leaned against his shoulder. “I would never judge you, Alek.”
He nodded. “Maybe, once you’ve seen it, we can both leave our troubled pasts behind.” He fished his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and opened a video.
Evelyn sat up and leaned in, wrapping her left arm around his right forearm.
“It’s a little grainy—it was taken with a hidden camera. I wore it on my chest, hoping to catch something beautiful. But…” He sighed. “Things didn’t turn out the way I planned. You see, my father died when I was ten years old, and my mother couldn’t cope with the loss. She…left me.”
“That’s awful.” Evelyn studied his eyes for a moment and then turned her attention back to the video. A woman appeared, walking along a forested road, toward the camera.
“It took me years to find her. When I finally did, I was overjoyed. I set up a surprise reunion, pretending to be one of her old college friends.” His face was sorrowful, and he nodded at the phone. “I was sixteen when this happened.”
The woman in the video stopped short, still too far away for Evelyn to make out her features. The woman’s hands were rigid at her sides like broomsticks. A deep, rich voice came through the phone’s speaker—Alek’s voice. “Hello, Mother. I’m sorry about tricking you like this. I thought it was the only way you’d agree to see me.”