Page 128 of Deception

Dani called 911 and then went to the front to get help while Madison and Clayton jumped to get Judith out of the chair and onto the floor. Once they had her resting on her back with a pillow from the sofa under her head, Madison felt for a pulse. “It’s irregular.”

Judith’s eyes fluttered open, and Madison was looking at the same eyes she saw every morning when she looked in the mirror.

“So ... sorry.”

“Shh.” Guilt pressed into Madison. She shouldn’t have pushed her so hard. “Don’t try to talk.”

“Might not make it ... got to tell you.”

Her voice was low, and Madison leaned closer to hear her words.

“William. I ... killed him, may God ... forgive me.”

She rocked back on her heels.

Judith Winslow killed her grandfather.

Not Steven. Not Aaron Corbett. But someone she would never have suspected. “Why?”

“Couldn’t let him tell ...”

Sirens wailed to a stop outside the building. Judith gripped Madison’s wrist. “Tell ... Teresa ... I’m proud of her.”

“How? Where is she?”

“Your friend ... Terri Davis ... my daughter ... your mother.”

Madison heard the words, but they made no sense. Terri? The woman who saved their lives? She was their birth mother? Her mind would not wrap around the concept.

Suddenly the room swarmed with paramedics. Someone pried Judith’s hands from Madison’s wrist and helped Madison to her feet.

“We need to move out into the hall.” Clayton tugged her out of the room.

From her vantage point, Madison watched as the paramedics worked on Judith. She was barely aware when Dani joined them in their vigil.

“Stand clear!”

Judith must have coded.Judith.If she lived, would Madison ever think of her as her grandmother? She doubted it. From what she could tell, Judith Winslow wasn’t grandmother material.

“We have a heartbeat.” A different voice.

Her heart was still beating when the medics transported her to a waiting ambulance. Madison and Dani walked out into the sunlight while Clayton stayed behind to talk to Chief Nelson, who had arrived with the ambulance.

When they reached his SUV, they waited for him to come with the keys. Madison was still trying to process what she’d learned when Dani leaned into her. Madison wrapped her arms around her sister, drawing strength from her twin. She’d never be alone again.

They’d been through so much, but they’d both refused to let adversity break them. If anything, they were stronger. Strong enough to weather this new revelation about Terri. At least she hoped they were.

“You okay?”

Madison leaned against the fender of the SUV. “I don’t know. I feel responsible. I should’ve realized she was sick. If I hadn’t—”

“Don’t do that to yourself.”

The door locks clicked open as Clayton approached. “Do you want to follow the ambulance to the hospital?”

Dani blew her nose and stepped away from the SUV. “We probably should.”

“I’m so angry, I don’t know if I can.” Madison crossed her arms. Then she sagged against the vehicle. “But it probably was my fault this happened, so I agree, we should go. And we have to tell Hugh and Chief Nelson about her confession.”

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