Page 20 of Begin Again

“That’s not all,” Bennett added, his expression darkening. “When I hit a dead end with your parent’s death, I went back to my original search—trying to find my biological family. That’s when I uncovered another death. My biological father.”

Mo poured herself another drink, her hands shaking slightly. The clink of the bottle against the glass is the only sound for a long moment, the tension in the air suffocating.

“What happened to him?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

“Officially?” Bennett said. “He died in a skiing accident. It was his honeymoon, and people assumed he was drunk or hungover and made a mistake on the slopes. But the autopsy…” He trailed off, letting the implication hang in the air.

“He also ingested cyanide?” I guess.

He nods. “You guessed it.”

A sick feeling churned in my stomach. This wasn’t just about my family. This was bigger. “So, what are you saying? What does this even mean?” I ask.

Bennett exchanges a glance with Mo, who nods.

“When I realized there was a pattern, I came here,” he says. “Shadow Grove seemed to be the common denominator. Your parents, my parents, and even your uncle Gabe—”

“What about Uncle Gabe?” I interrupt, my heart racing, the words tumbling out before I can stop them.

Bennett sighs. “I wasn’t sure at first, but when I found out he’d died recently too… I checked his records. He had cyanide in his system as well.”

My grip on the glass tightened. “So, what? Someone’s targeting our family?”

Bennett’s gaze hardened. “That’s one possibility. I haven’t looked into any other deaths outside what I discovered about our family. There could be more.”

The weight of his words press down on me, leaving me feeling like I am drowning. My entire life—everything I thought I knew—feels like it is slipping through my fingers.

Mo, ever practical, breaks the silence. “What’s next?” she asks, her voice steady but laced with determination.

Bennett looks at me, his eyes piercing. “What’s next is we figure out who’s behind this… and why.”

The finality in his tone sends a shiver down my spine. The world I knew is gone, replaced by one that is darker, more dangerous. And the worst part? I am not even sure if I am ready for the truth.

7

Selene

Pushing open the front door to the cafe, the faint chime of the bell overhead signals my arrival. I scan the room, hoping to spot Theo at his usual spot behind the counter. I say usual—but he hasn’t been at the cafe all week. I’ve been stopping by in the hopes of seeing him after our date, but no luck so far. Instead, my gaze lands on Aubrey, who is sitting at the booth next to the register, with a steaming cup of tea in her hands.

A gentle, tired, smile touches her lips as we make eye contact. She lets out a soft groan as she gets out of the booth and goes to the register. Aubrey tells me to sit and gestures to the booth that she just vacated. In usual Aubrey fashion, she makes me a drink without letting me order. The only constant is that she always makes it iced. It’s a warm feeling in my chest knowing that she cares enough to remember my love for iced drinks. I mentioned it once in passing yet she still remembers.

She comes back over to sit with me, setting the drink in front of me without waiting to see if she got it right. She slides into the booth and almost deflates across from me, gripping her steaming mug with both hands. There’s an unexpected emotion in her eyes—almost a melancholic softness—I never expected to see from this vibrant woman.

Unsure what to say—Aubrey usually leads every conversation she’s in—I aim for casual as I admit, “I was actually hoping to run into Theo. Somehow, I never actually ended up getting his number.”

Aubrey tilts her head slightly, her smile growing faintly wistful. “Teddy’s not coming in today. He said he was helping my Morgan out today. He’s been so busy recently, I can give you his number if you want?”

I smile conspiratorially as she writes his number on a napkin for me. After she finishes writing his number down she hesitates.

“If I’m being honest though I’m glad it’s just us.” She says as she slides Theo’s number to me. “You remind me of someone I used to know.”

Unsure where this is going and how to respond I tell her, “I hope that’s a good thing?”

“It is,” she says with a small laugh. “It’s a compliment, trust me. It’s just been… hard for me these days, you know. After everything?”

Nodding slowly I take a sip of my, once again, amazing drink. I can tell that she’s deep in thought and she has more to say so I don’t want to interrupt her.

“I’ve lost a lot in my life,” Aubrey continues, her voice dropping to a more vulnerable tone. “My first husband, George, and just recently my Gabriel… They were the men I thought I’d get to spend the rest of my life with and around, but they’ve all been taken from me. It’s times like this where I’m alone with my thoughts that I start to feel like I might be cursed…”

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