Page 99 of Am I the Only One

My gut hallows, and I quickly crawl to the edge of the dock on my knees and look down at the hole where the trap has broken through the ice. The surface is at least three to four feet below the dock, and with the recent snowfall, it’s hard to see anything. I lie down on my stomach and stretch my arm down. It’s too far for me to reach, but it’s close enough for me to see that something is trapped beneath the ice. It’s hard to make out what it is, but when a gust of wind cuts through, it takes enough snow with it that I can make out the form of a hand.

“Fucking, shit!”

I pop up to my knees and shuffle back on my hands, my heart pounding like a beast.

For a split second, I question my sanity, wondering if I just spooked myself out or if there’s really something in the water. Creeping back over to the edge, I peer over, and freak the fuck out when I see it again. Panic fires off inside me when I make out the thin gold ring on the first finger, the same ring that Emma wears on the same goddamn finger.

Adrenaline detonates deep inside me, and I panic. Pushing myself out farther, I dangle my chest off the dock and reach down as far as I can, but I can’t even get close to her.

“Fuck!” I grunt helplessly as sheer hysteria takes me hostage. I scream her name, but there’s no way I can get to her, but I know it’s her. If I lower myself onto the ice, it’ll crack and I’ll slip under too. With how low the surface is, there’s no way I’ll be able to pull myself back up. I’d drown.

“Emma!”

She’s trapped under the ice, and I’m powerless to get to her. Tears build in my eyes as I look on in horror, unable to digest what I’m seeing.

But I see it.

Right here in front of me.

There’s no way I’m imagining this because she’sright fucking there!

Crazed delirium stifles my head, and I go into shock. I can’t even think straight as my pulse races in pure insanity. My chest heaves against my shallow breaths, and for a moment, my vision blurs. Pushing myself up from the dock, I look to the crab trap and grab on to the wad of hair—her hair. The very hair I used to drop kisses into because I was too much of a coward to cop to my feelings and kiss her on the lips.

Tears fall, and there’s no doubt, not a single one, that this wasn’t an accident. There’s no reason for that cage to have been in the water. Visions terrorize me when I think about all the possibilities, but they all funnel down to one thing—one person—Carly.

Panic bleeds out of me and rage starts to consume. I stand, my hands in fists, and I charge up the dock and toward the house. I bang on the back door, and when no one appears, I punch the glass so hard it shatters, slicing through my knuckles, but I don’t feel a thing. There’s nothing left of me but fury as I break into the house, broken glass crunching beneath my heavy boots.

Knowing that either she or her husband could come home at any moment, I race through the house as blood drips off my fingers, finding myself tearing through the large desk in the den. In one of the drawers, I discover a revolver, stopping me dead in my tracks. I release the cylinder to find each chamber is loaded. With the gun in my hand and no sign of anyone here, I run back outside, but something stops me from going out to the dock.

I slow my steps and drop to my knees in the bitter snow as I stare into the fog that veils the monstrosity in the water. My lungs strain against my erratic breaths, and with the gun gripped tightly in my hand that’s still bleeding, it all becomes too much, and I release a godawful barbaric scream. My strained voice rips through my vocal cords like barbed wire, echoing into the sky, and when I deplete all the air in my lungs, I drop my head and lean forward. I can’t even think straight. Tears fall from my face as a vicious storm erupts within me, taking all my rationale hostage.

I want to go to her, pull her out of the icy water, and hold her until she’s warm, but what good would it do?

She’s dead.

There’s so much roiling inside me that I can’t even find the sadness I know is in there. I’m unable to grasp on to a single emotion. It’s a maniacal assault to my system, and I swear to god I’m going to fucking kill Carly.

With tears dried on my face, I stand and stare down into the dense cloud that blankets my fucking heart that’s submerged in the water. That girl is my everything, and there’s no question that I will make that woman pay for what she’s done.

I debate calling the police. I’m not blind to the Montgomery wealth that can afford the country’s best legal team, plus his political status. People get away with murder every day.

I won’t let that happen, not after what that bitch just took away from me. No amount of justice will ever be enough, but if justice is going to be served, I’m going to be the one serving it. I’m going to fucking annihilate Carly.

Turning around, I look up at the house. I contemplate going back inside, waiting for them to get home and killing them—both of them, because William is a piece of shit just like his wretched wife. I cringe when I think about him putting his hands all over Emma, him undressing her, him kissing her, him fucking her. The thought alone makes me to want to put a bullet in his head.

In an instant, my eyes catch something that silences those thoughts and makes me pause.

There is a security camera under the eave on the back of the house. My legs, which are numb from the snow, lead me closer to find the camera is aimed right out toward the dock. I scan the property and find a few more cameras as I force myself to slow down and think.

Frozen in place, I continue to stare into one of the cameras.

And then it hits me.

When I get to my car, I toss the gun onto the passenger seat and grab my phone. Running on sheer panic, I easily find her number because it was the last one I dialed. Throwing the car in drive, I pull away from the house to head back to DC.

It only takes a couple rings for Olivia to answer.

“Hey, Luca. Any word from Emma?”

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