Page 133 of Broken Strings

Call me immediately when you get this. From THIS cell. In private.

I don’t understand.

My mind feels like it’s wading through quicksand, and my hands shake dangerously as I dial Vaughn’s number.

“Are you alone?”

Vaughn answers my call with a stern voice that jolts me to awareness.

“Y-yes.”

“Are there any devices near you? Any devicesspecificallyowned by the North family?”

I glance around the room, shaking my head, when I find nothing other than a television.

“Summer? Are there any devices?”

At Vaughn’s repeated question, I realise I’ve not spoken aloud. “There’s only a TV.”

“Is there a bathroom near you?”

“Y-yes…”

“Go inside. Turn on the shower.”

I do as he’s instructed, hearing the barely concealed urgency in his tone and feeling a little like a fool, but having trust that I’m doing it for a valid reason.

As I twist the shower handle, water begins to stream from the showerhead, crashing loudly into the tray beneath. “Okay. What next?”

“Everything—absolutely every single thing at North Star and every other North-owned property—is tapped.Everything.”

Chills race up my spine, and I glance around the white-tiled bathroom, half expecting to see a camera dot blinking at me from the ceiling.

“He found something. My guy found alotof somethings.”

I inhale sharply, sinking to the cool tiles. My stomach is all twisted and knotted as Vaughn continues.

“Remember we decided to dig into Layla? Well, it led us down a very dark road, which has wound up shining a light on a certain someone. I hope you’re sitting down because this is one hell of a story. Are you ready?”

“Probably not, but you’re going to need to tell me anyway.”

Vaughn blows out a heavy breath. “Layla sent you a letter, citing that she’d miscarried, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, well, two weeks after that letter was sent, there’s a record of her visiting her GP. She went alone and was immediately referred to hospital, where she received treatment for uterine sepsis.”

“What?” My breathing accelerates, knowing the next words out of my friend’s mouth will be the game changer.

“They called her next of kin—her mother, who by all accounts was a waste of space—but she didn’t come. But herfatherdid.”

“Her father died four years earlier, Vaughn. Her mother didn’t remarry untilafterCaden and Layla were married. That makesnosense.”

“I know, sweetheart. All further records were unobtainable, so I don’t know who claimed to be Cole Gardiner, but I have a hunch.”

Me too.

“I was able to get my hands on a record from Layla’s admission form, where a nurse recorded that the patient was concerned that the infection was caused by an incomplete abortion.”

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