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63. Midnight Correspondence
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Somewhere in Philadelphia, someone knew the truth but for now, the detectves were clueless as to who was behind the killing of Claire and William.
Who knew that she was pregnant and who's child was it?
Was Drake a killer in a jealous rage or was this crime committed because of William's sinister behaviour?
Leah and Jim were starting to think that the revenge was from someone on William's side as his finances were out of control. He had mounted debts that he couldn't pay based on his income and the messages that they found on his phone were vile.
William was not a good man.
Full stop!
Then why would Claire leave Drake for him?
He was not her type from what they had already uncovered.
What was she playing at?
All of Drake's friends insisted that they had a good marriage and that they loved each other.
No one was aware of any issues between them and those that knew Claire insisted
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Protecting My Heart 65. Untethered
Drake was sitting on the front porch when Anders and Finn pulled up and got out of the car."What's going on?" Drake managed to ask."We just got off of the phone with Jim and Leah and we have some news about the investigation to fill you in on." Anders said."What?" Drake growled out."Well, they don't think that Claire had been intimate with William on Saturday night after she left you. There was no sign of sexual intercourse based on DNA and other observations.""So was she cheating on me?" Drake asked."They are leaning against it." Finn added and looked at Anders for support. He knew that the next bit of info was going to send Drake over the edge.Then Drake asked, "So no sex Saturday but she said she was cheating on me. What proof do they have otherwise?""Other proof that they haven't filled us in on. Listen, they are leaning towards blackmail and not cheating. That's
Protecting My Heart 66. The Search
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Protecting My Heart 67. The Letter
The room was silent with the exception of his breathing. He was far away in dreamland and the nightmares were not far from surfacing. Antoher dark hall, a hidden doorway... A scream... The horror in the shadows and the the cries of despair. He could hear his name. They were calling him back and dragging him down. The shadows were coming for him and his old man stood in the center. "Finn, don't you miss me? The fun we had skipping out on life. Come back." The words echoed in his brain and he tried to fight it off. He was shackled and chained to where he stood, trying to cry out for help. Rocking back and forth as he sat on the ground, begging for relief. A sweet voice from far away called out softly, "It's ok. It's just a nightmare." He just kept rocking and struggling to break free, but the voice got louder, "Finn! Wake up! It's anot
Protecting My Heart 68. Her Last Words
"Let me see it!"Anders put the letter behind his back and held out his hand."Hold on!"Drake growled, "No! Let me see it!""We need to talk about this first!" Anders took a few more steps backwards as Drake tried to reach behind him.His eyes showed the anxiety that was brewing inside of him and he was losing his patience with Anders, he barked "I'm gonna lose it!"Drake clenched his fists into a ball as he continued to stare at Anders and spoke through clenched teeth, "Let me see it!"Anders rolled his eyes and looked at Drake as if he had two heads before saying, "Chill out, let's go sit in the kitchen with Stacey."Drake begrudgingly followed him into the kitchen and sat down, crossing him arms and glaring at both of them.Anders held out a copy to Drake, who snatched it and started to immediately read her hand written words.My Dearest Drake,I am about to do something that wil
Protecting My Heart 69. Intruder
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Protecting My Heart 70. Almost
Two weeks had passed and Finn felt like a piece of him was missing. Drake had always been there, even when he arrested Finn, he supported him when he had been at his lowest. Lili was standing there in the kitchen and knew what was eating him alive and she decided that she needed to do something about it. She put down the dish towel and walked over to him and boldly stated, "I am going to see my father in jail and finish this, for good." "What? You can't do that!" Finn said as he voice cracked. He was not letting her go to see her creepy father. The guy was a miserable man with nothing but hatred flowing through his viens. No wait, even worse than that...vindictiveness ran so deep that he spewed nothing but hate. Lili gave him her puppy dog eyes and walked over to him and said, "Listen, he can't hurt me in jail but he can try to continuously surprise us with one hate filled plot after another and one of them mi
Protecting My Heart 71. The Art of Letting Go
Anders read the letter and the news shocked Finn. "You're pregnant?" Finn asked again. Lili looked up in to his eyes and softly replied, "Yes, but this isn't how I planned on telling you. I had plans, special plans. Not like this." All of that special nonsense didn't matter to Finn. That wasn't him anyways. Finn forgot Anders was their and kissed her sweet lips and whispered in her ear, "My beautiful little Lili James is going to give me a beautiful lille baby. What's better than that?" Finn felt the magic of the moment and was in his own world with Lili when Anders cleared his throat. Letting Lili go, he looked at Anders and sheepishly said, "Forgot you were here." "Let's grab some coffee in the kitchen and talk through the events of today." Lili looked from Anders to Finn with curiosity. She was so thrilled with Finn's reaction to the baby news that she forgot abo
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Protecting My Heart 79. Epilogue
"Jordan and Stephen! Give that back to your sister right now!" Lili scolded as they walked through the amusement park. Morgan, who was just three years old, was crying because the boys took her stuffed bear that Finn just won for her at the cheesy boardwalk clown game. Finn scooped her up and calmed her tears as Lili talked to the boys for the fifth time this afternoon. Drake and Claire walked over with Gia and Max who were pinching each other when their parents were not looking. Drake asked, "Has anyone seen Anders and his crew?" "Yeah, they went to the first aid hut to get Leah's hand cleaned. She fell when Justin pushed her." "Well, I think that after three days of this, we just need a little R&R back at the house and maybe some time around the pool," Claire said matter of factly. "Oh, Claire! Yes, that is just what we all need!" Lili sighed at the thought of relaxing
Protecting My Heart 78. Accident or Sabotage
The guests all watched in horror as the crystal chandelier above the grand ballroom started to sway violently. A deafening crack filled the room as wires snapped one by one and sparks flew around the ceiling. Someone yelled, "Look out!" And another screamed, "Get out of the way!" as loud as they could over the music. The band realized what was going on and as calmly as possible told the guests to get off of the dance floor and move to safety. Chaos won the day as the chandelier suddenly fell about a foot closer to the ground. The snapping of the wires contunued until it finally let loose in a freefall crashing to the ground. Guests that had scurried to the sides of the room started to scream in fear as crystals projectiled around the room. The chandelier was one thing, but then they smelled a thick acrid smoke that permeated the room. Many of the guests started to panic an
Protecting My Heart 77. Down the Aisle
Lili rolled over and reached for Finn, but he wasn't there. His side of the bed was cold as she felt the sheets. She felt like a piece of her was missing since he was always there to snuggle in the morning before they started their day. But today was different. She would be in his arms tomorrow morning! After the rehersal dinner, he went to stay at Anders so that they would not see each other before the wedding and Stacy stayed in their guest bedroom. Lili just stayed still and let her mind run through all of the tasks of the day. So much to do before 2 pm. Would she get it all done? Oh the nerves of a bride. Her wedding day! She was so excited and couldn't believe that she was marrying this man, her Finn and then they were taking off to Europe for a few weeks. Praying to herself that this day would be filled with happy memories and no stress from family or foes prete
Protecting My Heart 76. Just One More Day Until Forever
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Protecting My Heart 74. Final Preparations
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Protecting My Heart 73. The Reading of the Will
All dressed in black. Lili hated wearing black but she was supposed to be in mourning to the rest of the outside world. So, she gave in to customs to pretend that she cared about her father and she was dressed in black from head to toe. Finn on the other hand, loved the dress that she was wearing. The way it showed off her figure and her legs. She had her hair up in a professional looking bun and he noticed her neck. Oh, it drove him insane to know that they were walking out of the house in less than 5 minutes to go the reading of the will and he had other things on his mind, like taking that dress off of her. Did she know what she was doing to him?
Protecting My Heart 72. Free
Waking up at 4 am, Lili got out of bed and crept downstairs and sat at her desk and started to write. The words flowed freely as she poured her heart out. She had just started a new book and she was free from worrying about ... well just about everything. For the first time in her life she was free of the torture that she endured on behalf of her family. She was free! No more demands on who she dated or where she lived. No more legal letters telling her to not write anymore. No more controlling parental guidance. Her father would not be missed and she knew that was an awful thought but her family really was very dysfunctional. Extremely. Lili was so intent on writing that she didn't hear Finn as he walked in and leaned against the doorway. Just watching. His eyes sparkled at he watched his little lilipad typing away as she was lost in her own lit
Protecting My Heart 71. The Art of Letting Go
Anders read the letter and the news shocked Finn. "You're pregnant?" Finn asked again. Lili looked up in to his eyes and softly replied, "Yes, but this isn't how I planned on telling you. I had plans, special plans. Not like this." All of that special nonsense didn't matter to Finn. That wasn't him anyways. Finn forgot Anders was their and kissed her sweet lips and whispered in her ear, "My beautiful little Lili James is going to give me a beautiful lille baby. What's better than that?" Finn felt the magic of the moment and was in his own world with Lili when Anders cleared his throat. Letting Lili go, he looked at Anders and sheepishly said, "Forgot you were here." "Let's grab some coffee in the kitchen and talk through the events of today." Lili looked from Anders to Finn with curiosity. She was so thrilled with Finn's reaction to the baby news that she forgot abo
Protecting My Heart 70. Almost
Two weeks had passed and Finn felt like a piece of him was missing. Drake had always been there, even when he arrested Finn, he supported him when he had been at his lowest. Lili was standing there in the kitchen and knew what was eating him alive and she decided that she needed to do something about it. She put down the dish towel and walked over to him and boldly stated, "I am going to see my father in jail and finish this, for good." "What? You can't do that!" Finn said as he voice cracked. He was not letting her go to see her creepy father. The guy was a miserable man with nothing but hatred flowing through his viens. No wait, even worse than that...vindictiveness ran so deep that he spewed nothing but hate. Lili gave him her puppy dog eyes and walked over to him and said, "Listen, he can't hurt me in jail but he can try to continuously surprise us with one hate filled plot after another and one of them mi
