AlessioI walk into the sunroom with a glass of water and take note of how Camille looks sitting on the chair.She's slumped against the side and looks like she's had the life drained out of her.We've been in here for about an hour now with the doors open. We both need the fresh air. She still looks ghostly pale, and my head is still spinning.We've been trying to figure things out and decipher where she was in her dream. She's told me her dream multiple times. Each time she's recounted it, I've tried to pick up on everything she's saying.All I can think when I see her is that she's been here in this house before, and somehow, her past is entwined with the first people I considered family.I can't wrap my head around it. Nothing makes sense to me, and I thought it was best not to tell her what I learned from Xiou because I don't want to freak her out any more than she is.Right now, I have Leif on his way over, Zakh going through the Butyrskayas' records to see where Camille could h

CamilleLeif drives down the country road at a medium pace, keeping his gaze ahead but still looking around the woodland area.Alessio and I are in the back seat of the car. He's holding my hand in his lap the way he has been since we left Boston yesterday afternoon.We stayed at a beautiful hotel in L.A. last night I would have loved to enjoy. But the ominous feeling in my heart forbade me.We're on Highway 74. The route that will lead us to the lake house. One of the holiday homes owned by the Butyrskayas, and the first on Leif's list to visit. We drove onto this road about half an hour ago, and I think we're close to our destination. We're meeting Lucca Dyshekov there. He owns the property now, and Leif says he still uses the grounds to train his falcons.My stomach is in knots of anxiety and fear. Alessio's touch is the only thing anchoring me to this world, keeping me sane."We're nearly there." Leif looks back at us and returns his gaze to the road. "We're probably about five mi

AlessioI make my way upstairs to my bedroom with a heavy heart.Camille's sobs filled me the moment I turned the corner to get up the stairs.We've been back for the last two days, and her tears haven't ceased. I don't expect them to. What Camille has been through is beyond anything I could have imagined. Or expected.I've been with her all day, but I had a quick errand to run that took about an hour. It was already nightfall when I left, and she was asleep. I'd hoped she would continue to sleep because she hasn't in days.I keep asking myself what I actually expected from that trip but come up with a blank every time.Truthfully, in my heart, if I'd known that trip to L.A. was going to destroy my wife the way it has, I would never have gone.I would have sailed her across the globe and hidden her away from the certain pain, devastation, and despair.Regardless to the answers we received, and the mystery solved regarding the Butyrskayas, I never would have traded that for her demise

CamilleI gaze at Alessio sitting on the beach in the distance, smoking.He doesn't smoke often, and not like this.This broken version of him where he looks like the lost boy again.The last few days have been terrible for the both of us. First for me. Then for him.He returned from the hospital a few hours ago and told me what happened with his father.I didn't know what broke him more—finding out the truth and not being able to do anything about it, or watching his father die and knowing it's the end.Both were too much. Like everything else.To say I'm still a mess is putting it lightly, but I know I need to be there for him now. The way he has been for me.The last few days have been like none other. I previously thought the day my mother killed herself was the worst day of my life. Seeing the bones of the family I forgot in that grave was beyond that. I don't think I'd ever be able to explain to anyone how I felt then. And how I feel now.The memory I relived is still slicing th

Alessio"I'll be with you in a few hours." I balance my phone between my ear and shoulder while I pick up the last contract document from the pile on my desk."Try not to stay at work too long," Leif says, his voice sounding raspy over the phone. It still holds that melancholic tone I feel. "Losing yourself in work isn't always best.""I know. I still feel off." I swivel my chair around and gaze out the window toward the skyline. Rain is falling, so outside is a little darker than it should be for this time of day. It suits the sullen mood I can't seem to shake."I feel the same, my boy. I've been questioning my actions and decision to keep you a secret since we found out the truth. I can't express how guilty I feel about that.""Uncle, you rescued me from certain death. Of course, you were in the right for keeping me a secret." I know if I were him, I would have done the same thing. And I pray I'll never be in that position. "I owe you my life, and I still think of you as my father.