Too Late For Regret: His Ultimate Downfall

d. Her fingers stripped t

sound was a temporary warmth in the

island. A bottle of 1982 Chev

small and lonely against the glar

ced at h

15

was dark. N

in her stomach. Three hours

e lamb, her movements practiced and elegant. I

ere always mo

otic, incessant glow she usually kept hidden behind drawn b

flash of light from the largest billb

St. Jude's

ht of the plates in

g. Not in a boardroom. He was smiling in a custom tuxedo, d

l Goo

irst

ed in on the necklace around her neck, a magnificent spray of diamo

lized across the b

'HEART OF ETERNITY' FOR FORMER F

happening to someone else. Her hands were empty. Her breath h

falling in what felt like slow mot

e cream-colored wool. A

nst her ribs. This wasn

A humiliation broadc

rieked from

- St. Mary

mother's

tched the phone, her fingers trembl

? What

ob. "You have to come. Now. It's you

wed to the voic

happ

s fine, and then... Oh,

ment, the shattered plates, the ruined dinner-all gone. There was only

from her grandmother's last check-up echoed in the car.

inside. The smell of antiseptic hit her first. Sharp and

team of doctors working over a frail body. The line

ind eyes red-rimmed and pa

happ

whisper. "This afternoon... a wom

ed like a pun

at was she

fabric of her uniform. "She said horrible things. About you and Mr. Sterling. That your marriage was a sham. And then... s

er throat, so intense she had to grip the wall to st

, pulling off his mask. His name tag read Dr. Hayes. He

ok his

rything we could. A massi

ll roar. Gwen's knees gave out. She slid down the wall,

ow how long s

eather shoes entered her field of v

. His face was a mask. He smelled

but to meet her level. His voic

th the best funeral home i

looked into his, searching for something. A f

was no

leepwalker, letting them guide her into a black town car

idor, a woman in a long, white d

l Goo

d at Damien, her voice soft. "Dami, I was so devasta

the expertly

tly in front of Isabel. A subtle, p

this is

s if they ha

into her palms. The s

arted from Isabel to Gwen. Their pitying glances told the story. Isab

ld become a Sterling," someone mutt

ething small and hard into Gwen'

voice trembling. "When they started arguing.

around the cool metal.

-