Page 118 of The Devil’s Lair

A murderer.

The room tilts. The walls close in. I squeeze my eyes shut even as the words tattoo themselves inside my eyelids in scorching ink.

She killed them.

She killed Annabel.

She killed Tobias’s mother.

The despicable truth crashes down on me, ruthless and suffocating. I stare down at the diary in my lap, innocent looking, but also a weapon. One that could shatter the family I’ve grown to love apart, and with it, the man I love, too.

What the hell do I do?

Chapter Thirty-Five

TOBIAS

“Come in.”

The door to my apartment opens slowly, and no one is more surprised or delighted than me to see Rebecca.

“Couldn’t stay away, huh?” I laugh, but the laughter stops at the stricken look on her face. My heart takes a nosedive. “What’s wrong? Is it Isla?”

She shakes her head. “She’s fine. She’s with Maisie.”

I blow out a breath and will my pulse to slow down. “Okay. Then, what is it? Talk to me.”

“I-I don’t know where to start.”

I frown in confusion. She only left me a short while ago. What could have possibly happened in that time to turn her joy into despair?

She rubs a hand over her mouth and closes her eyes, as though steeling herself to deliver a killer blow. Like she’s leaving me.

“Wren. Tell me. You’re scaring me.”

Her eyes lock onto mine before she hands me a hardback book I hadn’t noticed she was holding. “You need to read this.”

I take it from her, turning it over in my hands. “What is it?”

A swallow makes its way down her throat. “Alice’s diary.”

I blink, blindsided. “Alice’s diary?” I parrot like a bloody idiot. “What are you doing with that?” Probably not the right question, but the first one that comes to mind.

“I think Isla took it when we visited her on Friday. That’s not important right now. What’s in those pages is.”

The last diary that popped up from nowhere was Mum’s, and that contained explosive information, which led to us finding out about George. After such a blow, we’re still working on stitching our lives back together. I’m not sure I’m ready for more.

“Did Alice know? About what George did to Mum?”

“Probably, but that’s not detailed in here. Not the parts I read, anyway.” She wrings her hands. “Please. I’ve earmarked the key pages. Just read it. Tell me I did the right thing bringing this to you, because I’m freaking out over here, Tobias.” She wrings her hands. “Like, seriously freaking out.”

“Okay. Relax.”

I lead her over to the couch. She perches on the edge even when I sit back. It’s as though she’s getting ready to bolt. Her knee bounces, and she keeps plucking at the skin on her wrist

I find the first page she’s folded over. At first, what’s written makes no sense. It’s when I move to the next and the next that my world implodes. The diary falls from my hands, landing with a thud on the floor.

“Jesus Christ.”