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CHAPTER TWO

Sutton was sitting next to Emma as her sister drove towards the country club, shooting looks across at her every now and then. "Will you stop with the serious expressions?"

"You should be as worried as me,"Emma protested. "You know how crazy things can get."

"Hey, we don't know this is craziness,"Sutton argued. "So Jordan got hit on the head. Could just have been random."

"Or it could be something to do with…"

"To do with what? Everyone knows we're twins, everyone that was involved in the cover-up is dead."

"No, they're not. Alec must have paid dozens of people to keep quiet about things they did."

"And all of them are probably keeping them heads down,"Sutton retorted. "Anyway, why hurt Jordan? It's not like he knows anything."

"Maybe as a warning?"Emma suggested as she pulled into the club's drive. "Or maybe…"

"Emma, stop!"Sutton shouted.

Emma automatically slammed her foot down on the brake, turning back to what was in front of them. And then she saw what Sutton had seen: A body sprawled in the drive in front of them. And then she realised who it was. "Ethan!"she shouted, jumping out of the car and rushing to his side.

Sutton got out of the car more cautiously. "Is he all right?"

"He's breathing,"Emma said in relief. "Get an ambulance!"

Sutton took out her mobile and dialled the number. "Ambulance. Chelsea Creek Country Club."


Mads stood in the living room of the Rybak house, talking into her mobile. "Oh my god, is he all right? Well, just hang tight, I'll be right down there."

Graham and Caroline had entered the house during the latter part of the conversation. "Is something wrong?"Caroline asked.

Mads nodded. "That was Emma. Ethan was attacked outside the club. He's in hospital."

"Serves him right,"Graham said dismissively.

"Graham,"Caroline attempted to interject placatingly but Graham shook his head.

"I'm sorry but I'm just speaking my mind."

"How can you say that?"Mads demanded.

"How can you not?"Graham returned. "Look at what's happened to this family because of them."

"Ethan and Emma are my friends!"Mads replied angrily. "They've been more of a family to me than you have." She looked at Caroline. "Either of you."

"It's because of them that your brother's been locked up,"Graham replied. "And they'd be quite happy to leave him there."

"Oh, and you had nothing to do with it?"Mads asked scornfully. "If Thayer's messed up, it's because of you two swanning in and out of his life whenever you feel like it. You don't have the right to turn up here and start passing judgement on my friends. Now I'm going to be with them, whether that meets your approval or not."


By the time Mads arrived at the hospital, Emma, Sutton, Laurel and Jordan were all sat in the waiting room. "How is he?"she asked.

"He's having a scan to see if there's any damage,"Emma replied shakily. "He came round while we were with him and they think he just needs stitches but…"

"They say he was lucky,"Sutton noted. "It could have been a lot worse. Whoever hit him probably didn't care what state he ended up in."

Mads shivered slightly as she took her seat. "Has anyone called Dan?"

Emma nodded. "We told him Ethan was probably going to be okay so he decided to make sure they check out the crime scene properly before coming down here."

"I've been trying to ring Mum,"Laurel added. "But it keeps going to message bank."

"So, are we going to ask the obvious question?"Jordan wondered. "Do we think the guy that hit Ethan was the guy that hit me?"

"There might not be a connection,"Mads argued. "I mean, they might be targetting country club workers or just hitting anyone in the car park. It doesn't have to be anything else."

"Look, I made all the arguments earlier,"Sutton said. "But I think we have to face facts about the thing Ethan and Jordan most have in common."

"Us,"Emma said quietly. "This group."

"Everyone in town likes Ethan though,"Laurel argued.

"Not everyone,"Mads said reluctantly.

Four pairs of eyes turned on her. "What do you know?"Emma asked.

"When I told Graham what had happened to Ethan…he was pleased. Because of what happened with Thayer."

"Woah, wait, hang on, back up,"Laurel requested. "Are we saying that this is connected to Thayer? Some revenge thing?"

"Could Graham have been the one who hit Ethan?"Emma asked.

"I don't know,"Mads admitted. "He came home with Mum but whether they were together all the time…"

"So where does this leave us?"Jordan asked.

"It leaves us with a lead to follow up,"Emma said. "And something I should have done a long time ago."

"Woah, wait, hang on,"Sutton protested. "I am not liking the sound of this."

"Why?"Laurel asked. "What's she talking about?"

Emma took a deep breath. "I need to see Thayer."