Why had he agreed to this?

Luis swallowed, his chest tightening as Liz's hotel appeared on the horizon.

Why hadn't he asked more questions before agreeing to go on this recon trip?

If he had known that it involved going back to Bermuda—going back to Saint Lisa's—he would have turned Hal down flat.

"Luis." Crossing the boat's deck, Hal joined him at the rail. "Judging by the look on your face, I take it you've been here before."

Luis's eyes darted to Hal's. "Why didn't you tell me we were going to this particular island—to this particular hotel?"

"As far as I understand it, it's the only one on the island," Hal said.

"It is." His eyes falling to the deck, Luis took a deep breath in. "Listen—I don't know if I can do this. If I can put myself through this again."

Hal raised his brows. "Put yourself through what?"

"I was down here recently." A heaviness seeping through his chest, Luis shook his head. "I don't know if it's because this island is so close to where Sheridan died, but the memories of her, the feeling that she was just around every corner I turned . . . it was all just too intense."

"Maybe coming back here will help you excise those ghosts," Hal suggested.

"That's what I thought would happen the first time I came down here. But it turns out that it just made it worse." A lump settling in his throat, Luis's eyes flew up to Hal's. "I'm telling you—I can't do this. Maybe you should just go into the hotel by yourself. I'll wait on the boat."

Hal bowed his head. "If you still feel that way when we dock, I won't force you to get off the boat." Glancing over at the island, Hal looked back at Luis. "But, I promise, I'm not trying to torture you—I'm only trying to remedy a horrendous mistake."


A horrendous mistake?

Luis's heart raced as they docked.

What had Hal meant by that?

Of course, the second after he'd said it, he'd gone tight-lipped again—promising that everything would be clear in a matter of minutes.

What was he supposed to do with that?

Could Sheridan still be alive?

No—he couldn't go there.

"Number Nine!"

Luis's eyes flew up at the sound of Liz's voice.

Liz rushed up the ramp and onto the boat. "It's so good to have you back with us!"

Luis couldn't help but smile. "It's good to see you, too, Liz." Glancing over at the hotel, Luis's heart dropped. "But, honestly, I'm not sure I can set foot on this island again."

"Oh, come on," Liz smiled, swatting at his chest. "Was my service really that bad?"

Laughing, Luis shook and hung his head. "You know it wasn't your service, Liz."

"Right—it was your fiancée's ghost," Liz said. "Maybe it's time for you to excise that."

Luis sighed and scratched the back of his head. "That's what Hal just said."

Hal came up on the deck. "Agent Hal Freeman," he said, extending a hand to Liz, "—United States FBI."

Liz smiled and shook his hand. "Liz Sanbourne. We spoke on the phone earlier."

Luis's brows shot up. "You're the one who called him?"

"Well, no . . . it wasn't me." Peeking over her shoulder, Liz looked back at them. "I cleared the lobby before I came out—I think we can go inside."

"Is our informant ready?" Hal asked.

"Has been for hours," Liz said, tugging at Luis's hand. "I know this must be difficult for you, but please just come with me. I promise—it will be worth your while."


Hal knocked on the door to room number six. "It's Agent Freeman."

"You know what? Let me go in first." Liz slipped past Hal and into the room. "I'll come get you in a few moments."

Swallowing as Liz closed the door, Luis turned his attention to Hal. "What's going on here? When I was here last, this room belonged to some woman named Diana. Is she our informant?"

"Everything will be clear in a few minutes," Hal said. "Just try to hang on a little bit longer."

Luis's shoulders tensed. "You have no idea how torturous it is for me to be here."

Hal studied Luis. "I think I do. Remember, I was there when you thought Ms. Crane had been shot and killed."

"Yeah, and it all turned out to be nothing but a misguided plan to entrap Roger and Pierre." Luis's jaw clenched. "We never really discussed that, Hal."

Liz stuck her head out the door.

Luis's eyes darted to hers.

"We're all ready in here." Liz looked at Hal. "You can run that bug-sweeper thing you were telling me about."

"Thank you." Hal turned to Luis. "Please just wait out here for a few more minutes. I promise I'll make this quick."

"Sure." Luis threw up his hands.

Like he really had a choice.

Hal went into Diana's room.

Liz slipped out into the hall, closing the door behind herself. "I know it must be hard for you to be here."

Luis's heart lodged in his throat. "You have no idea, Liz."

Liz frowned, her eyes lingering on his. "No—I guess I don't."

Hal opened the door. "You can come in now. The room's clean."

"Good." Luis's eyes flew to Hal's. "Can we just get this over with? The quicker I can get out of here, the better."

"Of course." Hal stepped aside, waving Liz and Luis into the room. Closing the door, he cleared his throat. "You can come out now."

The bathroom door opened.

Sheridan stepped into the room.

Luis's heart stopped.

Sheridan?

Sheridan?

He had to be seeing things.

"Ms. Crane," Hal said. "It's so good to see you alive and in one piece."

Luis's eyes darted to Hal.

This was really happening?

"You're not imagining things, Luis," Sheridan said.

Luis's eyes snapped back to hers.

A tear slipping down her cheek, Sheridan smiled at him. "I'm not a figment of your imagination—I'm really here with you."

Something inside of Luis sparked back to life. "Sher . . . Sheridan?"

Sheridan rushed into his arms.

Catching her in a bear hug, Luis buried his nose in the crook of her shoulder. "You're really here?" he breathed, his voice cracking. "You're really here with me?"

Sheridan squeezed him. "I'm really here with you."

Tears in his eyes, Luis leaned back. "I can see you—I can feel you."

Sheridan's voice caught in her throat. "I've missed you so much."

"You've been here the whole time?" Luis asked.

Sheridan swallowed and nodded. "I had amnesia. I couldn't remember . . ."

"You couldn't remember?" A lump gathering in his throat, Luis cupped her face in his hands. "Do you remember now?"

"Yes." Sheridan's eyes glistened. "After you left with Beth, Liz helped me figure out who you were. The second I saw your face on Liz's computer screen, all my memories came rushing back to me."

"When I left with Beth?" Luis's brow furrowed.

"I told you I wanted you to meet Diana," Liz piped up. "Maybe you should have listened to me."

His eyes widening, Luis looked at Liz. "Are you saying Sheridan is Diana?"

"I . . . I was," Sheridan said.

Luis's eyes flew back to hers.

Blinking back tears, Sheridan searched his eyes. "I promise—I never thought of Brian as anything other than a friend. I might not have been able to remember your name—but I never stopped loving you."

His throat thickening, Luis tangled his fingers through her hair. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Sheridan smiled. "I'm just grateful I was able to get in touch with Hal—that he was able to bring you back down here to me."

"I am, too." Luis's heart and face dropped. "But why didn't you call me directly? What made you call Hal?"

Sheridan's voice edged with pain. "I saw an article about the dental records, the fingerprints . . ."

Luis's chest constricted. "Your family . . ."

Fresh tears springing to her eyes, Sheridan nodded and bowed her head.

"Hey, hey . . ." Swallowing his own pain, Luis nudged up her chin. "You've got a new family now. And we're going to make that official the very first second we can."

Sheridan smiled through her tears. "I can't wait to be your family, Luis."

Pulling her back into his arms, Luis kissed the top of her head and buried his nose in her hair. "Sheridan—you already are."

~Fin~

Congratulations! You've broken Tabitha's spell!

No matter what other obstacles this lifetime throws Luis and Sheridan's way,
they will face and overcome them together!


If you'd like to explore other routes you can take to break Tabitha's spell, restart your adventure and play again!

Or go to Chapter 17 to end this journey and read the author's closing note.