Chapter 11
Balfour stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.
All the color drained from his face in an instant.
“No! I don’t believe it!“&
His mother pulled up the news report from that day and held the screen out for him to see..
By the time he finished reading, he couldn’t stop shaking.
He’d spent the past few days at the hospital with Cynthia, paying no attention to the news online. He’d been avoiding anything that had to do with Lynne–he couldn’t bear to see her name.N
“It’s true,” his mother said, her voice trembling. “I tried to call you that day to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen. You just kept going on about how Lynne was making things up. Balfour, what happened between you and her?”
She pressed on, her words sharp with worry. “And why did Lynne get on that plane alone? Where was she going?”
Her questions echoed in the silence, but Balfour had no answers. He had no idea where Lynne was flying to.
The news of Lynne’s death hit him like a boulder falling from the sky, leaving him reeling, barely able to breathe.
After a long, stunned pause, his face hardened. “You’re lying. Lynne isn’t dead. She can’t be.“§
He spun on his heel and made for the door. But his mother’s voice, sudden and fierce, stopped him in his tracks.
“Where do you think you’re going? The Simpsons have already given up the search. It’s been days, Balfour. And that plane–Lynne’s plane–caught fire before it even landed!”
His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. The weight on his chest made every breath a struggle. He gasped, desperate. “How can you say that when you haven’t even tried looking? I refuse to believe she’s gone!”
“As long as I’m alive, Lynne will not die!“}
He stormed out, dialing for plane tickets while frantically trying to contact Lynne’s mother overseas.
The call rang for ages before a woman’s voice finally answered, cold and impatient.
“What do you want?”
Balfour gritted his teeth. He knew Lynne’s mother had never liked him. When he and Lynne got married, she claimed she was stuck abroad and didn’t even bother to send her blessings.
He fought to keep his anger in check. “Mom, Lynne’s in trouble. As her mother, don’t you even care to ask what happened? And why did you call off the search and rescue?“>
ཋལ ཆར ཆ འ༅ ཋ
He forced the words out through clenched teeth.
A sharp, bitter laugh came through the phone. “I trusted you with my daughter, Balfour. Something happens to her, and you wait until now to call? Who exactly do you think you’re fooling?“}
The line went dead.
A stabbing ache twisted in Balfour’s chest. For the first time in his life, he knew what despair truly felt like.
He floored the gas, running red light after red light, the phone buzzing insistently on the passenger seat. He glanced at the caller ID but ignored it, driving straight for the airport.
Meanwhile, across the ocean, the woman who’d just hung up the phone gently tucked the blanket around the figure lying in bed.
“I left your milk on the side table. I know you’ve been awake for a while.“}}
Lynne said nothing, eyes still closed.
“I tried to warn you about Balfour, her mother said quietly. “That kind of selfish darkness isn’t something you can save him from. You see now, don’t you?”
She paused, then asked, “He still doesn’t know about that, does he?“}}
Lynne pulled the blanket over her head. Martha, seeing her daughter like this, sighed softly and tiptoed toward the door.
But Lynne’s voice stopped her
“He’ll find out.”
Chapter 12
