CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
(part six)
“I don’t know that I can do that.”
“Do you want to?” Anjelika asked.
Sandy turned her head to the right. She watched the bright blue blip of her baby’s heart. When she turned back to look at her best friend’s mother, her uncertainty was gone.
“I want to stop this crap. If only for one [...]

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CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
(part five)
Thursday morning — 8:30 A.M.
Rose Hospital

“Who are you?” Sandy asked the woman sitting next to her bed.
She’d returned from a CAT scan to find a woman in her room.
“My name is Anjelika Katherine,” the woman smiled. “I’ve had a number of surnames. My last one was Roper. You may call me Anjelika.”
“Jill’s [...]

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CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
(part four)
“She never loved me,” Sandy said.
“I think she loves you. I guess I have to believe that she loves you… in her own way,” Seth said. “You know that she’s not my favorite person.”
“She disowned me. She…”
Sandy’s body flooded with pain and emotion. Tears streamed down from her swollen red eyes. Seth took [...]

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CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
(part three)
Thursday morning — 3:45 A.M.
Rose Hospital

Awake or asleep, Sandy’s eyes seeped tears. Her mother’s words tore her soul to pieces. She felt a vibrating desperate pain through her whole body. Nothing stemmed the flow of her tears. Nothing comforted her. Sandy’s entire being long for relief from her intolerable pain.
Her physical [...]

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CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
(part two)
Scooter hopped back onto the bed next to Katy. Jill ruffled his ears then crept from the room. She leaned against her closed bedroom door and took three breaths. She hadn’t realized how much this week had gotten under her skin. From her mother’s horrible story to all of this bullshit with Sandy’s [...]

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CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
(part one)
The next morning
Thursday — 2:30 A.M
Trying to be absolutely silent, Jill tiptoed into the Castle. The side Castle door made a click then a solid thunk when she turned the deadbolt. She slipped off her Dansko clogs and picked them up. Turning into the living room, she saw Honey and MJ snuggling [...]

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