10
The wail of sirens grew closer. Two police cars pulled up. An officer got out, his face grim. “Gentlemen, we finally reached you. Mr. Hawthorne, we’ve determined that your wife’s last calls were to you and your two sons. Can you tell us why you didn’t report the acci- dent? That stretch of road is rarely used. It was half an hour before a passing motorist noticed the broken guardrail and called 911. By then, it was too late. Even the best rescue team couldn’t have saved her. She must have been calling to tell you she’d crashed. Why didn’t you call for help? What were her last
words to you?”
His words were a knife, twisting in their hearts.
Adrian stumbled back. “I… I didn’t give her a chance to speak. All I could think about was saving Sienna. I thought Sienna had been kidnapped… I just hung up. She must have been trying to ask for help. She must have been trying to say… help me.”
Jack started slapping himself across the face, over and over. “I didn’t let her speak either. I was so anno- yed that she kept calling, wasting my time when I
Chapter 2
08:54 C
needed to find Sienna. Why couldn’t I have just been
a little more patient? Why couldn’t I have just listen-
ed long enough for her to scream for help?”
But Howard was the most devastated. “You’re both
better than me. I’m the one who deserves to be da- mned. She called me three times, and I didn’t answer. How desperate must she have been as she fell into the sea? I promised I would love her and protect her for the rest of our lives. But when she needed me
most, where was I?”
The officer pointed at Sienna. “The Sienna you’re talk- ing about… that’s this young lady here? You thought she was kidnapped, which is why you couldn’t be reached? You spent the last few days rescuing her?”
This was the truth that would haunt them forever.
“She wasn’t kidnapped,” Howard said, his voice a hoa- rse whisper. “She was on a hiking trip. But her phone was off, we couldn’t reach her, and we were frantic. We were afraid something had happened to her.”
The officer’s face hardened. “So, you’re telling me you abandoned your wife to a watery grave because you were worried something might have happened to a girl who was just on vacation?”
Howard and his sons all turned to look at Sienna.
She panicked, shaking her head. “No! It wasn’t my fault! Howard, Adrian, Jack, it had nothing to do with me! Don’t blame me! I was just on a trip! You’re the ones who didn’t answer your phones!”
