Moonlit Mountain (Caleb and Sarah)

(Finding Forever After the Betrayal Chapter 10

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I stepped onto the plane, the doors closing behind me with a finality that was

both terrifying and exhilarating. For the first time in my life, I was truly free. No more Aiden, no more Ethan, no more Hannah, and no more Los Angeles. Just me, myself, and the open skies ahead.

As the plane soared above the clouds, leaving behind the city that had held so much promise, so much heartbreak, I felt a wave of relief so profound it was almost spiritual.

Back at the lake house, however, the mood was decidedly less serene. Three hours had passed since Aiden and Ethan, Hannah in tow, had arrived at the sprawling vacation home. Three hours of unpacking boxes, of awkward silences, and of a growing sense of unease that they couldn't quite place. Aiden's and Ethan's suitcases sat by the front door, a silent testament to their arrival. But Violet's suitcase... Violet's suitcase was nowhere to be found.

A knot of anxiety tightened in Aiden's chest, a feeling he quickly brushed aside. It was ridiculous, this sense of foreboding that had settled over him the moment he'd realized Violet wasn't at the old house. She was probably just running late. Or maybe she'd decided to meet them here.

Ethan, usually the epitome of laid-back charm, paced the living room,

his

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agitation growing with each passing minute. He checked his phone for the hundredth time. Still no answer.

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Hannah, ever perceptive, observed them with a mixture of amusement and a

quiet triumph she couldn't quite conceal."Maybe she's just running behind?" she offered, her voice carefully neutral. "We could always order dinner and have everything set up for when she arrives."

Aiden nodded, forcing a smile he didn't feel. "Good idea, Hannah. You

always know how to make things better."

But even as he said the words, a niggling sense of doubt lingered in his mind.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, that there was something they weren't seeing.

Ethan, unable to take the suspense any longer, grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "I'm going back to the house," he announced, his voice tight with a

tension that belied his casual words. "Just in case something came up."

A beat of silence, then Aiden was on his feet, his phone already in hand. "I'll

come with you," he said, his voice laced with an urgency he couldn't quite conceal." Hannah, we'll be back soon."

"Aiden! Ethan!" Hannah called after them, a note of panic creeping into her

voice. But they were already gone, disappearing through the front door and into

the gathering dusk, leaving her alone with her carefully constructed facade and a 27.5%

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gnawing fear that something, somehow, was about to unravel.

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Their search for Violet proved fruitless. The old house was empty, echoing with a silence that was more unsettling than any amount of noise. Aiden, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs, finally broke down and called his assistant.

"Find out everything you can about Violet's whereabouts," he barked into the phone, his voice tight with a panic he couldn't disguise.

Minutes later, his phone buzzed with the answer. The words, when he

finally processed them, hit him like a physical blow.

"She's on a flight to Seattle, Mr. Peck. Scheduled arrival was ten minutes ago." Seattle.

Aiden stared at the phone, his mind reeling. It couldn't be right. It didn't make sense.

"Seattle?" Ethan echoed, his voice hoarse with disbelief."But...but she can't be in Seattle. She promised..."

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"Are you sure?" Aiden's voice was a low growl, his usual composure

shattered."Check again. There must be some mistake."

The assistant's voice, when he finally replied, was hesitant, apologetic. "I'm

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sorry, Mr. Peck. I've double-checked. There's no mistake. She's gone."

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Gone. The word echoed in the silence of the car, a death knell to the life they'd built together, a life that now seemed as fragile and fleeting as a dream. Aiden's phone slipped from his grasp, clattering to the floor of the car. He

didn't even bother to pick it up.

Violet was gone. And it was all their fault.

They'd been so caught up in their own guilt, their own need to atone for the lilies, for their thoughtlessness, that they hadn't stopped to consider what Violet might be feeling.

"She said something about leaving," Ethan mumbled, his voice barely

audible. He racked his brain, trying to recall the events of the past few days, the subtle shifts in Violet's demeanor, the telltale signs they'd been too blind, too self- absorbed to see.

And then it hit him. Violet's last words before she'd hung up the phone, words that had seemed innocuous at the time, but now resonated with a chilling clarity.

"Everything's ready," she'd said, her voice devoid of the warmth, the teasing

lilt, that had always been their undoing."I'm leaving soon."