This may be Adam’s surprise, I thought, but I have a surprise of my own. Far from forgetting about everything that had happened over the past several days, as had been the plan, we were going to face it.
That’s right. I had every intention of showing Adam the photo. In fact, I was banking on his reaction to determine just how much he’d known, and possibly kept from me, all this time.
Resolved, and with surprising dexterity, I navigated the slippery, oily-black surfaces of the rocks, closer and closer to the lighthouse. The dark waves crashed all around me, and through a thin veil of fog, I saw a flickering of golden illumination streaming through the small lighthouse windows. Candles, perhaps?
Adam had promised something special. Maybe he’d managed to set up a romantic dinner in the structure. He could have easily instructed Max to make the necessary preparations while he’d been flying back. Maybe that was why I hadn’t seen Max all day?
High tide was coming in, and the waves—now black as a velvet night in the dying light of day—continued to crash over the imposing rocky terrain. It was totally desolate down here. What the hell was I doing? I could be walking right into a trap. What if Adam wasn’t even here yet? But then who was waiting in the lighthouse?
I kept on walking, dismissing those crazy thoughts. I reached the sandy path that snaked to the lighthouse entrance. No matter what, I sought the truth. I’d come too far. I was on the cusp of losing a lot. And if my worst fears were realized, meaning the man I loved was involved in all of this, I’d end up losing it all.
I reached the door, and with that thought, I grabbed the cold metal handle and pushed it open. I took a tentative step into the dim, candlelit interior.
The feeling of unease I’d experienced when I’d first visited the lighthouse returned with a vengeance. Something was dreadfully wrong. Every instinct screamed for me to turn back. But I couldn’t walk away now. Even if it meant sacrificing my own sense of self-preservation, I was going in.
I breathed in the heavy, salt-tinged air and entered the lighthouse, ready to accept whatever fate had in store for me.
Chapter 27
Stepping into the lighthouse, the first thing I noticed was how many candles were illuminating the interior. Dozens and dozens of them, votives in glass cups placed up and down the winding, iron staircase. The flames flickered rapidly, as if they’d been angered by my intrusion. What struck me most was that there was nothing romantic about this setup. All of the candles were black, and the sinister, jaundiced glow they were casting against the pale lighthouse interior was nothing short of eerie.
The heavy, metal door clanged shut behind me with finality, my fate sealed. And just then a person stepped out from behind the staircase, looking not the least bit surprised to see me. I couldn’t say the same. Here was the missing person everyone was looking for. And it wasn’t Chelsea. No, it was Ami Hensley.
What is she doing here? I thought. Then I feared this was where she was being held captive. But as I glanced around furtively, I realized we were the only two.
“Expecting Adam?” Ami drawled, tossing her long, blonde hair back with a flick of her wrist. She then dipped a hand into the front pocket of her raincoat. The same powder-blue coat she’d worn the day we’d first taken the ferry from Cove Beach to Fade Island. But unlike that time, Ami’s stomach was now perfectly flat. No fake-pregnancy bump today.
My mind raced to assess the scene before me. Well, well, well. Ami was not only the mystery blonde in the Polaroid photo with Chelsea, but she was obviously not missing after all. Had we all been duped by a crazy person?
“Ami, I, uh,” I stammered, at a loss for verbal coherency, at first. But then I pulled it together. “What are you doing here? Everyone thinks you’re—”
“Missing? Dead?” she finished for me, sounding bored. “Nope, as you can see, I’m alive and well.”
Had she faked her own disappearance? To what end?
“I don’t understand,” I said, truly confused.
Ami sighed and took another step closer. Now both of her hands were stuffed into the front pockets of her raincoat. Odd. But what really gave me pause was how fake her plastered-on smile appeared to be. Instinctively I took a step back as she came closer still. There was something very wrong with her expression.
“What don’t you understand, Maddy?” Ami cooed. I didn’t answer, and she continued, “In light of recent, shall we say, events, I needed to lay low. See how things played out. Know what I mean?”
I had no idea what she was babbling about. Why would Ami need to “lay low”? And see how what played out? One thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t care to stick around any longer. I didn’t know why Ami—and not Adam—was here at the lighthouse. I had no idea why Ami would fake her own disappearance. But it seemed the longer I stuck around, the more likely this bizarre situation could become volatile. And I didn’t want that.
“Look, Ami, I’m leaving. I don’t know what you’re up to, and to tell you the truth, I don’t care. I came down here to meet Adam, but obviously he and I got our signals crossed—”
“You’re such a stupid bitch!” Ami shrieked, cutting me off. “Adam didn’t leave you the fucking note. I did!”
“That can’t be right.” Dread crept over me. “It was his handwriting.”
“Listen up, Maddy, and listen good,” Ami said. “You don’t work for a man for five years, signing document after document, and not learn his handwriting. I’ve signed Adam Ward’s signature
