CHAPTER 32 Keepsake
Lisa
up
from
“Lisa, honey, it’s time to go home,” Cris said gently from behind me. I gingerly stood. my barstool and
gathered my things. It was one of the few nights I’ve gone home a bit sober.
“Night, Virtue. I’ll see you in the morning,” I said, cing the strap of my bag on my shoulder. “I really
had fun tonight.”
“I had fun tonight too, Lisa. We should do this again, but with coffee,” she replied with such a charming
smile, I smiled back in return.
Cris ced his arm around my shoulders and I waved goodbye to Virtue, Noah and Chip as
he led me outside.
When we exited the pub, I noticed Dan and Nicole drive off while a drunk Liam stumbled into the
backseat of his ck BMW. The window of the driver’s side was rolled down and I noticed Theodore
Cohen’s trusted driver, Henry, waiting for Liam to get his drunk as s into the car. Liam rarely drank to
get drunk, but I guess tonight was one of those rare nights.
Cris opened the passenger’s side and waited for me to be seatedfortably before closing the door
and climbing into the driver’s side of our SUV.
Virtue made an offer to buy the housest year even though she wasn’t ready to move in. She said she
fell in love with the house and the location and decided to buy the house so it would be taken off the
market.
I met with her in Bismarck a couple of months ago to discuss the renovations she wanted. done and I
found her to be warm and friendly. After our meeting, I felt excessively guilty for selling her a home in a
town where a lu natic mayor sits on the throne.
Since she was still finalizing the sale of her home in Nevada, she asked me to oversee renovations,
sending me huge amounts of money, telling me ten percent was allotted to me, just as long as
renovations would be done by the time she arrives. We would chat on the phone from time to time and
I found her polite and down-to-earth which is rareing from such a beautiful woman as herself.
Usually women like her were demanding andpletely stuck up, but she never acted in such a way,
which made me admire her more.
Honestly, it amazes me so much, seeing her carry herself with such humility.”
I nced at Cris who was focused on driving us home. We looked like the perfect couple, but
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CHAPTER 32 Keepsake
in reality, we could no longer stand being with each other. For the sake of appearances, we still lived in
the same house together, but we slept in separate rooms. We’ve been sleeping seperately ever since I
caught him f ucking his secretary on his desk.
“I think you surprised everyone, Lisa. We were all expecting an old woman to move into the
old Taylor house,” Cris suddenly said, breaking the ice..
“What made you guys think that?” I asked, confused..
“Remember I asked you who was moving into that house that one night at the pub and you mumbled
‘some woman,” he answered. “We all expected it to be some retiree. You know, someone else who
could get along with all the old folks at Taylor Loop.” He paused and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, it
seems you found a new friend. And I like how she’s a positive influence on you.”
1 quietly scoffed at him.
Whatever Cris…
“I’m actually happy I met her, Cris,” I murmured, “I-I’m just concerned for her safety. To tell you
honestly, I feel guilty.”
Guilty?
Why Lisa?” He asked. “Does this have something to do with Liam?”
“Maybe,” I said, not wanting to say it out loud. I feared voicing out my concerns would make it a realityN?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content.
and I wanted to live in Never Never Land just a bit longer.
I heard Cris sigh. “I know what is going through your mind, Lisa.”
“Is there anything you can do, Cris?” I asked hoping he would offer to help, but I knew he had his
hands tied.
“Well, Dan is trying to convince Liam that she would make an exceptional wife. Fm hoping Dan will get
through to him and make him realize Virtue is an asset and not a liability,” he
answered.
“If there is anything you can do to help, I would be very grateful,” I replied. “You know, Cris, I really want
us to be friends. You and I, we make a great team.”
“We do, Lisa,” he said, agreeing with me. “I know this may not mean anything to you, do love you and
I’ll always will. I know I’m a terrible husband, but Lisa, you can count on me
to be a friend.”
but I
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CHAPTER 32 Keepsake
cheek. Thanks, Cris. You’ll always be special to me too, I sniffed, a tear falling down my This was
actually the first time we have spoken civilly to each other ever since we decided to sleep in different
bedrooms. It was a breakthrough for both us.
Once we got home, I kissed him on the cheek and went straight to my bedroom to take a shower. After
putting on my pajamas, I sat on the edge of my bed feeling a bit nostalgic.
My eyes went to the three picture frames on my nightstand and I gazed lovingly at the photos staring
back at me.
One was a photo of me and my parents during my college graduation, the other was a wedding photo
of me and Cris, while the third photo was taken during the spring formal of my junior year… my only
keepsake of my friendship with Joy Taylor.
I picked it up and ran my fingers along the zing of the frame, wistfully yearning for the young girl,
who had her arms wrapped around my teenage self as she grinned happily at the
camera, to appear.
1 often ask myself why. Why did I listen to Nicole? Why didn’t I go back for Joy? WHY DIDN’T I DO
SOMETHING…ANYTHING?!
hat kind of a sick person am 1?
o many questions… none of them with answers. Poor Joy. It has been ten long painful years and no
one knew where she was.
I tried calling her aunt in California, hoping for some information, but she said she had no idea where
the Taylor family could have gone.
I tried looking for her through social media, but there were so many women with the same name, it was
impossible for me to find her.
I tried keeping the old Taylor house in the market, hoping one day, they would return and Joy would
hug me tightly and tell me all is forgiven.
“I didn’t know, Joy. Honestly, I thought it was just a prank. I really didn’t know,” I whispered. to the
young girl with chestnut colored hair and stunning aquamarine eyes.
get some sleep. I
I ced the picture frame back on my nightstand and prepared myself to get sighed, remembering my
night.
Virtue Sullivan reminded me of Joy. They both had the same sultry voice and the same sing-
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songugh. They were both optimistic and hardly spoke an unkind word to anyone.
I closed my eyes, allowing myself to drift off to sleep, feeling a heavy burden has been lifted. from my
shoulders knowing Cris stood beside me in a way.
loy
“Chip, how far do you live from here?” I asked as we exited the pub with Noah in tow. We left Patrick,
the bartender, to lock up for the night. Everyone went home early and we were fortunate to leave at half
past midnight.
“About a twenty minute drive that way,” Cristos said, pointing to the direction of Old Man Eugene’s
house.
Old Man Eugene’s family and my dad’s family were pioneers in this town. Back in the day, my dad’s
family was well-off, but a string of misfortunes gued the family. After his parents died, all he inherited
was our house located on acres of property and the grocery
store.
statue at New Salem Park where a Summers and a Taylor stood hand in hand ther. I did some
research when I was in high school and saw an article on the mysterious death of Mayor Owen
Summers. His sessor, Ethan Cohen, was believed to have bought his way in, but no one could ever
prove it. Ethan Cohen went on to say the malicious. usations were made by his detractors who
wanted a Summers or a Taylor in town hall.
The Cohens arrived during the prohibition period together with their unexinable wealth. After Ethan
Cohen seized power, no other Summers or Taylor was ever elected again. Instead, the mayoralty was
handed from a Cohen patriarch to son.
Their mansion is perched atop Prairie’s Peak, a hill overlooking town hall. It was secluded and well-
guarded.
“Well, mine is five minutes away in that direction,” I said, pointing the other way, as he helped me drag
Noah to his bronze Range Rover, I whistled. I should get one.
“Uhm, my car costs as much as your car, so you shouldn’t be impressed,” Cristos said, practically
pushing Noah into the backseat of the luxury SUV and mming the door, clearly irritated. “Although,
mine IS new. Fine, go ahead and be impressed.” He opened the passenger door for me and I climbed
in, checking out its interior. Nice, I waited for him to slide into the driver’s seat before we talked cars.
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CHAPTER 32 Keepsake
“I was thinking of getting one… I mean an SUV. What does Dom and Bo drive?” I asked.
“You and Dom have the same taste. He has a Mercedes SUV while Bo, who is more. masculine, drives
a Land Rover Defender. I was about to buy one. It’s a real beaut,” he said,
driving towards the direction of my house.
“I can imagine,” I said, knowing Xavier. I nced through the rearview mirror and noticed there was
another car behind us. I turned in my chair to take a closer look and saw a BMW
emblem.
“You noticed too, huh?” Cristos said, looking through the rear view mirror. “Let’s get Noah
home first, shall we?”
Cristos drove calmly, but he opened the center console to have his gun readily avable if
needed.
We dropped off Noah first. Cristos had to shake him awake because there was no way in hell and we
could carry him. Then, Cristos parked his SUV in front of my house. He took his gun ced it in his
leather sling bag while I readied my knife before exiting the car.
Liam’s BMW was parked near the trees at the entrance of the cul-de-sac.
calling Dom and Bo,” Cristos said walking into the house while dialing his phone. “You ould get on the
phone and call the police.”
I took out my gun from a kitchen cab and ced it behind a throw pillow of my sofa before calling
the Sheriff.
The home security consultant I hired would be arriving tomorrow. I had to wait until construction on the
house was finished since I didn’t trust Lisa to oversee the instation.
I just didn’t expect Liam to begin stalking me so soon.
Chapter Comments
Luna-Mom
This book has me h ooked so far
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