Written in 25  minutes. No time for typos.

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Elizabeth stared at her estranged husband for a long moment, then shook her head. “No-no, that’s not—”

She swallowed hard, looked at Justus who was blinking at Jason — but didn’t look shocked. “I thought you said—”

“I didn’t know,” Justus murmured, watching his cousin’s ashen, ashamed face carefully. “But I can also say I’m not surprised.”

“You—” Elizabeth couldn’t quite gather her thoughts. It felt like her brain had just sputtered to a stop. “You—Carly?”

Jason exhaled slowly, looked away. “After—when we were in the hospital, she came to see me. She was surprised you—” He met her eyes. “She was surprised you’d made it. She thought you were dead.”

“Because I should have been.” Her eyes burned. “You knew—all this time—”

“I didn’t have any proof. I didn’t—” Jason’s voice faltered. “I couldn’t prove it. And Sonny would never listen to me. And I didn’t want to believe it. I thought I was just—I thought I was imagining it. I told myself Carly had a reason to be surprised — no one survives car bombs.”

“I only did because you—because you stopped me before I got in the car—” Tears slid down her cheeks, and Elizabeth turned away from him.

They’d never talked about that day—she’d never asked, and he’d never brought it up. She simply couldn’t.

“I heard the click,” Jason murmured. “When Cody started to turn on the engine. I was close enough—”

He looked at Justus. “I didn’t know before. I don’t even—I was so sure—”

“What made you decide it was Carly?” Justus asked. “You’re right—she might have—she might have just been surprised anyone survived. I was, too. That bomb—” He looked at Elizabeth. “You almost died. Jason nearly died. Cody did.”

She couldn’t correct him, couldn’t tell him that of course she’d died. That she might as well as have. She’d gone into labor, and her beautiful baby—

She’d been killed by shock wave of the explosion, too fragile to survive it. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around her abdomen. “How did you know—” She stopped. “Did Steven know? Could he have—”

Oh, God, had her beloved brother realized he’d been working for the woman who’d done this to his sister? Had—

Had Steven done something to give Elizabeth justice?

“I knew for sure the day I—” Jason shook his head. “I knew for sure six months ago.”

The day before he left.

She strode forward, stalking towards the man who had hidden this from her, grabbed his shirt and tried to shake him. “How did you know? And why did you leave me alone with her?”

“Tommy Graviano,” Jason said. He looked at Justus. “He came to me—he’d been blaming himself for months—and he wanted to get it off his chest—he told me that Sonny had—Sonny had asked him to put together a device for Moreno’s car.”

“But—”

“And Carly picked it up. The day before the bomb.”

“Tommy didn’t think anything of the boss’s wife picking up a bomb?” Justus bit out. “Why the hell—” He exhaled. “Well, that explains a lot.”

“That doesn’t mean they didn’t plan it together,” Elizabeth said. She released Jason and stepped back. “Otherwise how did Carly know Sonny’d ordered it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t—”

“You were supposed to be in the car, too,” Justus offered. Elizabeth turned around as she and Jason looked at him. “You were both going to the hospital, remember? Whichever one of them did it—it was both of you—”

“And you left me alone in this penthouse with them across the hall after they murdered our daughter—” Elizabeth pressed her hands to her face, looking at him, feeling so betrayed— “How—”

“I thought maybe I was the target,” Jason said. “And if I wasn’t here—if I—I thought if I left, they’d come after me. And I didn’t think—” He looked at her with anguish. “It was my fault. They came after you because of me—”

“You should have told me,” Elizabeth snarled. She stalked away from him, dragging her hands through her hair. “You should have—”

“I wasn’t—I wasn’t thinking.”

“Did anyone come after you?” Justus asked blandly. “Did it work?”

When Jason didn’t answer, Elizabeth looked back at him, her heart pounding. “Did someone come after you, Jason?”

“A few months ago. Someone caught up to me in Cairo,” Jason admitted. “I tried to stay on the move, but they—” He grimaced. “I was in the hospital for a few weeks. But you were safe.”

“Safe.” She hated that fucking word. “Oh, well, I’m glad I was safe, living across the hall from the people who murdered my daughter while my husband abandoned me so he could nearly die halfway across the world—”

Elizabeth took a deep breath. “I can’t—I can’t—” She curled her hands into fists. “It can’t be a coincidence that my brother is missing in action while Carly is dead and Sonny is inaccessible. Someone found out the truth.”

“If it was your brother, then maybe—” Justus offered her a faint smile. “Maybe he’s hiding out—”

“Or maybe Sonny found out what Carly did, and killed her. Maybe Steven saw him do it.” Elizabeth shook her head, looked over at the desk and her daughter’s memory box. “I don’t know anymore. I thought I knew what happened. I thought I knew why—but—”

“I didn’t handle this right,” Jason said from across the room. “I’m sorry—”

“Sorry isn’t going to make any of this right.”

“I know.”

Elizabeth opened the box and drew out the photograph of their daughter again. She reached for a frame on the desk that held a photo of Jason and his sister when Emily had graduated medical school. She replaced it with the one of Lily and shoved it on the desk.

“She deserves better from both of us,” Elizabeth said looking back at Jason who’d come closer to look at the photo. “I want justice for her. Carly’s already dead. If Sonny was involved in any way, if he covered it up or did something to my brother, I’m going to destroy him.”

She lifted her chin and looked at Jason. “Are you going to help? Or are you going to run away again?”

“Running didn’t solve anything,” Jason admitted. “I should have stayed. I should have fought—” He hesitated. “I didn’t have proof. I still don’t.”

“What about that guy—Tommy?” Elizabeth looked at him, then looked at Justus. “What happened to Tommy? Where is he?”

“He was pulled out of the river the night I left town,” Jason admitted. “He’d been grabbed after he met me, so I knew someone was watching me.” He looked at Justus. “His neck had been broken.”

“Just like Carly’s,” Justus offered grimly.

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