Chapter 74
BLAKE
The steady beep of the heart monitor was the first thing I registered. My eyelids felt heavy, like they were weighed down with concrete. I forced them open, blinking against the harsh fluorescent lights of what I recognized as a hospital room.
"Aria?" I called out, my voice raspy and unfamiliar even to my own ears.
I scanned the room, expecting to see her sitting in the corner chair with a book in her lap, or maybe standing by the window. She wasn't there. The chair was empty. The room was quiet except for the machines.
My mind flashed back to the last time I'd been sick—just a common cold, nothing like this. Aria had stayed by my bedside all night, pressing cool washcloths to my forehead, making me drink water every hour. I'd pretended to be annoyed, but the truth was I'd never felt so cared for.
"Aria will be here soon," I told myself, the memories becoming clearer now.
The mountain. The argument. The fall.
Everything rushed back at once. My chest tightened with panic. I needed to find her. I needed to apologize. I jerked upright, reaching for the IV in my arm.
"I need to go," I muttered, yanking at the needle.
Pain shot through my left arm as I tried to use it to support myself. I looked down to see it wrapped in a heavy cast. When I attempted to stand, my legs gave out immediately. I crashed to the floor with a thud that sent fresh waves of agony through my body.
The door flew open. My mother stood there, her eyes wide with shock.
"Blake! What are you doing?" she rushed to my side, helping me back onto the bed.
"Where's Aria?" I demanded. "I need to see her."
Mom's face changed. Her expression shifted into something I'd never seen before—a mixture of pity and grief that made my stomach drop.
"Your left hand has nerve and tendon damage," she said instead of answering my question. "The doctors say you'll need extensive rehabilitation. You can't be moving around like this."
"I don't care about my hand," I snapped. "Where's Aria? She must be furious with me."
Mom sat on the edge of the bed, her hands trembling slightly as she adjusted my blanket. "Blake, honey—"
"Mom," I interrupted, desperation rising in my voice. "Please call her. Tell her I'm awake. I need to apologize to her. I was wrong. I was so wrong about everything."
Tears welled in my mother's eyes. "The birthday party was canceled."
"The party doesn't matter. Nothing matters except talking to Aria."
"Blake," Mom's voice cracked. "You need to listen to me."
"No," I shook my head. "I know she's angry. She has every right to be. But she'll come if you tell her I'm asking for her. She always comes, even when I don't deserve it."
"Blake, stop!" Mom's voice rose sharply.
I fell silent, the dread in my chest expanding.
"Aria is gone," she whispered.
"Gone where? Back to the estate?"
Mom took a deep breath. "The Grant family has been searching Peak Zero since the accident. They..." her voice faltered. "They only found pieces of her clothing near the sea."
I stared at her, uncomprehending. "What are you talking about? She's just avoiding me. She'll come back when she's ready."
"The authorities believe she and Christine fell into the ocean."
"No." The word came out flat, definitive. "That's not possible."
"They think they might have been..." Mom couldn't finish the sentence.
"Been what?" I demanded.
"The currents are strong there. And there are predators in those waters."
The implication hit me like a physical blow. "You're saying she's dead? That's ridiculous. She can't be dead."
"If you had treated her better," Mom said, her voice suddenly hard with accusation, "if you hadn't been so cruel to her all this time, would things be different now?"
Her words pierced through me. I remembered Aria's face the last time I saw her, the resignation in her eyes when she told me I would never be her reason to keep going.
"I'll find her," I said, my voice hollow. "She's not dead. She can't be."
"Blake, please—"
"I'd give anything to take it all back," I said, the words pouring out now. "I'd give my arm to save her leg. I'd give both my hands. I'd give my life."
"It's too late for that," Mom said softly.
"No!" I shouted. "It's not too late. I'm going to find her."
The door opened again, and Matthew Redwood stepped in. He looked terrible—his white coat wrinkled, dark circles under his eyes, his face haggard with exhaustion and grief.
"You shouldn't be up," he said mechanically, checking the monitors beside my bed.
"Tell me where she is," I demanded.
Matthew's hands stilled. When he turned to face me, his eyes were cold with hatred.
"She's gone, and it's all your fault, you piece of shit."
"Matthew," my mother warned, but he ignored her.
"Do you have any idea what you did to her?" he asked, his voice quiet but vibrating with rage. "You made her feel like she was living in an ice box every single day. You destroyed her leg and took away her chance to ever dance again. When she wanted freedom, you chained her down. When she needed respect, you mocked her from your high horse."
Each accusation hit me like a physical blow.
"You don't understand," I started.
"No, you don't understand," Matthew cut me off. "The biggest mistake of Aria's life, the most unfortunate thing that ever happened to her, was meeting you—a man who only knew how to hurt her."
Something snapped inside me. I lunged forward, grabbing his collar with my good hand.
"You're responsible too," I growled. "You knew there was no real car owner. Why did you help her deceive everyone?"
Matthew's face contorted. "I didn't know she was planning to bet her own life!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I didn't know!" Matthew shouted, tears suddenly streaming down his face. "I was tricked too! I thought I was just helping her expose the real culprit!"
He pulled away from my grip, his body shaking.
"I deliberately brought reporters around the Grant estate to make Emma and Christine nervous. I thought we were setting a trap. Then I heard the news..." His voice broke. "I never even got to say goodbye."
The realization dawned on me slowly. "Are you saying she planned this? That she meant to die?"
Matthew laughed bitterly. "You're luckier than me, you know that? You got to see her one last time."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"The position of Morgan family's daughter-in-law is vacant now," he said with venom in his voice. "You and Emma are perfect for each other. Both of you are so good at being wise after the event."
Rage surged through me. "What the hell does that mean?"