Chapter 96

It’s only after her sixth drink that Ariadne can begin to calm the shaking in her hands. And even then, it barely takes the edge off. She slams a glass on the table, and Nathan wordlessly pours her another drink.

“How far gone is he?” Edward asks, nursing an orange juice, wounds still healing, preventing him from ingesting anything stronger.

“Gordon took everything in him,” Ariadne huffs. “There’s nothing left. I-I still haven’t told Ashley or Kelly. I-They’re waiting for me.”

As if saying their names invokes the vibrations in the universe, Nathan’s phone starts buzzing. He checks it, now well over midnight, approaching dawn.

“It’s Anna,” Nathan announces gravely.

And her children, no doubt.

Ariadne sets down her drink, wiping the tired from her face and running a hand through her unruly white-blonde locks.

“Answer it,” Ariadne says.

“You sure,” Nathan replies, finger hovering over the button.

“Do it,” Ariadne confirms.

Nathan presses the thing, and before he can even say hello, Anna