13 - ZARA

Trembling, I watched the security system load up, with a search bar on the main screen.

There was no turning back now.

A little part of me was excited, that I was going to see my sister after all this time…

But another part of me was a little stressed, wondering what she would think if I sprung up out of the blue after all of these years.

I wondered if she had any children.

I wondered what her husband was like.

I typed in Miriam Amelle into the search bar, allowing the results to populate.

Waiting patiently as the system cross-searched the database with the name I entered.

I scanned the results. Images of women I didn't know but held the same name came up.

I sighed frustratedly, as I continued to search the results.

And then…

I saw a picture of Miriam.

I could feel my heart stop in my stomach. Her beautiful face, her big brown eyes, her brown skin, her chiseled jawline.

It was her.

It was really her.

I clicked on the image with the anticipation of finding an address, so that I could see her when I went back to England with Luca.

But what I saw…

Made my blood run cold.

Made the oxygen knock out of my lungs.

Made me feel like my entire body was on the verge of explosion.

It felt like the walls were closing in on me.

Like the world was coming crashing down on me.

Like I was suffocating…

And I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't fucking breathe.

I convulsed in my seat, hardly able to believe my eyes.

Hardly able to believe what I was reading.

Wishing that it was some sick, fucked-up joke…

But it was real.

It was very, very real…

And the truth fucking terrified me.

Because the label 'Deceased' was spread across her data.

And now…

I allowed the tears to fall down my cheeks.