Appalled at myself, I brought a hand to my mouth, and let appropriate tears escape and wash over my cheeks.

Eric was dead.

I was left alone in the world. And all I could keep thinking was: thank god it was over.

I’d found a chair not far from the nurse’s station and sat alone with my thoughts, unsure of what I was supposed to do next, letting the hours dwindle away. It didn’t seem right to just leave him there and go back to our home alone without him. I’d waited for someone official to come find me, to give me some guidance, but no one approached me. Even the collection of leaflets that were spread haphazardly on the small table beside me could not help me navigate this unknown territory. It seemed like there was a leaflet for everything but what to do when a family member died.

A loud male voice penetrated my thoughts, and I glanced up. Taken aback at seeing my stepbrother Harvey walk towards me, I got to my feet, puzzled at why he was here. I hadn’t called him, didn’t want to bother anyone with my troubles. A blonde-haired woman followed behind him, an expensive handbag flung across her shoulder, her nose inches away from her phone.

As Harvey approached, my pulse quickened, as it always did whenever I saw him. There was just something about his presence, his dominating stature in a room, that made me uneasy. His neutral face, solid jawline and broad cheekbones, bore no expression. Beneath the surface, though, I detected a whiff of annoyance, or maybe I was reading too much into his stoic features.

Judging from his clothing, dressed from top to bottom in exquisite formal attire, it was clear he’d been on a date, the lady behind him the lucky woman in question. No wonder he looked mildly pissed, I thought. I’d ruined their evening.

“You shouldn’t have come,” I said as he invaded the space in front of me. Gifted with height, he towered over me, his shoulders, thick and expansive enclosed within his suit jacket, made him look more formidable, too. His inside shirt hugged his defined torso. I let my eyes fall, feeling guilty that he’d come all this way, and I watched as his chest puffed out as he inhaled, the crisp white shirt stretching slightly with each controlled breath.

“Sara, you couldn’t have kept me away,” he replied as I met his clear blue eyes. There was a flash of pity? Or was it worry?

We stood for a beat looking at each other before he pulled me towards him and took me in his arms.

“How did you know?” I asked, my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat thudding steadily. I was dangerously on the verge of tears. Enveloped in his arms, I’d never felt safer, and my body shook with grief. The tremors were not for my husband but for the loss of something I never thought I needed. My body was on overload. I couldn’t remember the last time someone held me as tight as this, put their whole self into a hug. Officer Pierce had done his best with his handholding, but this was something much more intense. I didn’t want Harvey to let me go.

“Someone from the hospital called me. I should’ve been here sooner. I’m so sorry, Sara.”

“They told me he didn’t suffer, it was painless,” I said, believing his apology was sympathy for my loss.

He pulled and looked down at me. “Pity. I never liked the bastard anyway.”

3

Harvey

Sara looked lost when I first spotted her at the end of the corridor. Hunched over in her seat, her body broken in more ways than one.

My stepsister wasn’t the greatest looking beauty in the world, but she’d had this light when I first met her, something that pulled you in, that made you want to be around her—a spirit that told the world to fuck off, that she could do anything. But over time, it faded to nothingness. She spent less and less time with the family, pushing us away, happily building up her new life with her husband, or at least that’s what I’d thought.

But the woman I saw before me, shrunken and wrecked, paled in comparison to the confident girl I’d met a few years ago when our parents had married in their golden years. I almost didn’t recognise her.

A strong feeling of dread gripped me as I held her in my arms. She shook like a leaf, and all I wanted to do was to make it stop. This couldn’t all be due to the sudden death of her husband. Or maybe it was. I had no comparison to draw from, no emotional investments made or lost. I rubbed her arms; through her cardigan I felt her pliable flesh give way to my touch. So different to the stick figure I’d had my hands on earlier.

“He had his faults, I suppose,” she considered, replying to my earlier outburst. I regretted saying the words, I should’ve held them back, been more sympathetic, but in my world if you didn’t say what you meant right away it was considered pandering.

“Ignore me, I had a shitty night.” I was grateful, though, that this little emergency had gotten me out of another boring award’s ceremony. Another mandatory circle-jerk for the board of directors.

Sara’s eyes flickered to the left, reminding me that Sadie, my personal assistant and secretary, was standing off to the side.

“Two seconds, I’ll be right back and I’ll get you home, OK?”

She nodded and flung her arms around her curvy torso as soon as I stepped away.

“Anything I can do?” Sadie asked, her voice hushed so as not to let Sara overhear.

“No, I think I can take it from here. I’ll probably need you to make some arrangements in the morning for Sara, though. We’ll take the car now. Will you be all right to take a cab back?”

“Yeah, of course. Oh, before I go. That thing from earlier—I presume you want it thoroughly handled? The usual pump-and-dump?”

I almost laughed at her crudeness but choked it back at the last moment—not the right place or time. But comments like that were the very reason we got on so well; Sadie was practically a carbon copy of me. The female version, in stilettos.

“You know me all too well,” I said with a wink. “I don’t want to see her in the hotel again. Get rid.”

Sadie sighed. “Fine, I’ll make sure she’s let go in the morning.”

“You’re a star.”

“Don’t I know it.” She shook her head and arched an eyebrow at me. “But one day, Harvey, your actions are gonna turn round and bite you in the ass!”

I chuckled, doing my best to contain my amusement, and Sadie took her leave.

Turning my attention back onto Sara, I reached for her hand and noticed the angry gash across the full width of her palm.

“What happened?” I questioned as I studied the deep wound. How come no one had noticed it before now? My blood boiled. For fuck’s sake, she was in a bloody hospital!

“It’s nothing. Just an accident.”

“Sara, it needs a stitch or two. Why hasn’t anyone seen to it?”

“I—”

“Never mind. Come with me.” I took her wrist and began to walk. I tightened my grip and pretended not to notice the tugging.

“Where are we going?” she asked. “Don’t we need to let someone know where I’m going? Make arrangements?”

“No. We need to get you fixed up first. This way.” I marched through the place until I saw the first able looking body I could find. “Hey! Yes you! Call yourself a hospital?”

“Better?”

Sara nodded, a weak smile edging upon her lips. “Yeah, much.”

“OK, now we can go. I’m going to take you home. Put some decent food in you, and you’re getting some sleep,” I told her, not giving her much choice in the matter. “Tomorrow we can worry about everything else.”

“Really, I’ll be fine. You don’t have to.” She paused as if there was more she wanted to say, but then her head turned and she looked away.