Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

Vanessa’s brows lifted. “You look rather dapper,” she mused. “Anybody I know?”

Graham grinned. “Well, you might have met her a time or two, but that is all I am prepared to say right now. Will you be all right on your own for a while?”

“Of course,” Vanessa assured him. “I will take an early night, I think. All this driving around in an evening is wearing me out. I will see you tomorrow, when I get back from the orphanage.”

She smiled when her father chuckled. It was something he didn’t do very often. To hear it made her smile.

Once he was gone, her smile swiftly died. The silence closed in on her, and so did the walls. Until now, she had always been fine stopping in the house alone. Now, it felt like an empty husk. Or was that her? She couldn’t be sure. It was all so very confusing. She wanted to change things but then didn’t. She wanted to move but then wanted to remain where she was comfortable, with everything that was familiar all about her. Her father needed her, but then evidently, given tonight’s surprise, he quite clearly didn’t. She thought she was quite happy to keep her distance from Justin, but now realised that she couldn’t. It was far harder than she had ever expected.

“I need to think about this,” she hissed, sliding into a seat at the kitchen table.

She reali

sed then just how vulnerable she was to watchful eyes from outside. A flickering shadow at the side of the garden made the decision for her, and she quickly worked her way around the house closing all the shutters and curtains. Unfortunately, that made the house feel even more claustrophobic.

Vanessa suddenly wished she could go and visit Geraldine. In ordinary circumstances, she would have done just that. Now, she had to spend a quiet evening alone.

She hated it.

When a wave of sadness settled heavily on her shoulders, she made her way to her bed chamber and quietly got ready for bed.

Vanessa was exhausted when she left her bed the following morning. She had spent most of the night tossing and turning, plagued with dreams of Justin. Now, she was tired, grumpy, and had a deep sense of disquiet she had no way of easing. It had appeared out of nowhere sometime during the night and had grown steadily worse as dawn had approached.

She hurriedly lit the fires, but that didn’t do anything to dispel the pervading chill that seemed to sneak into her bones.

“If I didn’t know better I should think we have some bad news on the way,” she whispered as she stared absently into the flames.

When a horrifying thought crept into her mind, she quickly hurried upstairs to her father’s room. Heart hammering, she slowly eased the door open and took a cautious look inside only to heave a sigh of relief when she saw her father fast asleep still. Assured that he had made it back last night safe and sound, she slowly closed the door again and went back downstairs to see what else she could find to do with her time before she could leave for the orphanage.

An hour later, Vanessa decided to leave for the orphanage early. She was bored, worried, and desperately needed to get out of the house for a while. With no idea where Justin was, she left the house without him and began to make her way through the village.

She was so lost in thought as to where her sense of unease came from that, at first, she didn’t realise she was no longer alone. It was only when she saw a pair of boots appear beside hers that she gasped and, with a jerk, looked at the man who silently materialised beside her.

“Oh, I am sorry, I didn’t realise you were there,” she gasped with a ready smile. That smile faded when he didn’t respond.

“It’s a fine morning, isn’t it?” she prompted a few minutes later when her sense of unease grew.

Again, he didn’t answer.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked with a frown.

A decidedly uncomfortable tension hovered in the air unlike anything Vanessa had ever experienced before. She wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Eager to be on her way, and hopefully ease her growing disquiet, she eyed the huge church lying to the right of her, and the orphanage just a little further beyond that on the left.

“I am off to the orphanage. Have a good day,” she called, striding forward.

Suddenly, the world went black.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Justin, who was dozing in front of the fire with his boots propped up on the chair opposite, suddenly jerked awake. He gazed blankly at the wall opposite for a moment while he waited for all his senses to awaken. When they did, he knew deep in his gut that something was wrong, and his gut was never wrong.

“What is it? Not had enough sleep again?” Angus asked with a grin.

“Why don’t you get to bed? There is plenty of room, you know. There is no reason for you to sleep in chairs here,” Niall suggested. “I will take night shift tomorrow. You can get a proper night’s sleep for a change.”

“It isn’t that,” Justin growled. “What time is it?”