“Shut up!” Brendan bellowed with all his might. His wound vibrated with his growl, making him cry out at the sharp pain in tandem.

His vision blurred. His knees buckled.

Her car had fallen into the sea? She had died?

Impossible! That was insane! She had been so alive yesterday when she had cursed his name, made how much he disgusted her plain, and screamed about avenging her mother! She had been so alive when she’d wished he was dead! And now… her fate was suddenly uncertain?

Brendan’s vision turned black and he toppled.

A nurse screamed nearby.

Before his consciousness faded out, he muttered, “Deirdre… Deirdre…”

He had a dream.

In the first few days after Deirdre’s incarceration, Brendan had been surprisingly unaccustomed to her absence. As soon as he’d return to the house, he would instinctively call out, “Deirdre, make me some mushroom soup!”

He would then stop himself, and the newly-hired cook would smile nervously. “Wow, Mr. Brighthall. This Deirdre girl must mean a