Page 99 of Electric Kiss

“Age is a cruel trick of nature. It’s true what they say. Youth is wasted on the young.”

Jennifer laughed and dropped her chin to her chest. Cynthia looked at her profile. “We have had a hellish time some of those years, but it ended okay, didn’t it?”

Still with her chin dropped, Jennifer turned to head to her best friend. “Yeah.”

The tranquillity was abruptly shattered as she watched their boat casually speed down the lake. Cynthia caught a glimpse of the boat in her peripheral vision and watched in horror as it rapidly expanded in size. Her euphoria turned to terror as she saw a flicker of flame on the bow of the boat. In a split second, the speedboat erupted into a massive fireball that illuminated the entire area. Cynthia was paralysed with shock, the acrid smell of gasoline and smoke filling her nostrils. She could not comprehend the horror that unfolded before her eyes. In unison, Cynthia and Jennifer dropped their martini glasses, letting them shatter on the stone path below the veranda.

The explosion reverberated across the lake, its deafening roar echoing through the hills. Everything fell eerily silent for a moment, and then Cynthia’s senses were assaulted by the sounds of her own screams and the pounding of her feet on the ground as she ran frantically down the narrow steps in her bare feet and onto the small dock.

Her knees gave way, and she collapsed in a heap, her sobs echoing along the shore. She had spent decades with her beloved Jonathan and Benny, but in just a few heart-wrenching seconds, they had been cruelly snatched away from her forever. She trembled, cursing and sobbing. She could feel the rough planks of wood beneath her fingers. Everything else faded away as the enormity of her loss slowly sank in. Soon, a crowd of people from the neighbouring villas rushed to the beach, their footsteps crunching loudly on the sand.

Jennifer tried to console her, but Cynthia was inconsolable, her cries of anguish ringing out across the lake. The sight of their speedboat being destroyed before her very eyes were seared into her memory. A haunting image that would stay with her for the rest of her life.

As she knelled there, Cynthia’s heart sank with the weight of her loss. The air around her felt heavy and suffocating as if it was mourning with her. The silence was deafening, broken only by her laboured breaths and the distant hum of people trying to help.

The bitter taste of regret lingered in her mouth, a constant reminder of what she could have done differently. The world seemed to blur and fade as she looked around, leaving her feeling lost and helpless, with nothing but her thoughts and memories to keep her company.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Three weeks later

Cynthia sat at the small round table on the patio area outside the French doors of the villa. She didn’t remember the first ten days after Jonathan and Benny were killed. The doctors had kept her sedated. Jennifer had told her she kept waking up screaming. The advice she was given to alleviate the initial shock was to rest.

“How are you feeling today?” Jennifer asked, pushing a mug of green tea in front of Cynthia.

“I don’t know to be honest. I have made a decision. Staying here is not an option. I’ll go insane with all the memories and end up a mad old woman roaming the shores looking for her lover.”

Cynthia looked up to see Jennifer looking at her. Her eyes filled with concern about what Cynthia was about to tell her.

“I am going back to Copper Island.”

“You can’t. That place is evil for you. You turn into another woman when you’re there. It’s like the ghosts of your ancestors inhabit your body and take over like a puppet master.”

“You were always dramatic, Jennifer. I can’t stay here. I have nowhere else to go. I’m asset-rich and not cash rich. I have savings, but most of my wealth is in this place. Benny’s business will be shut down, and if there is any money left over, I’ll use it to start again.”

“When? When will you start again? You’re seventy-nine!” Jennifer clipped out.

Cynthia thinned her lips and looked out across the lake.

“I keep thinking I’ll hear the boat pull into the dock. Jonathan’s feet on the stone steps. His mouth on mine when he greets me. My heart is shattered.”

Jennifer grabbed her friend’s hand and squeezed. “Okay. What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to get Freddie’s children to come home to Copper Island. Get them all wives and Archer to have a child as soon as possible. With a bit of luck, I’ll get that done in twelve months. Then I’ll hand over everything and move away. I’ll be able to stay for a year before Turner Hall penetrates my bones again.”

“Those kids hate you. There is no way they’ll come back because you want them to take over.”

“I have a plan for that too. They’ll come back because they will have no option. I knew Freddie better than he knew himself. I watched those children grow up. They’ll come back, and they’ll come back together. I won’t give them a choice. They just won’t know it wasn’t their idea, but I’ll make it look like it was.”

“Cynthia,” Jennifer warned. “You did not treat his kids very well. They’ll remember.”

“I did nothing to Archer. He had his grandfather’s protection. Jason will probably remember. Luke, maybe, but Daisy won’t. And don’t forget you played lookout, so we’re in this together.”

Jennifer’s face turned to fury, but Cynthia knew Jennifer had nowhere to go.

“And what about Imelda? She isn’t dead. What if she hears what you’re up to?”

“The only people who can piece together what I’m up to are you and Mr Porterfield, the solicitor. Everyone else will be oblivious.”

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