Page 9 of Remi's War (Four Dark Horsemen 2)

And I can’t do anything but cry, being miles away from her, unable to reach her.

But I won’t let her be alone anymore, because from today on I will do everything in my power to find her.

I will reunite with my twin, and when I do?

I’ll hug her so tight she won’t ever feel alone in this world again.

Penelope

Grabbing my suitcase by the handle, I huff in exasperation when my eyeglasses slide down my nose and drop on the floor right before a passenger running to the exit steps on them.

They crunch loudly under his heavy boots.

He looks over his shoulder, his eyes widening as he notices the mess he caused, and yells, “Sorry!” He turns back to resume his action without even bothering to check on me or properly apologize.

Several more people pass by while everything in the distance becomes a blur brightened by smeared lights.

Exhaling a breath, I mutter, “Welcome to the United States, I guess.” Although my expectations about the welcome I’d receive in my home country weren’t high or mattered this much, I somehow didn’t expect to lose my glasses and jeopardize my vision in the first few minutes of stepping on America’s soil.

Picking up what’s left of my glasses, I throw them away in the nearest trash can and scrunch my eyes, searching for the right way to go as I snatch out the vibrating phone from my purse.

Several messages pop up one after another, all similar in nature, and I shake my head, slowly walking toward my destination while pulling my suitcase behind me, its wheels moving flawlessly on the polished floor.

Have you arrived?

According to the time, you should be in Chicago already.

Thomas will be there to meet you. He’s been instructed to take you to a hotel and other places. Don’t even dare leave without him.

I roll my eyes at his last command, finding the notion of anyone wanting to harm me highly amusing, but I prefer to keep my mouth shut so I won’t end up in another argument with my father that never leads anywhere.

He believes that someone here has a bounty set on my head, so coming here was possible only under one condition.

Playing by my father’s rules.

And I wouldn’t have played by them at the age of twenty-three if he didn’t hold keys to uncovering my sister’s whereabouts and hadn’t had a second heart attack several months ago, which put him on bed rest again.

Uneasiness rushes through me as the picture of him lying on the ground still plagues my mind, the fear so powerful I can taste it on my tongue, and coldness sinks into my bones, reminding me a life can end in the blink of an eye.

Which makes my mission even more important, since we get only today, and tomorrow is never promised.

Penelope Psyche Walsh, answer me!

Quickly typing a reply while maneuvering between people, I wonder if scheduling an appointment today with a private investigator was a wise idea, because the jet lag is messing up my concentration and possibly my judgment of her character. This investigator might think I’m an easy target, because she dangled a carrot in front of me—that being information about my sister—and I immediately flew to her, but she will soon discover that’s not the case.

I might be naïve in a lot of ways, but being stupid and letting people use me to their advantage isn’t one of them.

However, a longing and desire to find your own twin is a powerful force, especially when for years you’ve been running into a brick wall and bruising your heart time and time again.

Because Amalia Walsh doesn’t exist in any database, and searching for her by my photo brings no results either. A person cannot just vanish into thin air and leave no trace anywhere.

Not to mention my sister was born three minutes before me, which means she’s an heiress to Theodore’s throne and all his assets, along with the bank accounts, which belong to her. The empire is forever lost, but he still had shares in different corporations that are worth millions right now.

Wouldn’t she be interested at least to get her birthrights and live carefree for the rest of her life?

Only the oldest child gets the inheritance; that’s the stipulation he personally put in the will, according to old family lawyer.

I’m sorry, Penelope. Your father came to my office five days before the accident and demanded these changes. Originally, the will said to divide the inheritance between you two, with his brother acting as a benefactor with your trust funds. Contrary to most parents, he didn’t want you to live at the mercy of the person responsible for watching over you. You would have gotten your hands on the trust funds at eighteen and full rights to the company and properties scattered all over the world at twenty-one. He also added the clause about Amalia going to Beatrice while you would go to Asher, even though your aunt’s reputation was less than stellar. I tried to reason with him, because quiet frankly, you were left high and dry, but he wouldn’t listen. He just crossed out your existence from the will entirely.

---