THE VOW
“‘Twisty and layered... The Vow had me glued to my seat, it had everything I look for in a thriller. It’s the perfect summertime read!’ ”
It’s the wedding of the year – for all the wrong reasons…
I vow to make you pay for what you did.
Twelve years ago, school friends Sofia, Ellie and Rose made a vow. They promised never to talk about that fateful night. Never to tell anyone what they did.
Since then, they’ve all followed very different paths but as they come together to celebrate Ellie’s destination wedding it promises to be a weekend to remember…
It is meant to be the event of the season, but as things start to go wrong, they suspect someone is trying to punish them.
But if the women took a vow of silence, how can anyone know? And what lengths will they be willing to go to, to get their revenge?
“Revelation follows devastating revelation and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor at least twice… an absolute must read.’”
Is this book available in languages other than english?
Not at this stage.
IS THIS BOOK AVAILABLE IN AUDIO?
Yes!
“‘Weddings, jealousy, secrets, murder, betrayal… The Vow has it all in spades! I was hooked from the start. You won’t be able to put it down.’”
Sofia
As my hand settles on the doorknob an ominous feeling drifts through me, like the shadow from a cloud passing overhead. It’s quiet. Too quiet. There should be something – footsteps, rustling. A sign of life. I press my ear to the door, straining to listen. But there’s nothing.
‘Shit.’ I bounce impatiently on my toes, nerves gathering like a tight fist in my stomach. ‘This can’t be happening.’
I glance around to see if anyone has followed me, but the building is still. There’s no one about. Outside even the rain seems to have ceased splattering the windows. It’s almost as if the earth is holding its breath. Waiting. On the horizon past the lighthouse, clouds – real ones this time – gather in a thick cluster, blackened and heavy. Is the storm headed for us? Or will it drift right on by? It’s hard to tell.
I gently ease down the handle, trying to be as quiet as possible. It’s pitch-black inside the room and I feel like I’m stepping into someone’s deepest, darkest secret.
There’s so much to keep hidden.
‘Hello?’ I whisper.
The only answer is a deep, aching silence.
As I step forward my toe catches on something and I tumble into the darkened room, hands flying out to grab hold of something. Anything. I find purchase on a piece of furniture, jamming my hip against the sharp edge of what is probably a filing cabinet and wincing as the door swings shut behind me, plunging me into utter blackness. My phone clatters to the floor, making a loud noise.
‘Fuck.’ My hands are shaking. I can’t see a thing.
There are no windows in this room. With the power out, my phone’s torch is the only way I could possibly see anything. I’m frozen to the spot.
Panic courses through me like a drug and my breath comes faster, my imagination sketching monsters into the darkness. Memories. For a moment I wonder, breathless, if this is a trap. I shuffle forward, hands outstretched, until I find the wall.
‘Hey?’ My voice rises from a stage whisper to a hoarse plea. ‘Are you in here?’
I shouldn’t be here. I should have just left on my own. Saved myself.
How did it all go so wrong?
This was supposed to be a joyous occasion. A celebration. Tomorrow Ellie is due to walk down the aisle, looking every bit the rising starlet. The next Margot Robbie, according to the internet. Another gorgeous, sporty blonde Aussie to feed to the American masses. We’re all here to witness it.
But everything has gone wrong.
I take another step and my foot shoots forwards, gliding on something slick. My grip on the wall isn’t enough to keep me upright and I lurch, my back knee bending in a half split and slamming into the ground.
I gasp, clamping my eyes shut as white flashes of pain burst behind my shuttered lids.
It takes a moment to get out of the position, sliding my front leg back around and putting my weight on my uninjured knee, the other one pulsing with pain. My fingertips come away from the ground wet. I still can’t see anything. My eyes are trying to adjust, but it’s like a black hole in here. Gingerly, I rock back onto my toes and try to stand, uncertain on the wet ground with my impractically thin heels.
Suddenly there’s a surge and a buzzing and the sound of electronic products beeping as the power comes back on.
I wish it hadn’t.
A pool of red spills across the floor, a violent scarlet nightmare, and a body is crumpled at my feet. There’s so much blood I can’t tell where it has come from exactly, but it coats the front of the body, as well as my feet and my knees from where I fell, and I clamp a hand over my mouth without thinking to stifle a primal cry of horror. The metallic taste makes my stomach lurch, acid burning a trail up the back of my throat, and I throw my hand to one side, coughing and wiping my mouth on my other arm.
‘Oh my God . . .’
The eyes are heavy-lidded, lips parted, and from the chin up nothing is out of place, not a hair nor an eyelash. They could be sleeping. Peaceful. Ready for a new day. I crouch down, panic crawling up my spine as I scan for signs of life. Movement of their chest. The twitch of a finger.
There’s nothing.
Yet it isn’t the poor person in front of me that has me taking a step back, the icy clutches of fear wrapped tightly around my throat.
It’s the item lying next to the body – my Swarovski pen, covered in blood, the crystals weakly attempting to catch the light. My name is engraved on one side of the barrel, although it’s impossible to see that now. The letters have been drowned out. Washed away. Now I notice where the blood is coming from. It’s a small, round wound at the base of the neck. Blood oozes out.
‘I’m sorry.’ My lip trembles. ‘I’m so sorry.’
It’s just like the anonymous text message said: You like vows, Sofia? Here’s one for you: I vow to make you pay for what you did.
I hadn’t wanted to believe it was true. That someone was capable of this. That someone knew what really happened that day. But they do. And they’re here. There are forty people on the grounds right now – thirty guests and ten staff.
And one of them is after payback.
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