Chapter 72: Long time no see

She grinned as she opened the fridge and took a bottle of water from it. She turned around and placed it on the counter, grabbing the entire roll of paper towels.

She returned outside with a roll of paper towels and her water bottle. She sat back in her chair and watched as Edward and Cassie approached her. He slid a chair across from her and sat, Cassie on his lap. "If you loved me, you'd kiss me right now," Edward said, mud covering his entire face, and She wasn't about to kiss him like that.

"No!" Cassandra exclaimed, laughing. "I don't want dirt on my face!" she exclaimed.

"Too late!" exclaimed he. He leaned in and kissed her lips, smearing mud on the lower half of her face.

Cassie screamed, "Eww, mommy and daddy are kissing!" They laughed and backed up.

Cassandra removed a paper towel and wiped her face. She began cleaning Cassie's face and finished in about 3 min. She jumped off Edward's lap and went to play more soccer. She is three years old and can be very mature at times.

She looked over to see Edward smirking at her. "What?" she inquired, perplexed as to why he was smirking.

"I'm just so lucky to have you and our kids all to myself," he said, smiling. She returned his smile and leaned in to wipe his face. He kept moving around like a child.

"Harry, stay still!" I exclaimed as I approached him.

quite dissatisfied He huffed and grumbled.

ceased wriggling

"Love, stay still!" she exclaimed, frustrated. He huffed and slowed his wiggling. He picked her up by the hips and sat her on his lap, her back to him. "Love!" she exclaimed as she placed her hands on his chest.

"What?" he asked, dumbfounded. She simply shook her head and continued to work on his face. His hands lowered from her back to her buttocks. She jumped as he gently squeezed it.

"Love stop!" she exclaimed as she worked her way around his eyes.

"Stop what?" he smirked as he squeezed her buttocks once more. She laughed and finished his expression. She climbed out of his lap and gathered everything to throw away.

She opened the sliding glass door and quickly shut it after stepping inside to avoid wasting the air conditioning. She opened the garbage can, tossed the muddy towels inside, and closed it. She returned to the roll of paper towels when she noticed a note.

She dropped the paper towels and picked them up. It was not present 20 minutes ago. She unfolded it, and what it said nearly knocked her out.

"Hello, Honey, xoxo-A"

~

She dropped the note on the floor immediately after reading it, as well as some pictures scattered on the ground, causing tears to well up in her eyes, which she had to force down.

There are bloody pictures of her with her husband and their kids as she fell threatened by this.

She picked up the note and the photographs again and went to throw them away. She threw it away and noticed Anthony in the mirror above it.

She quickly turned around, but he was nowhere to be found. She must be having hallucinations. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, slightly red-faced from her panic. She inhaled deeply and regained her composure. She began to return to the sliding glass door, knowing that if she was near Edward, she would be safe.

When she heard the doorbell ring, her heart began to race ten times faster. She approached the door and peered through the peephole. She excitedly opened the door and jumped on top of Ava.

"Well, hello to you as well!" Ava chuckled as she hugged her too tightly.

"I missed you so much, girl!" she exclaimed, hugging each of them afterward. "Ava, I just need to talk to you for a second," she said quietly. She was the only person she trusted more than Edward. "You guys can go outside to the backyard, Edward is there with Cassie," she said to Mark, who was holding their baby boy.

"I haven't seen Cassie in ages!" Daniel exclaimed. Daniel was the son of Mark and Ava. As a result, the youngster ran through the house. As Mark pursued him, Ava and Cassandra laughed.

"So, what do you need to discuss?"

Ava inquired. She shut and locked the front door. She leaned against the wall, still tense.

"I found a note from Anthony," she explained.

They went into the kitchen, and she pulled the note from the trash. She gave it to Ava, who read it.

"Are you sure it was Anthony? We know he's already dead," Ava inquired.

"I'm not sure. I'm not sure anymore, Ava. I saw him earlier but—"

"Cassandra, maybe you're just stressed. I think you need to rest. Relax okay? What if it's not Anthony? What if it's just a prank?"

"I don't think so; I received a text message from him three years ago," she says.

"Oh f*ck really? Why don't you call the cops?" Ava inquired. She mentally slapped herself, realizing how stupid she was. "Here, I'll do it for you," she said, reaching into her back pocket but finding nothing. Ava had a puzzled expression on her face. She reached into all of his pockets and found nothing. "I just had it as we were walking up to the door," Ava explained.

She sighed and simply walked over to the phone. She took it and dialed 911. "I'm sorry, but your phone has been disconnected," said the automated voice. She scribbled it down and told Ava.

"How about your cell phone?" Ava inquired.

"It's dead."

"Let's just tell Edward," she said as she approached the sliding glass door. She grabbed Ava's arm just as she was about to open it.

"No! I don't want him freaking out about this, and I don't want my kids finding out about it," she told Ava. She nodded and looked behind her.

Ava stammered, "A-Anthony." When she turned around, she was met with a gun. Cassandra retreated into Ava's chest. At least, she assumed it was Ava.

Anthony's arms wrapped quickly around her waist and over her stomach. "Come with me, and don't make a fuss," he said, holding the gun to her head.

Cassandra whimpered as she nodded, "OK."