The Dangerous Ones [✔️] (#1 in the Chilvati Series)

FIFTY-EIGHT

"Eat something," her mother kept saying. Problem was, she had no appetite, and the few bites she did take had no taste. Plus, the food she managed to get down came right back up again, some bug she had caught causing a lot of time to be spent kneeling in front of porcelain.

Virginia had gone with Paul and Janine to spend Christmas at her parents' house. She was trying to enjoy the festivities, mainly for Janine's sake. Simon's death had taken its toll on her too—she was quiet and moody, not at all the way a young girl should be during the holidays. They'd had a few mother-daughter talks at bedtime during which Virginia had discovered that Simon had been her daughter's first real crush.

She hadn't seen that one coming—a little added salt to the gaping wound.

Paul had not mentioned Mark's name once since the confrontation in her driveway. She was grateful for his restraint, not in the mood to hear his opinions of the man. There were moments, however, when she'd turn a corner in the house to find Paul and her parents deep in conversation, the little tête-à-tête cutting off upon her arrival. She'd turn and walk off, not wanting to see the looks of sympathy or recrimination, unwilling to hang around long enough to find out which was on their faces.

It was all so exhausting.

Her parents tried to be as supportive as they could, keeping Janine entertained as much as possible to free up Virginia's time. She wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse. The more time she had to think, the angrier she got. Mark had chosen to blame her and walk away rather than working through the loss of Simon together. That alone told her they were never meant to be.

She had been foolish to get involved with him from the start. He had been a distraction over the last few months. She hadn't been as pro-active with Jack's case as she should have been.

That was all about to change, though.

Once she got back, she was going to find her own leads in her own way on her own time. Everyone else may have given up on Jack's case, but she'd be damned if she would. The Chilvatis were behind his death and she was going to do everything in her power to prove it.

They were going to pay.

And if that meant Mark Spinelli was dragged down with them?

Then so be it.

****THE END****

This final chapter is dedicated to all of you, my faithful readers, who have made it this far and now want to strangle me for the not-so-happy ending.  All I can say is, THERE IS A SEQUEL!!! This may be the end of book one, but it is NOT the end of Mark's and Virginia's story.

Book two, The Silent Ones, can be found on my profile page. (UPDATE: It is now complete as of August 31, 2018) Please go check it out and consider adding it to your reading list so that it, too, can be discovered by others. I hate to play favorites, but if you liked The Dangerous Ones, I'm pretty sure you'll love The Silent Ones.

I am currently working on book three, The Wild Ones.

This has been a fun journey. I started posting back in November 2017, having no clue what I was doing really. I've met some amazing people along the way, had a great time reading some pretty darn good books, and have come to the realization that Wattpad is fricking addictive!

I'll be adding a few extras here in the coming months, some deleted scenes, an author's interview with the characters, and maybe a question and answer section if anyone is interested.

Thank you all so much! See you in The Silent Ones!

Donna xx