Aila’s breath caught in her chest.
“Yes, that’s right, but it seems Ms. Douglas emptied it earlier that day for Mr. Douglas,” Hill continued, gesturing to Fenella who nodded, “He asked her to take the cash to the bank. This story was corroborated by Mr. Wilson, as you know, Mr. Douglas’ business manager, and Ms. Philpott, the housekeeper. They were both present as they assisted Ms. Douglas with the package of money, Mr. Wilson driving her to the bank and Ms. Philpott finding her an envelope.”
“But, John… his death wasn’t…” Edmund barely gone out the words as his voice broke, tears in his eyes. Aila stared at DI Hill’s face, hoping the tension in her own wasn’t obvious.
“No, Mr. Silbury,” DI Hill started.
“Edmund,” he corrected gently.
“Edmund,” she continued, “Mr. Douglas’ death was ruled to be natural causes. Sadly, heart attacks are common. The coroner screened for the most common poisons, strangulation and other less visible causes of death with no indication that it was anything other than a naturally occurring heart attack. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Aila started to cry anew, relief washing over her.
“Oh sweetheart,” Fenella said, placing a hand on Aila’s shoulder.
Aila looked at Edmund, who was similarly upset, and she felt a pang of guilt.
His grief was real, hers was not.
She was finally free of her father.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEW
To all My Reader,
Thank you for reading ‘The Three Lives of Aila Douglas Book 2: Origin.’
I hope you have enjoyed the books.
Your reviews are valuable for a new author like me
It helps us to say on the competitive book publishing industry and encourages us to write more to share with our community.
So please kindly remember to leave me a review on Amazon or
Goodreads.com.
Thank you and all the best for now.
Lei R. Tasker
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A book doesn’t come together on its own!
I couldn’t have made it without my friends and the great team behind which made this Book, a success.
Starting with my fabulous Chief Editor Tegan B and Cynthia Calzone, who gentle encouragement helped me transform it from an ungainly caterpillar into something that resembles a butterfly.
Thanks are also due to Tegan B, for keeping things on track: for her eagle eye: and the publicity and marketing team of Ira-Rebecca P., Cally Lee, Rahul Mall, Nicolas Tan, Usmang Hani and Nasi Masarder
Thanks to Everyone at The World is so big Publishing: Cynthia, Cally, John, Haroon, Snitz, Dee, Rebecca, Rahul and Usman. The book came together beautifully because of the excellent team effort. I am grateful for your help.
Thank you to my Dog Reggie who accompanies me day and night while I write.
Love you all xxx
Lei R. Tasker
Author Bio
Lei R. Tasker
She is the founder of multiple creative businesses internationally. She has dreamed of being a writer ever since her obsession with reading books at an early age. What first became a quest to overcome the boundaries set against her in the form of dyslexia has turned into a life's dream. Angel's Trap is her first book in the Secret of the Oxpen's Angel series of Three. When not writing, she enjoys long walks with her dog Reggie. Love her Gins and reading
www.LeiRtasker.com
Reggie the Amazing SoulDog
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THE THREE LIVES OF
AILA DOUGLAS
A Gripping Thriller That Will Keep You
Guessing Until The Last Page
Preview
Available for pre-order at Amazon
Book 3
Truth
By
Lei R. Tasker
The World is So Big
Publishing
www.twisbpublishing.com
Prologue
July 2000
Ten minutes after Meredith found Aila’s
bracelet covered in blood
It was pitch black in the tunnels. Aila’s eyes were finally starting to adjust to the lighting, her eyes flitting over the black and dark blue shapes of the walls and hanging moss.
Aila could hear the dripping of water somewhere along the corridor, tapping furiously along with the beat of her heart.
She was slumped against one of the walls, the frigid stone biting at her bare arms and legs. She thought how surprising that was given the extreme heat above ground that weekend. These tunnels were a whole other world.
She heard commotion above her and lifted her eyes to the ceiling of the tunnel as she recognised the voices.
“She was hurt,” Meredith said, only feet above where Aila sat against the damp tunnel wall.
Aila opened her mouth to call out to her friend, to tell her she was alive.
As she did, the darkness moved, the figure of a man looming over her.
He placed a mud covered hand over her mouth, reminding her to stay silent.
Chapter One
October 2019
“It’s a key,” Meredith said.
Taking a leap of faith, she inserted the point into the angel’s hands and the clink of metal hitting metal sounded. The combined bracelets fit perfectly into the gap.
The ground gently shook, as if something below was moving, and the friends stepped back, clutching each other in fear as the angel statue started to lower into the ground.
In less than a minute, the top of the angel’s head had disappeared into the hole in the ground, revealing an opening. They shone their phone torches into the hole – it was a tunnel made of the same medieval stones as the castle and the floor was lined with the same flagstones, each engraved with the wing symbols.
“My god…” Lottie said, “What is that?”
“A tunnel,” Meredith said, “It must go under the castle.”
“What do we do?!” Hannah said frantically.
They stood in silence for a few minutes, no one sure of what to do next. It was surreal, like a scene coming out of the popular Netflix series Games of Throne, and each grappled with how to explain the events to themselves.
“We should leave,” Hannah said after a moment, “No one knows we were here.”
“Our fingerprints are on the bracelets,” Meredith reminded her, “Not to mention Aila’s blood is on hers.”
“Hell,” Hannah said, clutching her face with both hands, “This is ridiculous.”
“I’m going,” Lottie said, “I don’t know what this is, but I don’t want any part of it.”
She turned to walk away, and Hannah grabbed her arm and yelled, “Don’t be an idiot – we’re all in this whether you leave now or not!”
Shock ran through all three as Hannah’s shout echoed against the castle walls. They were immobile as they waited for the dogs to bark, or someone to appear on the moat bridge and find them.
No one seemed to have heard, and they all sighed a collective breath.
“Hello?” Came a loud but timid voice.
Meredith’s lungs seized in shock and all three looked around to see who had caught them.
There was no one in the vicinity.
“Hello, is someone there?” The voice came again, hopelessness permeating through the words, “Please, someone?”
“Oh god,” Hannah said, shining her light down into the tunnel.
The voice was coming from the tunnel.
“Hello?” Meredith called back tentatively.
“Please help me,” the voice replied.
“Don’t go in there,” Lottie said, pre-empting her friend’s actions.
“Please…” the voice came again, sobs echoing across the tunnel.
Hannah didn’t wait for any further discussion, passing her bag to Lottie saying, “Keep watch,” and climbing down into the opening. Her feet landed loudly on the flagstones, and her head almost disappeared c
ompletely into the space showing that it was deep enough to stand in.
Meredith followed, trying to gently lower herself in, but ultimately thumping down as Hannah had, scraping her palms on the sharp edges of the stone where the angel had been.
They held up their phone lights and looked around – Meredith could see that the angel statue had lowered into the space via two winches using metal cord that was rusted and very old. It had lowered directly down and then off to one side to allow passage and stood like a guard at the start of the tunnel, even more ominous given the low light.
The tunnel was the same style as the older parts of the castle, but without regular cleaning it was damp, smelly and covered in moss, lichen and spider’s webs.
The sobbing sounded even nearer now that they were in the tunnel and they shone their lights down the length of it.
Illuminated by both spotlights, they could make out a circular space at the end of the tunnel, and two bare feet at the edge of where their lights reached.
They walked further in, their breathing shallow and panicked.
As they grew closer, their lights moved into the space, and they stopped, drawing a sharp breath almost at the same time.
“Aila?” Meredith gasped.
“Meredith?”
“Oh my god, Aila,” Meredith knelt down onto the flagstones involuntarily, slumping in front of her old friend.
Hannah’s light still shone around the circular space, revealing an older version of the young woman they had once known.
Meredith was too shocked to speak for a moment as she took in the scene. Aila was chained to the wall of the tunnel, her hands clasped behind her back uncomfortably. She was slimmer than she had been at university; the plumpness of her cheeks, hips and legs had now given way to a boniness. Meredith noticed it especially in her face – her once full cheeks that had lit up her smile were angular and harsh.
Aila had always been pale, but she now had a blueish tint to her skin that made her look ill. She was sobbing uncontrollably, from relief or something else, Meredith wasn’t sure.
“I can’t believe we found you,” Hannah said with her usual fire. Shocked was reverberating around them as much as any joy for having found her.
Meredith’s only thoughts were for their safety. She looked over Aila’s chained hands, trying to find the words to her ask her who had done it.
“The key,” Aila muttered breathlessly, “Up there.”
She gestured with her head and neck to the opposite side of the chasm. Hannah shone her phone and Meredith spotted what Aila was referring to – the key to her shackles was hanging from a rusted nail on the wall. Meredith hesitated for a moment, wondering why Aila’s captor had left it here, but she was too focussed on getting them out of the tunnel.
She pulled the key down and swiftly worked to undo the lock. As the chains released, Aila slumped forward, her arms and shoulders shaking with exhaustion or cold. Hannah took off her coat and placed it around Aila’s shoulders as the two of them tried to help her stand.
She was weak, stumbling against their weight, and eventually sitting back down.
“I need a moment,” Aila said breathlessly.
They heard a thump at the other end of the tunnel and Meredith’s heart leapt. It had startled her, but Aila had jumped even more twitchily, the noise triggering something in her.
“Guys?” It was Lottie’s voice, and Meredith could hear her hesitant footsteps heading slowly in their direction.
“Will you get in here?” Hannah said impatiently, shining her phone light towards Lottie to guide her.
“What’s going on?” Lottie asked.
“We’ve found Aila,” Meredith replied.
Chapter Two
October 2019
“It’s a key,” Meredith said.
Taking a leap of faith, she inserted the point into the angel’s hands and the clink of metal hitting metal sounded. The combined bracelets fit perfectly into the gap.
The ground gently shook, as if something below was moving, and the friends stepped back, clutching each other in fear as the angel statue started to lower into the ground.
In less than a minute, the top of the angel’s head had disappeared into the hole in the ground, revealing an opening. They shone their phone torches into the hole – it was a tunnel made of the same medieval stones as the castle and the floor was lined with the same flagstones, each engraved with the wing symbols.
“My god…” Lottie said, “What is that?”
“A tunnel,” Meredith said, “It must go under the castle.”
“What do we do?!” Hannah said frantically.
They stood in silence for a few minutes, no one sure of what to do next. It was surreal, like a fairytale, and each grappled with how to explain the events to themselves.
“We should leave,” Hannah said after a moment, “No one knows we were here.”
“Our fingerprints are on the bracelets,” Meredith reminded her, “Not to mention Aila’s blood is on hers.”
“Hell,” Hannah said, clutching her face with both hands, “This is ridiculous.”
“I’m going,” Lottie said, “I don’t know what this is, but I don’t want any part of it.”
She turned to walk away and Hannah grabbed her arm and yelled, “Don’t be an idiot – we’re all in this whether you leave now or not!”
Shock ran through all three as Hannah’s shout echoed against the castle walls. They were immobile as they waited for the dogs to bark, or someone to appear on the moat bridge and find them.
No one seemed to have heard, and they all sighed a collective breath.
“Hello?” Came a loud but timid voice.
Meredith’s lungs seized in shock and all three looked around to see who had caught them.
There was no one in the vicinity.
“Hello, is someone there?” The voice came again, hopelessness permeating through the words, “Please, someone?”
“Oh god,” Hannah said, shining her light down into the tunnel.
The voice was coming from the tunnel.
“Hello?” Meredith called back tentatively.
“Please help me,” the voice replied.
“Don’t go in there,” Lottie said, pre-empting her friend’s actions.
“Please…” the voice came again, sobs echoing across the tunnel.
Hannah didn’t wait for any further discussion, passing her bag to Lottie saying, “Keep watch,” and climbing down into the opening. Her feet landed loudly on the flagstones, and her head almost disappeared completely into the space showing that it was deep enough to stand in.
Meredith followed, trying to gently lower herself in, but ultimately thumping down as Hannah had, scraping her palms on the sharp edges of the stone where the angel had been.
They held up their phone lights and looked around – Meredith could see that the angel statue had lowered into the space via two winches using metal cord that was rusted and very old. It had lowered directly down and then off to one side to allow passage and stood like a guard at the start of the tunnel, even more ominous given the low light.
The tunnel was the same style as the older parts of the castle, but without regular cleaning it was damp, smelly and covered in moss, lichen and spider’s webs.
The sobbing sounded even nearer now that they were in the tunnel and they shone their lights down the length of it.
Illuminated by both spotlights, they could make out a circular space at the end of the tunnel, and two bare feet at the edge of where their lights reached.
They walked further in, their breathing shallow and panicked.
As they grew closer, their lights moved into the space, and they stopped, drawing a sharp breath almost at the same time.
“Aila?” Meredith gasped.
“Meredith?”
“Oh my god, Aila,” Meredith knelt down onto the flagstones involuntarily, slumping in front of her old friend.
Hannah’s light still shone around the circular s
pace, revealing an older version of the young woman they had once known.
Meredith was too shocked to speak for a moment as she took in the scene. Aila was chained to the wall of the tunnel, her hands clasped behind her back uncomfortably. She was slimmer than she had been at university; the plumpness of her cheeks, hips and legs had now given way to a boniness. Meredith noticed it especially in her face – her once full cheeks that had lit up her smile were angular and harsh.
Aila had always been pale, but she now had a blueish tint to her skin that made her look ill. She was sobbing uncontrollably, from relief or something else, Meredith wasn’t sure.
“I can’t believe we found you,” Hannah said with her usual fire. Shocked was reverberating around them as much as any joy for having found her.
Meredith’s only thoughts were for their safety. She looked over Aila’s chained hands, trying to find the words to her ask her who had done it.
“The key,” Aila muttered breathlessly, “Up there.”
She gestured with her head and neck to the opposite side of the chasm. Hannah shone her phone and Meredith spotted what Aila was referring to – the key to her shackles was hanging from a rusted nail on the wall. Meredith hesitated for a moment, wondering why Aila’s captor had left it here, but she was too focussed on getting them out of the tunnel.
She pulled the key down and swiftly worked to undo the lock. As the chains released, Aila slumped forward, her arms and shoulders shaking with exhaustion or cold. Hannah took off her coat and placed it around Aila’s shoulders as the two of them tried to help her stand.
She was weak, stumbling against their weight, and eventually sitting back down.
“I need a moment,” Aila said breathlessly.
They heard a thump at the other end of the tunnel and Meredith’s heart leapt. It had startled her, but Aila had jumped even more twitchily, the noise triggering something in her.
The Three Lives of Aila Douglas Book 2 Page 7
