Ruined Things

In Folkestone, the Founding Families bury their secrets. And anyone who threatens to dig them up. Payne is alive, barely, but the real threat is just beginning. Pastor Jim has returned. The man who trafficked Charlie, who has been pulling strings from the shadows for years is targeting all of the Heirs. And he's not working alone. A dead raven nailed to Sunday's door. Cavete serpentis reditum. Beware the serpent's return. Eight eviscerated rats and a live snake in Stella's pool. Nine symbols. Nine families—not eight. Someone tried to erase the ninth family from Folkestone's history. And now that family is back with a vengeance. Sunday and Payne, and Stella and Poe are finally happy. But love won't save them from what's coming. Because the message arrives on all four phones: a livestream. Rafferty Essex, bound and beaten in the bow cabin of the Halliday family boat. Fuel-soaked carpet. A gloved hand holding a lit Zippo lighter. And just one word. RUN.