After Knox confirmed her bed had been replaced, Nessa insisted they go to her apartment that night.

"You need to be away from the hotel and so do I," she told him. "The reporters are probably storming the place right now."

After ten minutes of arguing, they were in her apartment. Knox was sprawled on her new mattress. Luckily, the fire hadn't spread or caused any major damage.

"At least they fixed my lock," Nessa said.

He didn't respond.

"I'm sorry it was Patrick. I was really hoping it was Jason," Nessa admitted.

"What?"

"Obviously, whoever was killing those women and putting an X on them was jealous or something. I got a bad vibe from Patrick, but I was really hoping it would be Jason if it had to be either of them," she explained as she sat next to him. "Are you okay?"

"No, but what can I do?"

Nessa rested her head on his shoulder. "Want me to make you feel better?"

"How are you going to do that?"

She undid the buttons to his shirt and grinned. "I can think of some ways. It may not make you feel better, but at least you'll forget." She ran her hands down Knox's chest, "After what we've been through, I think we both need this."

Nessa was in the shower. He had planned to join her but a call from Jason held him back.

"Patrick is insisting he's innocent," Jason shared over the phone.

"We heard him confess," Knox said as he looked at the photographs of Nessa with her parents. He was in her bedroom and walked over to her dresser, casually looking through her things. Women weren't the only ones who could snoop.

"Chrissy also woke up," Jason said. "She said she didn't remember who attacked her but someone kept calling her name before it happened and it sounded like a woman."

"That's strange but she's been through a lot. She probably doesn't know what's going on."

"I also talked to your girlfriend's friend, Candi."

"Did you get her a new car?"

"No, I didn't have to. Apparently her father already replaced it."

"What?"

"I looked into it and the coffee shop was also paid for by Edward Cruz. Apparently, he's been paying her to keep tabs on Nessa."

"Damn, he's gone too far. If Nessa finds out--"

"It started after she had a breakdown."

"Breakdown? Who had a breakdown? Nessa?"

"After Tate broke up with her, she went a little crazy. Stopped talking to her parents and he became desperate. He started paying Candi to get Nessa odd jobs. You'll never guess where her first job was at."

A sick feeling was starting to fill Knox's stomac. "Where?"

"At the Luxmar. She was working as a maid. I guess that's when she accidentally pantsed you. It's funny how fate works out, huh?"

"Yeah, listen...I'm going to let you go. Keep all of this to yourself. You got it?"

"Sure thing."

Knox disconnected the call as the sound of the shower running filled the room. Nessa had worked at the hotel two years ago? He looked back at the drawers he had rifled through earlier. He had only looked through the top drawer because he had hoped to find some kind of sex toy to tease her with later.

His mouth went dry as he bent over and opened the bottom drawer.

Inside were pictures of him. His eyed widened as he took in the photographs. There were photos of him entering AA meetings in his disguises and of him having a work lunch with one of the victims. Photographs of the other victims also sat in the drawer.

"You figured it out," Nessa said from behind him, causing him to jump.

"Nessa!" Knox turned at the sound of her voice. He held up the stack of photographs. "What is all this?"

"I wish I could tell you that it's all a misunderstanding," Nessa whispered.

"I want the truth."

"The truth is, I love you."

"Nessa, I--"

"I've always loved you since the first time I saw you two years ago. Tate had broken up with me and I was devastated. I sort of lost it so I went to the Luxmar to relax. That's when I saw you. You were so handsome, Knox. And I wanted you for myself."

"What are you saying?"

"But you were taken," Nessa continued. "She had you wrapped around her finger and you didn't even realize how horrible she was. How absolutely rotten she was."

"Nessa, stop."

"I saw her with your brother. I watched her go into Patrick's hotel room and I waited. I was going to take a picture and send it to you but then something strange happened. He came out alone and the room was on fire. Patrick started that fire."

"Stop telling me this. I don't need to know."

"Yes, you do. Jessica always had these tests. I guess it's my turn to give you one. How much do you really love me, Knox? Don't misunderstand. I didn't kill Jessica. That was your brother. The other women...now that's a different story."

"Nessa, we can pretend none of this ever--"

"I worked at your hotel but you never noticed me. You were in some kind of daze and I wanted something better for you. You deserved it. I was so proud of you when you stopped drinking. Getting close to you has been tricky. Becoming your secretary was easy. My father has been giving Candi jobs to pass along to me for a long time now. It only took a few hints from me that I wanted to work as a secretary before your company had an opening and my father pulled his strings."

"Why?"

"I told you why! Because I love you! I told you my secret and I had to stay near you. It was only a matter of time before you needed my help. When you needed an alibi, I was there for you just as I planned."

"Then who's been hurting you? The car crash, the break-in, who did that?"

Nessa pointed to herself. "Me. I had to hurt myself a few times but there was no other way. I lied about the car crash."

"And the fire?" Knox had been backing himself out of the room and she followed him.

"I set it. I only pretended to be knocked out. You were so impressive the way you picked me up and tried saving me. That's when I knew you had feelings for me."

"Nessa, this isn't right. We need to get you some help."

"No! I will not go into another psych ward!" she ran forward and pushed Knox to the ground before running to the kitchen and grabbing a knife. She held it up between them. "You said you loved me!"

"I do love you but my brother is going to be charged with more than one murder because of you!"

"So what? He betrayed you, Knox!"

"Nessa, put the knife down."

"So you can turn me in? I don't think so. You're all I have. No one else loves me!"

"That's not true. Your father-"

"He's only willing to accept me if I pretend to be someone I'm not."

"Can you really hear ghosts? You knew my grandmother's nickname."

Nessa sighed. "I heard you talking with your parents about her at the hotel two years ago. You let the nickname slip."

"Nessa, you didn't need to pretend to hear ghosts."

"I do hear voices. Maybe they are ghosts. They're the only ones who accept me for me but they're not real. My psychiatrist told me that."

"What about Candi?" Knox asked.

"She's only my friend because my father pays her! You said you loved me, Knox!"

She rushed at him, knife drawn and he grabbed her hand, pushing it down. They struggled for the knife and a groan escaped Nessa's lips.

"Nessa!" Knox looked down to see she accidentally stabbed herself in the stomach as they struggled for the knife. He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 911 while holding a smiling Nessa in his arms.

"Knox," she whispered. "You're calling 911. That means you care about me."

"Of course I care about you."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't apologize for things you're not sorry for. You loved me enough to kill. You're not sorry for that, are you?"

She pressed a bloody hand against his chest. "Am I really there?"

"Don't you dare die on me, Nessa."

Nessa gasped for air. "Forever in your heart? No matter what? Am I there?"

He watched her eyes flutter in and out of consciousness before answering her. "Yes, you're in my heart forever."

She gave him a soft smile. "Good."

Her eyes closed as he yelled her name, the wail of the sirens in the background announcing the arrival of the paramedics. A few of the photos he had grabbed from Nessa's drawer were on the floor. He picked them up and tore them, before hiding them in the cushions of the sofa. He rushed back to Nessa just as the paramedics walked in.

"It's my girlfriend. She had a breakdown and tried killing herself. We struggled over the knife and this happened. Please save her!"

The red lights from the ambulance acted like a warning, telling Knox to stay away but he ignored them and climbed inside the ambulance next to Nessa. Despite her actions, he wasn't going to abandon her. He made a promise to her. She wasn't just in his heart. She was his heart.

THE END