Blood Is Thicker Than Water (A New Adult Dark Thriller Series of Mystery and Suspense) ( free series of thriller, mystery, suspense and horror) (Next Of Kin Book 1) by Aray Brown Page A

they knew they’d be together.  They were adamant on making their own way.  They looked back only for a minute.  The social worker and the sergeant were behind them.  Medina and Isabel kept running faster and faster.  The social worker and Aiko chased after them like a pack of wild dogs.  They came closer.  And closer.  The twins had never been apart, literally joined at the hip.  They were sisters.  So different from each other but still blood.  They needed each other more than ever.  They were longing for the days when everything was perfect. 
     
    The funeral was held at a cemetery of her choosing. 
    The director handled all the arrangements.  Prior to the unfortunate incident, Zoe made a will declaring her final wishes, making Maize the beneficiary. 
    The twins were surrounded by her friends.  Henry’s family heard the news and wanted to pay their respects. 
    An oversized photograph of Zoe stood beside the casket.  The mourners took in her creamy brown skin and honey eyes and remembered how she was.  The kind of person she was.  Tears streamed down their faces.  Medina and Isabel sat next to each other, hands clasped together, knowing this was the last time.  They knew their lives would never be the same.  The twins approached the casket, gawked at her, imagining the horrid exposed body as if it was revealed to the public.  The twins laid a single black rose at her side.
    “Bye Mother.” Isabel mumbled under her breath. 
    Medina bent down, kissed her on the cheek.  Then her mind traced back to that night.  How she looked.  How pale her face was.
    Who was really behind this?
    Maize stepped forward, spoke in a tone that could only be perceived by the undead, shed a few tears and shuffled back to his seat, where the guard was waiting for him.
    “Ashes to Ashes, and dust to dust.” The pastor recited.
    The twins watched the pine box descend deeper and deeper in the ground, thus making it a defining moment in their childhood that nothing lasts forever.  Life doesn’t go the way you expect, no matter how badly or how desperate.  They didn’t know what lie ahead for them.  They were more than scared.  They felt terrified.
     
    Isabel gazed at the grave as if Zoe’s death was absolute.  A single hot tear dropped from her cold cheek to the final resting place, then another.  Maize walked past, glanced at her face and halted.
    “It’s time to go.” The guard said.
    “Give me a minute.  I’m sorry Issy.” Maize said.
    “Everybody’s sorry about something.” Isabel said.
    “It’s okay to cry.  I loved her too.” Maze replied.
    “Did you kill her?” Isabel asked.
    “How can you ask me that?” Maize asked, sadness in his voice.
    “Alright let’s go.” The guard shoved him, led him back to the squad car.  She watched him leave.
    It had to be him.  Who else could it be?  She thought.
    The ones who knew the truth planned to take it to their graves.   The twins knew what had happened.  Either they were sworn to secrecy by the man they trusted.  Or they were threatened by a man they hardly knew.
    Medina stared at the headstone, looked at her morose reflection in its polished surface.  Suddenly an unfamiliar voice caught her off guard.  She was a short little thing with a thick Spanish accent.
    “Hi.” Ava said.
    Medina turned around to face her.  She thought she was alone. 
    “Hi.” She replied.
    “I’m sorry about your mother.” Ava said.
     
    “Thanks.  Are you going to say she was a good person too?” She said, with a little sass.
    “There is no good or bad.  My mother says we’re all sinners.” Ava replied.
    A scruffy mysterious man emerged out of nowhere, dressed in a black suit and hair down to his neck. 
    He closed in on Medina, his probing eyes beating down her back.  They told a story.  Medina spotted him from a distance, convinced he was just another onlooker, a stranger.
    “Is that man your dad?” Ava asked, gestured to the mysterious