Page 49 of Shameless Vows

From: Malachi Sterling

Subject Line: Re: Fwd: Reyes Family Annual Christmas Ball 2009 - Suggested Dress Code

Date: 02 December 2009

Baby girl,

You know I love your Mamá, but… seriously? White tuxedos? Prepare for my best impersonation of John Travolta in Staying Alive. And then prepare for me to help you remove said white tuxedo before we burn it. JFC and SMDH.

I love you always.

xx

M.

The lighthearted, yet sparse emails continued all the way up until September of 2010. At that point, they began to include information about Malachi’s upcoming graduation celebration and his itinerary for permanently relocating to his family’s summer estate in Southampton, as well as condos he was looking at in Manhattan for when I returned to Columbia for the Spring semester of my freshman year. And that’s when they completely dried up.

And it was in October that essentiallyallthe personal emails dried up completely, aside from one cryptic email from my friend, Elise, which hadn’t even been opened.

To: Isla Reyes

From: Elise Rutherford

Subject Line: Hope you’re okay!

Date: 16 October 2010

Hey girl,

I went by your dorm and saw you’d left already. I hope you’re resting. Give me a call when you’re feeling better. I’ll be happy to come visit if you need some company or anything, but I totally understand if you need some alone time.

I’m here for you, hon! Hang in there!

Elise

When I’m feeling better.

She figured I needed “alone time.”

Based what I’d heard from my parents, it’spossiblewhatever was going on that prompted Elise to check on me via emailmight havebeen related to the trouble I’d gotten into that year. But her email is vague enough that I can’t draw any hard conclusions.

Afterthat, there was nothing but warnings and notices from my professors and the university about missing classes, and concerned chastisements about how this was unlike me, and what was going on, and so on and so forth.

Prior to the warnings and notices and chastisements, as well as the cryptic one from Elise, there was one nondescript email that was completely out of place and that hadn’t been opened either. It also didn’t make sense given the knowledge I was provided by my parents about what had caused me to suddenly be absent from school.

To: Isla Reyes

From: Assurance Inc. Claims Department

Subject Line: New Claim #P327361373

Date: 15 October 2010

Dear Isla Reyes:

We have received and are currently processing your insurance claim. For your reference, the details of your claim are listed below. A claims representative will contact you within 3 to 5 business days.

Sincerely,