I decided to read a realistic fiction book called The Pact by Hillary Norman. It took place mainly in New England, and parts of Europe during a span of approximately ten years, in modern times. In the book there are three protagonists named Olivia Segal, Jamie Arias, and Annie Aldridge. They are all around 18 years old, and are coming back from a party when they find out that their parents have died in a helicopter crash. They were told that it was a mechanical failure, and that nobody survived. From that point onwards, the three friends decided to make a pact, to stick with each other and come and help them whenever they needed it.

For a couple of years, they all lived their lives but did not forget the pact.
One day Annie, who was married, and had two kids called Olivia and Jamie, and told them that she needed help. She found that she was being tormented by an addiction to prescription drugs, which was putting her marriage, kids, and even her life at stake. She was too scared to tell her husband that she was addicted to them, but she wanted to get rid of the addiction. She couldn’t go to a rehab center, because then her husband Edward would find out, so she called her two best friends, who told her to meet them in Geneva, Switzerland. There, they talked about what they should do, and decided that the fastest way they could end Annie’s obsession over the drugs was to do a rapid withdrawal, in the apartment they were staying in. Jamie and Olivia called an official doctor, and some nurses who would help Annie do the rapid withdrawal at the apartment. They did not do it in a center, because Annie was scared that he husband would find out then.

So a few days later, the apartment was set up like a center- no potentially lethal objects, all the windows locked, and they took Annie’s supply of the drugs away. Then they waited for the withdrawal, which happened after forty-eight hours. No matter what Annie did, they did not give her the drugs, and after about two weeks, she did not need them anymore. She was not addicted to the prescription drugs. After helping Annie, Olivia learned that Jamie was having trouble with his wife, Carrie. She learned that she was divorcing him and marrying his brother Peter. Also, Carrie was threatening Jamie’s profession, by taking all of his clients into her new company.

So Olivia got together with Annie and they secretly devised a plan to get back at Carrie, as to make Jamie happy again. They decide that they will trick her into buying a product, and then humiliate her. So they hired a group of people, and friends, and started a fake product. They told Carrie, that their product was a cosmetic tool, worth millions of dollars, and tricked her into advertising for it. Carrie thought that the product was going to get her a lot of money, so she spent a lot of time, money, and effort in advertising. Soon, the release date of the fake product (except to Carrie) came and Carrie invited a lot of important people to the opening. Then Annie and Olivia called up Carrie and told her the truth about the fake product. Carrie, was shocked, and did not want to embarrass herself in front of all the important people, so she pleaded to Annie and Olivia to help her. Olivia and Annie agree to help her, and call off the product for her, on some terms. They made sure that Carrie does not trouble Jamie any more, and get out of his life. She agrees, and apologizes to Jamie, and does not trouble him any more.

A few years later, Olivia was looking through her dad’s old files, and finds a letter that says that he is going to be killed soon. It is addressed to Annie’s dad, so Olivia calls up Annie, and asks her to ask Jamie’s cousin, Michael whether he knows anything about it. Michael says that he doesn’t, and a few days later, Olivia’s house is robbed, and the letter is stolen. So she calls up Annie to see if she has a copy, which she does, and she gives it to Olivia. Olivia then goes to her father’s bank safe, which she had never looked in before, and finds more letters addressed to Annie’s dad. They are proof of a war crime that happened during World Way II, and was committed by Michael Arias’ father.

The letters say that Michael will do anything to cover up the crime, and that the three people have to meet soon (Jamie’s, Olivia’s, and Annie’s fathers). Olivia then realizes that her parents were actually murdered by Michael Arias. She calls up Jamie and Annie to tell them this. They are shocked, and decide to confront Michael. They go to his house, and ask Michael whether this was true. He denies it, and forces the three friends out of the house. The next day, another robber comes into Olivia’s house. He tells her that Michael Arias hired him, and that she will die. Then he locks her up in a safe, and leaves her to die of suffocation. Read the book to find out whether she dies, or she is saved!