30. Summer
The envelopein the foyer made me freeze.
That wasn’t here earlier.
Putting down the laundry basket, I approached it slowly, staring at it suspiciously, then glancing around. The house was still—as still as it had been most of the day, with Rook gone again.
He’d disappeared after his revelation last night—slipping away like a wolf, leaving me wondering what he was hunting for.
Acutely aware of every sound and motion around me, I stepped over the envelope, and slowly cracked open the front door.
Beautiful aged oaks lined the property, with Spanish moss strung from their branches. The sound of frogs and crickets filled the air and butterflies flit across the flowers dotting his front yard.
The driveway was empty, except for my car and a squirrel munching on an acorn. It stilled when it saw me and I watched as it quickly scurried to the nearest tree.
Despite the emptiness of the yard, an eerie sensation filled my veins.
Someone had been in Rook’s home. While I was here.
I slowly shut the door and turned, staring at the black envelope, embossed with fancy, gold script, Summer Duvall.
Nervously wiping my sweaty palms on my dress, I glanced one more time around the room, then bent to retrieve it. The insignia of the Magnolia was stamped into it.
The wax was still soft—fresh—sticky as I pushed a finger under it.
Heart slamming in my chest, I gasped at the brief glimpse. Fingers numb with shock, I dropped it.
Stepping quickly back, I stared at the grainy photo—a picture of Callie. It was current—the backdrop of her at Crestmont Prep, standing next to Beckley—whom she’d only met in her internship summer.
In red marker across her face was scrawled, Did you forget? Darkmoor was only the beginning.First the house, now the only person you love.
Fear and anger simultaneously filled me and I grabbed the picture, tearing it to pieces. Then I picked up the envelope and pulled out the thick card stock.
It was an invitation to the Shadows and Lace Soirée, Greybone”s exclusive yearly masquerade ball.
Dated one week from today.
My phone vibrated and my heart pounded as I pulled it from my pocket—not my phone, but the black, sleek one Saul had given me. You have your deadline.
How had he—could he see inside the house?
How did he know I’d seen the envelope…?
Suddenly, everything around me was terrifying.
There were no visible cameras and so maybe there were hidden ones everywhere.
Panic began to claw at my throat, my thoughts scrambling for a way to get out of this.
Secrets.
That’s what Saul wanted—something he could nail Rook with.
Deciding a phone call might freak her out if she could hear the fear in my voice, I texted Callie, are you okay?
Then began to search through the house, guilt making my gut churn, mixing with my fear and panic and anger.
My own father had betrayed Rook, along with everyone he trusted.
And I’d preached and preached about trusting others, and yet, here I was, betraying him, myself.
Giving up on the first floor, I raced up the stairs. After grabbing the nail file from his room, I went for the only room I hadn’t entered—his home office. I’d somehow jimmied the nightstand open, maybe I could do the same here.
Kneeling in front of it, I twisted the knob and…stilled.
It was open.
Was he…was Rook trusting me?
I froze, shame slamming into me, making my breath hitch.
My phone beeped—Callie’s response. Holy shit woman.
What?! I responded.
God, if something happened to her…
Apprehension made my feet move, pushing the door open to a large room. Sunlight filtered through a large window with a side view of the beautiful bay beyond. Bookshelves lined the walls—the only room with a personal touch—and two comfortable looking sofa chairs surrounded a table. A chess board sat atop it—a game in play.
Who did Rook play with?
The image of him and Lux in here, playing together, and possibly doing something else together, made a spark of jealously slither through my insides.
Are you sure we can afford this?Callie answered.
I stared at it, puzzled, then shot off my answer, What are you talking about?
I started with his bookshelf, quickly rifling through them, looking for any hidden documents. Or maybe buttons, like my dad’s.
Finding nothing there, I went to his desk, tugging on the top drawer.
Surprisingly, it opened. I stared at it blankly, blinking, realizing I”d expected it to be locked.
Again, was Rook trusting me?
Getting over my surprise, I reached down, then made myself stop.
I”d intended to rifle through it, hoping to be able to search through his stuff quickly—who knew when he”d return?
But, at the sight before me, I took in a deep breath and forced my movements to calm.
The drawer was neat and organized. A row of expensive looking mechanical pencils. A fountain pen. Highlighters. Pair of scissors. A row of extra staples, paper clips, and five binder clips.
A place for everything, and everything in it”s place.
Rook was a man of order and discipline—he would notice I”d rifled though his things; I had to be careful.
A quick glance told me there was nothing in this drawer that would give up any secrets.
I touched nothing, then my phone dinged with a notification as I pulled out the next drawer.
duh, the money you put in my account.
what money?I responded, methodically looking through the rest of his drawers and finding nothing. Then I crawled under the desk, feeling a little bit silly as I looked for envelopes taped to the underside.
By the time I crawled out from under it, I was thoroughly disgusted.
No secret envelopes and not even a single dust bunny. What kind of person didn’t even have dust bunnies under their desk?
There was something wrong with this guy, for sure.
I sat back at the desk, daring to start his computer, once again startled to find that he didn”t even require a password.
The next thirty minutes were even more confusing as I tried to figure out what the hell Callie was talking about, as well as searching, and finding, absolutely nothing of use on his computer.
Giving up, I slumped in his chair, discouraged, typing Callie back. How much money did you get?
Ten thousand,she responded right away, then, what the hell? did you give me that money or what?
I bit on my lip, trying to figure out what was going on. Had Rook given her that money? Or the Magnolia?
It had to be Rook, right?
I remembered Lux”s words—welcome to the Magnolia. They were as mysterious as the man who owned this house.
Were they simultaneously threatening and bribing me? I was only a small fish in their game—the true prize was Rook.
And yet, he obviously was good at keeping his secrets—I was only the means to get to him.
With a sinking sensation, I realized I was in way too deep, and I didn”t know who to trust.
I didn”t know what was going on, but I didn”t want Callie to worry.
So, carefully considering my words, I typed back, Oh right. That’s the new installment to your scholarship.
The phone rang, and at the sight of Rook’s number on it, I gulped and answered, “hello?”
His dark voice was a growl. “If you’re planning on spending the rest of the day in my office, you’d better be on your knees under my desk, ready to suck my cock.”
I froze, my heart pounding, then blurted out the first thing that came to my mind before hanging up.
“Make me.”
Shit. I was fucked.