Bonus Epilogue
Collin
Mom pinches the bridge of her nose. “You broke the rules.”
A storm rages outside my mom’s kitchen door. Thunder crackles in the silence, but nothing is as heavy as the disappointment and frustration in Mom’s tone.
Archer doesn’t meet Mom’s eyes. “We know.”
Archer, Sebastian, and I sit around the table where we ate every family meal growing up, but food is as absent from the tabletop as Jasper, Ryder, and Marek are from their chairs.
We stare at the manifest Zoe and Landon found under the estate.
A heavy aching settles in my chest. This manifest could mean everything, or it could mean nothing.
“Zoe might be your friend, but we can’t trust anyone. Even her.” Mom’s eyes stray to the picture of her and Zoe’s mom on our mantle. “Heaven knows I would have let her mother shoulder this burden with me if I’d thought it would help, but it won’t. We are alone for a reason.”
“We can’t keep this secret any longer.” I lay my hands palms-up on the table. “Dad and Katarina could be out there somewhere waiting for us to rescue them, but we’ll never know if we don’t look.”
“Your dad abandoned us, Collin.” Sympathy fuels her words and softens her expression. “It’s a childish fantasy to believe anything else.”
“What do we do about Zoe and Landon, then?” Sebastian asks.
“Them? Nothing. They know about the money now. The best thing for us to do is lead their search to a dead end. Finding Siren’s Call won’t bring back a worthless dead man.”
I push to my feet. “Mom, you’re wrong. We need to know what happened to Katarina. Why her? Why did Dad take her? If there’s even a possibility that she’s alive, we need to search.”
Mom rests her hand on my shoulder. “My heart is just as broken as yours, but it’s no good wishing for dreams that can’t come true.”
“What’s the use of having all this money if it sits in trust funds gathering dust? If not to find our sister, then we should help Zoe and Landon fund the museum and fix Rainwater Bay.”
Mom scowls. “Rule number Four.”
“Never talk about money,” Sebastian recites.
The rules Mom set when Dad and Katarina disappeared have governed our lives for decades.
Keep your head down.
Act wisely. Don’t let emotions guide you.
Family first. Always.
Never talk about money.
Don’t chase what’s lost.
The sea remembers.
We’ve lived our lives by these rules, never questioning them. Assumed they were unbreaking, unbending, absolute truth.
But what if Mom’s wrong?
What if the rules don’t serve their intended purpose anymore?
What if breaking them is the only way forward?
“Mom, we need to know what happened to Dad and Katarina. I understand why you don’t want any part of it, but I’m doing this, with Landon and Zoe’s help, whether you want me to or not.”
My phone rings in my pocket and I pull it out. Lottie lights the screen. Why is my best friend’s grandmother calling me? I swipe and answer. “Lottie?”
“Collin, I need you. Now.” Maisy’s voice cuts through a sheet of static on the line. Panicked. Ryan’s little sister must be calling from her grandmother’s landline instead of her cell, but what’s wrong? Why would she need me?
“Is Lottie okay?”
“There’s a tree in my house.” Her voice has a nails-on-a-chalkboard screech to it. Her panic rises. “I need you to come. Now. There’s a tree in my house.”
“Mais, take a deep breath. Tell me what’s going on.”
“What part of there’s a tree in my house don’t you understand? I need you.”
“Call Ryan.”
“Why? I don’t need a latte. I need you, please. Collin…” Her voice breaks. “I’m so scared.”
The small squeak in her voice gets me moving. “I’m on my way.” I tuck the phone between my chin and my shoulder and don my jacket. “Mom, we’re not done.”
I shove into the storm and try to ignore the one raging in my mom’s eyes.
Maisy needs me.
But why me?
She hates me.