Chapter 13 The Room Beneath the House
Audrey took another step.
The wooden stair creaked beneath her weight.
Ethan followed immediately.
“Slowly.”
She kept the flashlight pointed ahead.
The beam reached only a few feet into the darkness.
Behind them, Rachel whispered, “I don't like this.”
“Neither do I,” Ethan said.
Vivian remained at the top of the stairs.
Audrey looked back.
“Are you coming?”
Vivian shook her head.
“You don't understand what is down there.”
“Then explain it.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
Vivian's eyes filled with something Audrey had not seen before.
Guilt.
“I was there the first time.”
Audrey stopped.
“The first time what?”
Vivian swallowed.
“The room was built after James disappeared.”
Ethan turned.
“By whom?”
Vivian looked toward the darkness.
“Your grandmother.”
Audrey's grip tightened around the flashlight.
“Why would she build a room beneath her own house?”
“To hide something.”
“What?”
Vivian didn't answer.
A faint sound came from below.
James's voice.
“Audrey.”
She turned toward the stairs.
“Grandfather?”
“Don't trust her.”
Audrey looked at Vivian.
“Who?”
“Evelyn.”
The voice was weak.
“She's not alone.”
A woman's soft laugh floated upward.
“James has always been dramatic.”
Audrey's heart hammered.
She descended another step.
“Grandmother?”
Silence.
Then Evelyn's voice came again.
“You sound just like your mother.”
Audrey stopped.
“What did you do to her?”
Evelyn sighed.
“Your mother asked too many questions.”
“You killed her?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I tried to save her.”
Audrey's voice broke.
“You all say that.”
“Because it is true.”
Ethan moved beside Audrey.
“Where is James?”
“Come downstairs.”
“Answer me.”
“You have your grandfather's temper.”
“And he has your secrets.”
Evelyn laughed softly.
“Perhaps that is why you were always my favorite.”
Audrey felt sick.
“You watched me.”
“Of course.”
“You knew everything.”
“Almost.”
“Why?”
“Because I was waiting.”
“For what?”
“For you to remember.”
Audrey's chest tightened.
“Remember what?”
“The night your mother died.”
The flashlight trembled in her hand.
Ethan reached for it.
She held on.
“No.”
Evelyn's voice softened.
“You were there.”
Audrey shook her head.
“I was six.”
“You were there.”
“I don't remember.”
“You will.”
The lights suddenly came on.
Audrey shielded her eyes.
The basement below was enormous.
Much larger than the outside of the house could have allowed.
Stone walls surrounded an old room filled with shelves, boxes, file cabinets, and dusty furniture.
At the far end sat a man in a wooden chair.
Audrey stopped.
“Grandfather.”
James Parker lifted his head.
He looked much older than the man in the photograph.
His shoulders were thin.
His hair was white.
But his eyes were still the same.
Audrey ran toward him.
Ethan caught her arm.
“Wait.”
James raised a trembling hand.
“Let her come.”
Audrey pulled free.
She crossed the room and stopped in front of him.
For a moment, she could not speak.
James looked at her face.
“You grew up.”
Tears filled Audrey's eyes.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you come home?”
James looked away.
“Because I couldn't.”
“Who kept you here?”
He didn't answer.
Audrey crouched beside him.
“Was it Evelyn?”
James closed his eyes.
“Partly.”
Audrey's frustration returned.
“Everyone says partly.”
James gave a tired smile.
“That is because the truth is complicated.”
“I don't want complicated.”
“I know.”
“I want the truth.”
James looked directly at her.
“Then you must be prepared to hate me.”
Audrey froze.
“Why would I hate you?”
“Because I made choices that put you in danger.”
“What choices?”
James looked toward Ethan.
“Your marriage.”
Ethan stiffened.
Audrey slowly stood.
“What about my marriage?”
James's expression was filled with regret.
“I knew you would marry Ethan before either of you understood what was happening.”
Audrey's heart sank.
“You arranged it.”
“No.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I made sure you met.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
James looked at him.
“I knew your father.”
“You knew him?”
“Yes.”
“Before Audrey and I met?”
“For years.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because you were safer without knowing.”
Audrey stepped closer.
“Did you want us to marry?”
James hesitated.
“Yes.”
Audrey closed her eyes.
The room seemed to tilt.
“Why?”
“Because I believed your marriage would expose the person who had betrayed us.”
Ethan stared at him.
“You used us.”
James flinched.
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt more than another lie would have.
Audrey looked at her grandfather.
“You made my marriage part of your plan.”
“I did.”
“You watched us.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about our problems.”
“Yes.”
“And you did nothing.”
James lowered his head.
“I believed the truth would eventually protect you.”
Audrey's voice shook.
“It didn't.”
“No.”
“It nearly destroyed us.”
“I know.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“What exactly did you expect us to find?”
James looked at him.
“The account.”
Audrey frowned.
“What account?”
“The one Caleb has been searching for.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“Martin said the money belonged to Audrey.”
James nodded.
“It does.”
Audrey stared.
“What money?”
James pointed toward a locked cabinet.
“Everything your family believes was stolen.”
Audrey walked toward it.
“What is inside?”
“Records.”
“Of what?”
“The original transactions.”
She opened the cabinet.
Folders filled the shelves.
Names.
Dates.
Bank records.
Property documents.
Companies.
Audrey pulled out one folder.
The name on it stopped her.
Ethan Calloway.
She turned.
Ethan stared at it.
“Why is my name there?”
James said nothing.
Audrey opened the folder.
Inside was a photograph of Ethan as a child.
Beside it was a handwritten note.
Subject selected for protection.
Another line appeared beneath it.
Marriage to Audrey Parker may provide access to the remaining trust.
Audrey's blood ran cold.
Ethan took the paper from her.
“That's not possible.”
James looked at him.
“It was written twenty years ago.”
Ethan stared at the handwriting.
“Who wrote this?”
James answered quietly.
“Your father.”
Ethan looked up.
“My father planned this?”
“Not alone.”
“Who helped him?”
James's eyes moved toward Vivian.
She stood at the bottom of the stairs now.
Her face was wet with tears.
“I did.”
Audrey turned.
“You?”
Vivian nodded.
“I was young.”
“You helped arrange my marriage?”
“I helped protect you.”
“Those are not the same thing.”
“I know.”
Audrey's voice became cold.
“Then why?”
Vivian looked at Ethan.
“Because Caleb wanted you dead.”
Ethan frowned.
“Why me?”
“Because your father chose you.”
“For what?”
Vivian looked toward James.
He answered.
“To inherit everything.”
Audrey looked at the documents.
“What everything?”
James's expression changed.
“The network.”
Ethan stared.
“I don't want it.”
“You never did.”
“Then why me?”
“Because you were the only person I trusted to change it.”
Audrey looked at Ethan.
For years, she had believed his greatest flaw was that he cared more about business than their marriage.
Now she wondered if there had always been another reason behind his obsession with control.
A sound came from the upper passage.
Footsteps.
James's face changed.
“They've found us.”
Ethan turned.
“Caleb?”
James shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
James looked at Audrey.
“Evelyn.”
Audrey stared.
“My grandmother is downstairs?”
James nodded.
“She has been here the entire time.”
A woman's voice came from behind them.
“You always were terrible at keeping secrets, James.”
Everyone turned.
Evelyn Parker stepped into the room.
She wore a long dark coat.
Her silver hair was perfectly arranged.
She looked exactly as Audrey remembered her.
Except for one detail.
She was alive.
Audrey couldn't move.
“Grandmother.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
Rachel gasped.
Ethan stepped in front of Audrey.
Evelyn looked at him.
“You've grown into your father's face.”
Ethan's voice was cold.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
“So is James.”
James looked away.
Evelyn sighed.
“We made our mistakes.”
Audrey stared at her.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“You let everyone believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Evelyn's smile disappeared.
“Because I wanted to see who would come looking.”
Audrey's blood ran cold.
“And?”
Evelyn looked directly at Ethan.
“Only one person did.”
Audrey followed her gaze.
Ethan.
Evelyn smiled again.
“And that is why I could never decide whether you were the greatest mistake of my life or the only thing I got right.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“What are you talking about?”
Evelyn reached into her coat.
She pulled out an old envelope.
She handed it to Audrey.
“This is the last letter your mother ever wrote.”
Audrey stared at the envelope.
Her name was written across it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Her mother's.
Audrey's fingers trembled.
“What does it say?”
Evelyn's eyes filled with something close to sorrow.
“That depends on whether you are ready to learn why Claire died.”
Audrey opened the envelope.
She unfolded the paper.
The first sentence made her heart stop.
Audrey, if you ever read this, there is one thing you must know about Ethan.
Audrey looked up.
Ethan had gone completely still.
She lowered her eyes to the page.
And began to read.
Chapter 14 — The Letter Claire Left Behind
Audrey read the first line again.
Audrey, if you ever read this, there is one thing you must know about Ethan.
Her fingers tightened around the paper.
Ethan stood several feet away.
He did not try to take the letter.
He did not ask her to trust him.
For once, he seemed to understand that the truth belonged to her.
Audrey continued reading.
He is not the enemy.
She stopped.
A breath escaped her.
Ethan's shoulders lowered slightly.
Audrey looked at him.
He said nothing.
She returned to the letter.
But he may become one if his father succeeds in using him.
Audrey frowned.
She read faster.
Richard believes power is inherited. He thinks children belong to the families that create them. Ethan has spent his entire life trying to prove that he is more than his father's son.
Audrey looked at Ethan.
His eyes were fixed on the floor.
The letter continued.