Three Months Later
“You’re going to do great.” Noah smiles at me from the screen of my phone. “You’ve got this.”
I’m in LA, and he’s in Paris, but our friendship remains intact. A friendship forged by trauma, and something more.
It’s the something more that keeps me hoping I’ll get back to France one day.
“Thanks. I can’t believe how nervous I am.” I run a hand down the front of my shirt, then stop to sit on a wooden bench. “How are things there? Is it settling down yet?”
“For the most part, although we still have a handful of reporters and paparazzi that won’t give up.”
“A new story will take them away soon.” As I say the words, a sense of déjà vu whispers over the nape of my neck. It’s hard to believe how things have changed. Once I was the one hiding from scandal and the dogged press.
Now it’s Noah and Luci.
The events at Maison Marteau changed the family forever, leaving Noah and his young cousin in charge. Now it’s their duty to guard the gates, and try to pick up the pieces of a shattered dynasty.
Lyam didn’t kill Dora that day, at least not down in the catacombs. First responders found her on the floor, barely drawing breath. Despite receiving the best medical care, she died two days later in the hospital.
But not before making Luci her heir. Heir to the mansion, the chocolate company, and every dime of the Marteau fortune.
And in a move that shocked everyone, she designated Noah as trustee.
On top of dealing with the press and the authorities, Noah is not only supporting Luci emotionally, but he’s guiding her, training her in the ways of business and money management.
A door opens and footsteps clatter, bringing me back to the present. I glance down the hallway to see who’s entered. A woman in a pencil skirt and heels clips her way across the marble floor. Briefcase hanging from one hand, she turns and disappears through a doorway.
“Luci doesn’t seem to mind the press,” Noah says, continuing our conversation. “Or if she does, she’s not letting it show.” A cloud passes behind his gaze. “She’s different now, after what happened. But she’s finally starting to smile again. She’s strong. She’ll get through.”
“She will,” I say firmly. Because I believe it.
Dora could have chosen Ric or Vincent, yet she picked the one person who would put an end to the twisted history of the Marteaus. No more missing women. No more abuse of power.
And no more vis sanguinis.
Luci and Noah have their own power. A strength they’ll need in the coming months.
I don’t know what changed in Dora at the end. Maybe it was the loss of Lyam or his betrayal of her family values.
Or maybe she simply loved her granddaughter. A child she’d failed to protect from the monster she created.
Despite it all, Luci has a good heart. Damaged and bruised, maybe, but in the process of healing. Through therapy, freedom, and Noah’s steady hand.
As it turns out, Luci didn’t know the family secret. To her, Dora was a loving grandmother and stern matriarch. Not a serial killer with a thirst for blood.
Still, she’d become suspicious, sensing something was wrong after Rose disappeared.
Dora sheltered her from most of the horror, and Luci’s ignorance is why she’s not being investigated. Vincent and Chantal are another matter. They’ve been charged with a slew of crimes, including the French equivalents of accessory to murder and obstruction of justice.
And Ric? A growing number of women have alleged sexual assault, so he struck a deal with the prosecutor. He’s spilling all he knows about the family murders, trying to reduce his time in prison. He admits he and Lyam both came into my apartment.
Lyam to stalk me.
But Ric for different reasons.
He’s the one who left the Carmilla book for me to find, just as he left Dora’s journal and the photos for Rose. He wanted someone to go to the police, to report Dora and Lyam.
His plan was to blow everything open. With Dora and Lyam out of the picture, he assumed he would be the next chosen heir.
But he never counted on Luci.
Lots of people didn’t count on Luci. But I did, and she saved my life.
“How’s André doing?” I ask, smiling as I think of the presumed playboy turned hero.
“He’s good. He’s good.” Noah lifts his brows. “He’s been spending a lot of time with Alice.”
I can’t stop myself from laughing. Even in our darkest hours, life can surprise us with a happy twist.
Dora wasn’t the only one brought up alive. When paramedics rushed a barely breathing Alice straight to the hospital, André went to sit with her. He didn’t want her to be alone when she woke up.
Her parents arrived later that night.
But André still stayed with her.
My laughter dies as I picture Alice, her body crumpled on the cold, hard ground. She knows too well what her sister suffered, and now so do her and Rose’s parents.
I don’t know the specifics of what Lyam did to the bodies, but eventually they became part of the ossuary in the catacombs. Bones of murdered women. Hidden in plain sight.
I was almost one of them.
But I made it out, and the Marteaus are the ones behind bars. Though they aren’t the only ones in trouble. The Prosecutor’s Office in Paris is pursuing charges against Chief Phillipe and Captain Armand, along with any other corrupt officers. Those bought and controlled by the Marteau fortune.
They all need to be held accountable.
“So.” Noah walks through his apartment and sits. I see the sofa in the background and long to be there with him. “When do you start shooting?”
“Three weeks.” I got the role of Claudia in The Whisper House shortly after my return to the States, but I still get a warm thrill in my chest every time I talk about the movie.
If I’d been worried about being attached to scandal before Paris, the horrors of Maison Marteau amped up those concerns even more. But when I met Joyce Sandman, she looked me in the eye, said I was right for the part, and nothing else mattered.
I raise my brows at Noah. “You’re not going to believe who’s playing—”
“Brooke Summers.” The woman in the pencil skirt leans out of the door and looks at me.
“Sorry,” I tell Noah. “I have to go in now.”
“Good luck,” he says, then, “oh, and give Clairee a rub on the belly for me.”
“I will.” The last time I saw my cat was this morning, splayed on the floor and soaking up the California sun. “She’s such a sweetie. Now Lin is saying she wants a cat.”
With one last grin, Noah waves and wishes me good luck again.
Once the call ends, I stand, smooth down my hair, and walk to the woman. I rub my hands on my thighs. This is it.
“Ms. Summers?” she clarifies.
At my nod, she directs me to the lone chair on one side of a conference table.
Several other people sit in the room, all of them on the other side of the table or seated along the wall. I spare a brief glance for two people in the corner.
I don’t need to look long.
I know who’s there.
Still moving at an efficient pace, the woman in the pencil skirt sets a glass of water in front of me.
At one end of the table, a man sits with a laptop in front of him and headphones covering his ears. Files and notepads cover the glossy wood along with what I presume is some sort of recording equipment.
Taking off the headphones, the man stands and speaks to the others at the table. “All set.” Then to me. “Ms. Summers, let’s begin. Please, raise your right hand.”
I do as instructed.
“Do you affirm that the evidence you shall give to the court in this matter shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and that this is your solemn affirmation?”
Now I do look at the corner. I take a deep breath, sit up taller, and meet Mackenzie’s eyes.
I answer her grateful smile with one of my own and say, “I do.”