Chapter 17 Amelia Ridley #2
She opened up the wooden cabinets, finding paperwork all neatly organized by year from his different organizations, partnerships, and lastly, the Ridley Line.
Amelia didn’t know what she was looking for, exactly.
She sifted through papers, finding nothing of value other than the knowledge that if her father was ever audited, he would be prepared.
She stood up to take a look around, admiring the details of an oil painting.
The painting featured what seemed to be a parallel of night and day, which she found rather odd.
She approached the painting, tracing the details of the sun rising over an ocean, with the bottom half of the sun being the moon shining over what looked like buildings.
She leaned forward, pushing the painting accidentally while trying to see if the artist’s name was on it like the others, but as soon as she did so, the painting clicked as if it was connected to a magnet of sorts.
Amelia tried to move the painting up and down, but it didn’t budge.
She thought for a moment. Father always said nothing of value would be somewhere that could be seen by the naked eye.
He would chuckle when he said this, assuring no maids—better yet, no one, period—would find anything in this office. He was always right, in his eyes.
She turned the painting to the right, and as if by magic, the wall immediately opened, leading to a narrow hallway.
Amelia hesitated for a moment before entering, wondering if she’d lock herself in here, but she knew that this was where her answers lay.
Sconces dimly lit the area, but she couldn’t see how far down the hallway went.
Air enveloped her, making her shiver. As she made it to the end of the hallway, she saw a very large black wooden box on a high shelf.
Amelia stood on her tippy-toes, hoping to reach it without having to move anything, as she knew how meticulous her father was.
She was not tall like her sister Adesua.
She glanced up two shelves above the one she was near and saw something that seemed misplaced.
A very raggedy wooden box with a red leather-bound folder peeping out.
She began to tremble, shaking the wooden box of papers so violently that a black velvet bag surfaced in the middle of the mass of sheets and folders.
In the sea of white and black ink, all stacked accordingly, this bag did not belong.
She skimmed through the papers, which looked to be contracts.
This didn’t shock her until she saw notes with her siblings’ names on them.
Agreement Between Mr. Edward Ridley and Metropolitan Musings for Press Coverage
This Agreement shall be enforced starting on 15th of May, 1915.
Mr. Edward Ridley and Mrs. Caroline Ridley
of 17 South Hampton Lane East Meadow, Huntington, NY
And
Metropolitan Musings
Located at 113 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Amelia skimmed through all the formalities and continued to read until she saw . . .
Metropolitan Musings has been guaranteed the first exclusive arrangement of being able to document any and all significant milestones that center the Ridley family. We shall be the only press to have exclusive access.
Amelia’s skin felt like it was on fire. She rummaged through more papers, finding letters in French.
May 4, 1912
These dark nights have enveloped my soul.
The only light in this world comes from my dearest Amelia.
You will find that her spirit is as calm as the moon in a beautiful night sky and as fiery and filled with wit as the sun.
I hope you will now cherish this light, as my light has flickered away.
Every night you look at the sky, just know I will now be with the moon as a star shining so bright away from this pain and misery.
Cécile
November 4, 1905
Paris, France
My Love Edward,
I never knew my love could grow for you more.
As I sit here by the window, the snow is frosting the windows.
Thinking of the last time you were here and how filled with love you made me.
I write this with a sense of hope for our future, as I am with child.
Not only just a child but a seed of our enduring love.
I hope this letter finds you well and is found with joy.
I would do everything to be yours. Although it was never intended to happen this way, I am ready to be yours forever, Edward.
All my love,
Cécile Moulin
Amelia placed the letter on her chest. Cécile, her loving maman. Oh, if she could only turn the hands of time and tell her maman to forget the perfect image of her father and to raise her on her own.
Paris, France; 1912
Although Amelia was already roaming the streets of Paris at the age of seven, she would go for her morning walks in her neighborhood, getting chocolate croissants for herself and her mother.
Afterward, she would play with the neighborhood cats, Todi and Bing.
She wasn’t sure whether they belonged to anyone, but she would make them hers by giving them special treats, no matter how much it dismayed her mother.
This morning was no different from any other as she tiptoed up the many stairs.
Maman—oh, how she missed saying that name—would be sprawled out on her chair with her head down after her long night shifts at the burlesque show.
Amelia was used to waking up at night all alone and fending for herself with what little food she had.
But the beginning of the month was her favorite, as a mysterious white envelope filled with a wad of money would be ready for her to spend on some of her favorite treats.
She lightly tapped on her mother’s shoulder, but she just slumped over more.
“Maman! Maman, wake up. I got some breakfast for us,” a young Amelia happily said.
She moved her hand, but it slumped to the ground.
“Ma . . . Maman?”
She gently pushed with more force to wake her, only for her dear mother to fall with no sense of her usual jitteriness.
Amelia silently sat beside her mother. She must have been tired after a long night’s work.
She sat for six hours caressing her mother’s fiery-red hair, only for her mother, her maman, to never wake up again.
There was no scolding for buying extra pieces of chocolate from the bakery.
There was nothing. She lay on her mother’s chest until a barrage of knocks hit the door.
Her mother’s friend Delilah scolded Cécile from the other side of the door for being late for work.
Young Amelia yelled out that her maman was sleeping and was in a deep sleep that she hadn’t seen before.
Frantic, Delilah opened the door with a spare key and rushed to her mother’s side, pleading with her to wake up.
The only thing that was near her body was a letter addressed to her from the Ridleys.
Delilah embraced Amelia so tightly that she couldn’t even breathe.
Amelia wept as she held the small piece of paper.
She kept rereading it, over and over. If only she could tell her maman how much light she’d given her.
She was her saving grace as a young girl.
All the memories they had together meant so much more to her now that she was an adult, while her father had only been there for her in the form of an envelope filled with money.
She now realized it had been from him all along.
As she continued to look, a shadow was cast on the wall. She had been caught. Something told her she should have closed the door behind her. Amelia wiped the tears off her face. She whipped her head back quickly, ready to lie if necessary.
Amelia, exasperated, said, “Jesus, Kavita. You can’t just go lurking behind people so quietly.”
“Well, at least I still have it in me to scare my big sister,” she said with a devilish grin.
Kavita noticed her face was puffy and red.
“Wait, what’s wrong . . . What happened?” Kavita grabbed her in a tight hug.
Amelia knew her father kept secrets from them, and she promised herself she’d try to not do the same with her siblings.
“Father has been lying to us all. You know this, and someone is onto us. All of us,” Amelia began, ready to start her tirade, but Kavita swiftly interrupted her without a change of expression.
“I know, Amelia. I know everything.”
“You know what, Kavi?”
Kavita looked at Amelia.
“I have been getting letters from an anonymous person—and I am sure we all have—regarding Dale’s death. Someone knows something, and we need to find out what. We need to go back to the maze.”
“Yes, I have, and if I am being honest with you, Kavi, it does make sense if one of us did do something to Dale. Someone got that file that night and is more than likely using it against us, but I’m not sure how. I am nervous that it’s one of us sending the letters,” she said with despair.
To Amelia, saying this out loud for the first time made the possibility that one of them had done something even more real.
“Well, who do you think did it?” Kavita asked.
“Kavita, it’s our family we are talking about. It would be reckless for me to throw out names right now,” Amelia snapped.
Amelia took the lead leaving Father’s office.
She didn’t want anyone else to catch them in there.
She headed to the garden, with Kavita trailing slowly behind her.
Her head was down, staying silent as they walked.
They roamed the gardens, making their way to the maze.
Daylight had just broken, and the maids were shuffling around the estate.
Amelia felt better knowing Kavita was with her.
It had been clear from the beginning that they all had something to hide, but to what extent?