Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
It was seven fifteen in the morning at the Oahu airport.
Kennedy, Penelope, and Gavin were fully wired and enthusiastic, eating yogurt with plastic spoons and giggling as they people-watched.
The terminal was decorated with Christmas garlands, and “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” played from the speakers.
After that, “White Christmas” came on, and Kennedy asked Addison if they were going to have a white Christmas on the East Coast.
“That’s the plan, honey,” Addison said, trying to smile.
What she hadn’t told her kids was that their father was on the opposite end of this enormous trip.
Kennedy, Penelope, and Gavin knew they were visiting “family” and that they would celebrate Christmas in ways they had never done before.
But Addison didn’t want to get their hopes up about Seth.
She didn’t want to say that he’d be waiting for them, only to show up and discover that he’d left again.
If he’d left, if he’d escaped them again, she would never, ever forgive him.
She knew that. But she’d also introduce her children to their aunts, uncles, and cousins. Maybe that would be enough for now.
That morning before they’d left the house, Addison’s mother had chased her around the kitchen, demanding answers as to why they were leaving so soon before Christmas.
Addison didn’t feel up to confessing anything.
And she certainly didn’t feel up to telling her mother about her father’s affair.
At the door, she hugged her mother so tightly that they were both weeping by the end of it. “I don’t understand,” Beth said.
“I love you, Mom,” Addison told her, before she hurried down the stairs and climbed into the car.
Now, Addison led her kids onto the plane bound for Los Angeles across the Pacific.
Addison’s seat was on the aisle, with Gavin between her and a woman who was already asleep.
Kennedy and Penelope were on the opposite side of the aisle, reading their chapter books.
They planned to read a chapter each, then swap books to create a reading experience unlike anything anyone had ever had.
Addison thought this would make the story “confusing,” but they said they didn’t care.
As others entered the aircraft and shoved their belongings into the overhead, Addison pulled out her phone and—against her better judgment—googled the Whitmore family.
The first article that popped up was about the Whitmore treasure, the so-called “pirate gold” hidden under the lodge for centuries.
There was a photograph of several anthropologists, smiling and holding up their thumbs in front of the old gold.
The next few articles dealt with the fire, including numerous speculations over the years about what had caused it and what it had been trying to cover up.
Several articles suggested that Benjamin had started the fire to collect the insurance money, which had backfired, since, at the time of the article’s publication, everyone had assumed Benjamin was dead.
It was then that Addison saw Benjamin’s photograph for the first time and recognized him as the same man she’d met outside of Seth’s repair shop all those months ago. She nearly leaped from her seat.
She’d met her father-in-law. Benjamin Whitmore had come to Hawaii to talk to Seth. And then, the following day, Seth had disappeared.
She remembered what Charlotte had said about their uncle, about Francesca’s brother, and how he wanted to destroy the family.
Heart pounding now, Addison researched Francesca until she discovered her maiden name was Accetta.
Apparently, she was the daughter of a very famous Italian film director, which was a topic for another day.
Addison was almost 100 percent sure that she and Seth had watched some of his movies! Why hadn’t he told her?
But a few searches for Francesca’s brother led Addison to criminal reports across Italy, reports that she couldn’t necessarily understand beyond the general gist. It was clear that Angelo Accetta wasn’t “one of the good guys.” Now, several articles speculated that Angelo Accetta was the true “mastermind” behind the burning of the White Oak Lodge, although nobody knew where he was or how to find him.
A stewardess came by and reminded Addison to put her phone on Airplane Mode.
The flight was about to take off. Addison did, double-checking her children’s seat belts as the engine rumbled beneath them.
Kennedy and Penelope continued to read, but Gavin was fast asleep, his mouth open in a way that made Addison’s heart break.
Her children deserved a beautiful Christmas. Maybe they all did.
When they landed in Los Angeles, Addison led her children to a little lunch spot for chicken sandwiches and cans of soda.
It wasn’t every day that the kids were allowed soda, and they took their choice of flavor very seriously.
Gavin ended up with a grape variety that turned his tongue purple.
The girls were jealous, though they didn’t want to say so.
For over an hour, Addison laughed and chatted with her kids, grateful to be out of Hawaii and on the mainland.
She’d never thought that before, not in any of her few travels to the greater forty-eight.
When she briefly turned her phone back on, she saw a text from her mother that made her heart spasm.
Mom: We miss you already. Love you. I wish you’d clue me in on what’s going on.
Her mother was no dummy. She knew. But she wasn’t sure what to do about other people’s secrets. She wasn’t sure how to carry everything in her head at once.
After they boarded the plane to Boston, Addison noticed a change in the people around them. The people were far more East Coast, more rugged-looking, with accents that reminded her of Seth.
“That guy sounds like Daddy,” Kennedy muttered to Penelope. Addison could tell that she was trying not to be overheard by their mother.
“It’s so weird,” Penelope agreed.
“Wasn’t Daddy from the East?” Kennedy asked.
Penelope shrugged and returned to her book. Maybe she’d given up on their father already.
It was only when the plane engine began to rumble again, only when Gavin drifted off to sleep again, his lips tinged purple from the soda, that Addison returned her thoughts to Angelo Accetta and his criminal backstory.
Suddenly, like a jolt of electricity, she thought of her father’s emails, of this “A” character who’d threatened him for months and months.
She remembered that the bank account linked to the blackmailer was in Mexico City. She remembered that Seth had gone to Mexico to chase his uncle.
Her palms were clammy. Panic set in. But as the plane climbed into the sky over Los Angeles, she recognized that there was nothing she could do, not here on this plane.
She shoved her phone into her pocket and crossed her arms over her chest, willing herself to grab a few hours of sleep.
Rest never came for her. But soon, they were stretching out across the continent, preparing to land in the frigid northeast. Maybe she’d have answers soon.
Maybe she’d have her husband back. Maybe she’d even find a way to forgive him. Maybe.