Chapter 4 - the woman in the reflection
Bellweather Lane ended near an abandoned railway station.
Ruth’s former house stood behind a rusted gate, its garden overgrown and its windows covered from inside. A faded wreath still hung on the front door.
Lily pushed the gate open.
The black car stopped at the corner.
She did not see it.
The front door was locked, but one basement window had been left open. Lily squeezed through and landed on a pile of old newspapers.
The house smelled of dust and rain.
Most of the furniture was covered with sheets. Empty frames hung on the walls where photographs had once been.
Lily turned on the camcorder.
The screen helped her feel less alone.
“Ruth?” she called.
No answer.
She climbed the basement stairs and found the kitchen.
A cup sat beside the sink.
Steam rose from it.
Lily froze.
Someone had been there moments earlier.
She heard movement upstairs.
The camcorder shook as she followed the sound.
At the top of the staircase, a bedroom door slowly closed.
Lily approached it.
“Ruth?”
The door opened.
The room was empty.
A mirror stood opposite the window.
In its reflection, Lily saw a woman behind her.
She turned.
No one was there.
When she looked back at the mirror, the woman was gone.
Lily stepped closer.
A small photograph had been attached to the corner of the frame.
The same blue-eyed pregnant woman stood beside Ruth. This time her face was undamaged.
She was young, with dark gold hair and a small crescent-shaped scar near her eyebrow.
She looked nothing like Evelyn.
But she looked exactly like Lily might look as an adult.
Lily removed the photograph.
Behind it was a key.
A floorboard creaked in the hallway.
Lily spun around.
A tall man wearing a dark coat stood in the doorway.
“You should not be here,” he said.
Lily backed toward the window.
“Who are you?”
The man’s eyes moved toward the photograph.
“Where did you find that?”
Lily raised the camcorder.
“I’m recording you.”
To her surprise, the man stepped away.
“Good. Keep recording.”
“Why?”
“Because the next person who comes through that door may deny everything.”
A second set of footsteps sounded downstairs.
The man looked toward the hallway.
“You need to leave.”
“Are you following me?”
“I was trying to make sure they didn’t.”
“Who?”
A door slammed below.
The man opened the window.
“Climb onto the roof.”
“I’ll fall.”
“It’s a porch roof. Stay close to the wall.”
A woman’s voice called from downstairs.
“Lily?”
Celeste.
Lily’s heart pounded.
“How did she find me?”
The man lifted the curtain.
“Because the camcorder has a tracking device inside the battery compartment.”
Lily stared at it.
Celeste called again.
“I know you’re here.”
The man helped Lily through the window.
“Follow the gutter to the tree. I’ll keep her downstairs.”
“Wait.”
Lily held up the photograph.
“Who is this woman?”
For the first time, the man looked frightened.
“Her name was Claire Arden.”
“Was?”
“I don’t know whether she is dead or alive.”
“Is she my real mother?”
He looked toward the staircase as Celeste’s footsteps reached the upper floor.
Then he answered.
“Yes.”
The bedroom door opened.
Lily climbed onto the porch roof just as Celeste entered.
From outside, she heard Celeste speak to the stranger.
“You were told to stay away, Mr. Hale.”
“And you were told to leave the child alone.”
“I’m about to become her mother.”
“No,” he replied. “You’re about to become the reason Adrian learns what happened to the last one.”
Lily moved across the roof.
A loose tile slid beneath her shoe.
She caught the gutter and pulled herself against the wall.
Below her, the black car waited.
The driver’s door opened.
Julian Cross stepped out.
He looked up, saw Lily and raised one finger to his lips.
Then he pointed toward the woods behind the house.
Lily climbed down the tree and ran.
She carried the camcorder, the photograph and the small brass key.
May you like
Behind her, a loud crash came from Ruth’s bedroom.
Then the house went silent.
