Chapter 2 - Return to Ashford House
On Easter morning, Evelyn dressed Lily in a pale yellow dress and braided her hair with white ribbons.
Lily carried Captain everywhere.
During breakfast, she placed the rabbit in the empty chair beside her.
“Do you think Grandma Lenora will like him?” she asked.
“She may not notice him.”
“She notices everything.”
That was true.
Lenora noticed dusty shelves, crooked paintings, wrinkled dresses, incorrect forks, and every weakness she could use against another person.
Evelyn had spent eight years trying to earn Lenora’s approval.
She had stopped trying after Nathan’s funeral.
At one o’clock, a black car arrived outside the apartment.
Evelyn had not ordered one.
The driver stepped out and opened the rear door.
“Mrs. Hart?”
“Yes.”
“I was instructed to take you and Miss Lily to Ashford House.”
“By whom?”
The driver handed her a card.
The lighthouse symbol was printed on one side.
The other side contained four words.
The road is being watched.
Evelyn looked along the street.
A dark blue sedan was parked near the corner. Someone sat behind the wheel, but the windshield reflected the sky.
She guided Lily into the black car.
During the drive, Evelyn tried to contact the driver through the glass partition, but it remained closed.
The blue sedan followed them for six blocks.
Then another black car moved between them.
By the time they reached the country road leading to the Ashford estate, the sedan was gone.
Lily pressed her face to the window.
“There’s Grandpa’s tower!”
The mansion appeared beyond iron gates and ancient oak trees.
Arthur had restored the eastern tower after Nathan’s death, saying every large house needed one place built only for memories.
Evelyn had never been allowed inside it.
The gates opened before the car stopped.
Cassandra waited on the front steps in a fitted white dress.
She was Lenora’s younger sister and had lived at the mansion since her third divorce.
Her expression tightened when she saw the hired car.
“I assumed you would take the bus.”
Evelyn helped Lily out.
“Happy Easter, Cassandra.”
Cassandra ignored the greeting.
Her gaze settled on the stuffed rabbit.
“What is that?”
“His name is Captain,” Lily said.
Cassandra reached for it.
Lily pulled back.
“It looks dirty,” Cassandra said.
“It’s new,” Evelyn replied.
“Then it looks cheap.”
Lily’s smile disappeared.
Evelyn took her hand.
“We were invited.”
“Lenora is waiting.”
Inside, the mansion looked exactly as Evelyn remembered.
The marble floors shone beneath high windows. Portraits of Ashford ancestors lined the walls, their painted faces severe and pale. Fresh flowers filled every table, but the house smelled faintly of furniture polish and cold stone.
Evelyn noticed two unfamiliar security cameras above the foyer doors.
Cassandra followed her gaze.
“We increased security after Arthur’s death. Some people believed they were entitled to enter whenever they wished.”
“I returned my keys.”
“You kept visiting him without Lenora’s permission.”
“He invited us.”
“That is what you always claimed.”
Lily squeezed Evelyn’s fingers.
Evelyn refused to argue in front of her.
They entered the drawing room, where twelve relatives were drinking champagne.
Conversation stopped.
Lenora stood beside the fireplace wearing a lavender suit and Arthur’s sapphire brooch.
She looked first at Evelyn, then at Lily.
“You’re late.”
“It’s one forty-five.”
“Family should arrive early.”
Lily approached carefully, holding out her drawing.
“Happy Easter, Grandma.”
Lenora glanced at the crowned rabbit.
“What is that supposed to be?”
“A royal Easter bunny.”
“I see.”
“Would you like it?”
Lenora took the paper between two fingers and passed it to a servant.
“Put this somewhere.”
The servant looked at Lily with pity.
“I can put it in the kitchen.”
“Not where guests will see it,” Lenora said.
Lily’s shoulders dropped.
Evelyn knelt beside her.
“Grandpa Arthur would have loved it.”
Lenora’s eyes sharpened.
“Arthur is not here.”
“No,” Evelyn replied. “He isn’t.”
An uncomfortable silence followed.
Cassandra clapped her hands.
“Let’s have drinks before dinner.”
As the relatives returned to their conversations, a man near the window approached Evelyn.
He was tall, silver-haired, and familiar.
Mr. Hale had served as the Ashford family lawyer for more than twenty years.
“Evelyn,” he said quietly. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Lenora invited us.”
His surprise appeared genuine.
“Did she?”
“You sound concerned.”
Mr. Hale glanced toward Lenora.
“I’m surprised. That is all.”
“Have you heard of Lighthouse Three?”
His champagne glass nearly slipped from his hand.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“Arthur mentioned it.”
“That trust was dissolved.”
“When?”
“Before he died.”
“Who dissolved it?”
Mr. Hale’s gaze moved to the stuffed rabbit.
“Why is Lily carrying that?”
“It was a gift.”
“From whom?”
“I don’t know.”
He stepped closer.
“Leave the house.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“What?”
“Take Lily and leave before dinner.”
“Why?”
Mr. Hale lowered his voice.
“Because Lenora did not invite you.”
Across the room, Lenora was watching them.
Her expression remained pleasant, but her eyes were fixed on Mr. Hale.
He moved away without another word.
Evelyn’s phone vibrated inside her handbag.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
Do not leave.
May you like
The invitation was sent from Arthur’s private account.
The truth is inside the house.
