Chapter 14 - The Woman in the Dark
The lights came back.
Eleanor was staring toward the doorway.
A woman stood there.
Older.
Pale.
Trembling.
Emily couldn't move.
Her mother looked at her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then the woman whispered:
“Emily.”
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“Mom?”
The woman nodded.
Adrian stepped backward.
Eleanor looked devastated.
“You said you would never come back.”
“I didn't come back for you.”
Her eyes remained on Emily.
“I came back for her.”
Emily took a step forward.
“Why did you leave me?”
Her mother closed her eyes.
“Because I believed leaving was the only way to protect you.”
“From Eleanor?”
Her mother looked toward Eleanor.
“Not only Eleanor.”
Emily's voice shook.
“Then who?”
Her mother looked at Adrian.
He lowered his head.
“You don't understand,” he said.
Emily turned toward him.
“Then explain.”
Adrian's eyes filled with tears.
“Dad made a deal.”
“What deal?”
“To keep you safe.”
“With whom?”
No one answered.
Her mother walked toward Emily.
“Your father believed the people behind the scheme would eventually come after you.”
“And did they?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
Her mother looked toward the entrance.
“Years ago.”
Emily felt a chill.
“Why didn't I know?”
“Because they were already close to you.”
Emily looked at Eleanor.
Then Adrian.
Then Callahan's words returned to her.
The person who appears most desperate to stop you from reading the letter is the person you must watch most carefully.
But suddenly, Emily realized something.
There had been three people trying to stop her.
Eleanor.
Adrian.
And Callahan.
Her mother reached for her hand.
“Emily, there is one more thing you need to know.”
“What?”
Her mother whispered:
“Your father did not leave you the estate.”
Emily frowned.
“Then what did he leave me?”
Her mother looked toward the metal cabinet.
“The evidence.”
She opened it.
Behind the cabinet was a hidden door.
Inside was a room filled with documents.
At the center stood a locked safe.
Emily approached.
A label had been attached to it.
For Emily, when she finally understands.
She touched the lock.
Then her mother said:
“Don't open it.”
Emily looked back.
May you like
“Why?”
“Because once you do, there is no going back.”
