Chapter 4 - The Family Performance
Mara left the private suite before sunrise and moved into a standard room in the east building.
When Patricia arrived, she found Mara sitting in the lobby with a book and a small suitcase beside her.
Patricia removed her sunglasses.
“You’re already here?”
“My flight changed.”
“You should have told us. Victor arranged group transportation.”
Victor stood behind her, studying Mara’s face.
“No trouble checking in?” he asked.
“None.”
“What room did they give you?”
“East wing.”
A subtle relief passed between Victor and Frederick.
Mara pretended not to notice.
Aunt Linda entered with Uncle Raymond, followed by cousins, spouses, and children. Within minutes, the lobby filled with loud greetings and complaints about the journey.
No one hugged Mara.
Patricia handed her a printed itinerary.
“Lunch at one. Family photographs at three. Memorial dinner at seven. Tomorrow we’ll have the estate discussion.”
“Here?”
“Frederick brought the necessary documents.”
Mara looked toward the lawyer.
He avoided her eyes.
Patricia lowered her voice.
“Please don’t create drama. This weekend is for Grandmother.”
“Of course.”
“And wear something nicer for dinner.”
Mara looked at Patricia’s white suit, gold earrings, and designer luggage.
“I’ll try not to damage the family image.”
Patricia smiled, missing the meaning.
At lunch, Mara sat near the end of the table. Patricia occupied the center seat that Eleanor would once have taken.
Victor ordered champagne for everyone without checking the price.
Adrian did not appear.
The restaurant manager treated Victor politely but never called him by name. Victor seemed irritated by this and mentioned several times that he had “personally coordinated with ownership.”
Mara listened.
Raymond complained about new environmental restrictions affecting waterfront construction.
Linda criticized younger relatives for lacking ambition.
Patricia described plans to renovate Eleanor’s coastal house.
Mara set down her fork.
“You’re renovating it?”
Patricia looked surprised.
“Eventually.”
“The estate hasn’t been distributed.”
“It’s obvious the house will remain with the primary family.”
“Who is the primary family?”
Linda laughed.
“Don’t start.”
“I asked a question.”
Patricia took a slow sip of champagne.
“Grandmother’s direct management interests will pass to those capable of handling them.”
“According to the amendment?”
Victor’s hand tightened around his glass.
Frederick looked at Mara.
“This is not the time.”
“Then tomorrow will be.”
Across the table, Mara’s cousin Daniel frowned.
“What amendment?”
Patricia turned sharply.
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
Daniel was twenty-four, recently graduated, and one of the few relatives who had occasionally spoken kindly to Mara. His mother, Celeste, had died when he was young. Eleanor had helped raise him.
“Was the will changed?” he asked.
Raymond gave him a warning look.
“Let the adults handle it.”
“I am an adult.”
“Then behave like one.”
The conversation moved on, but Daniel remained quiet.
After lunch, the family gathered on the lawn for photographs.
The photographer arranged Patricia and Victor in front, Linda and Raymond beside them, and Mara near the outer edge.
Eleanor’s empty chair was placed at the center with a white rose on the cushion.
“Move Mara farther left,” Patricia said. “She’s blocking the ocean.”
Mara stepped aside.
The photographer looked uncomfortable.
“Actually, the composition would be stronger if Ms. Sutton stood beside the chair.”
Patricia’s smile hardened.
“That won’t be necessary.”
From the terrace above, Adrian watched.
Mara saw him but gave no sign of recognition.
After the photographs, Daniel approached her near the garden.
“What amendment were you talking about?”
“You should ask Frederick.”
“He won’t tell me anything.”
“Then ask why.”
Daniel glanced toward the others.
“Grandmother called me two months before she died. She asked whether I still had the key from the lighthouse.”
Mara’s attention sharpened.
“What key?”
“When we were kids, she took us there. She gave me a brass key and told me never to lose it.”
“Do you have it?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“Patricia borrowed a box from my apartment after the funeral. The key was inside. When she returned the box, it was gone.”
“Did you confront her?”
“She said she had never seen it.”
Mara studied him.
“Why are you telling me now?”
“Because Grandmother asked whether you remembered the room below the stairs.”
Mara did remember.
At the lighthouse, a narrow staircase led upward to the lamp. Beneath it had been a locked wooden door. Eleanor told them it contained old maintenance equipment.
“What exactly did she say?”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“She said, ‘When Mara returns to the shore, give her what the family believes you lost.’”
He reached beneath his shirt and pulled out a thin chain.
The brass key hung from it.
“You lied to Patricia.”
“I wanted to know why she was searching for it.”
Mara touched the key.
“Has anyone else seen this?”
“No.”
“Keep it hidden.”
Daniel looked toward Victor.
“Are they stealing from the estate?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“You do know something.”
“I know Grandmother expected us to ask questions.”
Before Daniel could respond, Patricia called from the terrace.
“Mara, we need you for the memorial video.”
Inside the conference room, a large screen displayed photographs of Eleanor’s life.
There were images of Patricia’s wedding, Raymond’s business opening, Linda’s birthdays, Victor beside Eleanor at charity events, and Daniel as a child.
Mara appeared in only one photograph.
She stood at the edge of a garden, half hidden behind Eleanor.
Patricia watched her reaction.
“I used what we could find.”
“That’s fine.”
“You were never around much.”
“I lived ten minutes from Grandmother.”
“Emotionally, I mean.”
Mara turned.
Patricia smiled.
“Some people confuse being useful with being loved.”
Mara felt the old wound open, but she did not allow Patricia to see it.
“Did Grandmother tell you that?”
“She didn’t need to.”
The memorial video ended with a photograph of Eleanor’s coastal house.
A caption appeared beneath it.
A legacy for those who remained loyal.
Mara looked at Frederick.
He had gone pale.
After the rehearsal, she followed him into the corridor.
“That caption wasn’t part of Grandmother’s instructions.”
“No.”
“Who added it?”
“Patricia.”
“Why did it frighten you?”
Frederick looked around.
“You must leave the resort tonight.”
“That isn’t happening.”
“They believe the lighthouse key is here.”
“It is.”
His eyes widened.
“Who has it?”
Mara did not answer.
Frederick gripped her arm.
“If Raymond opens the lower chamber before the trust is activated, he can destroy the only surviving proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Frederick released her.
Before he could speak, the elevator opened.
Victor stepped out.
Frederick moved away from Mara at once.
Victor smiled.
“Everything all right?”
“Perfect,” Mara said.
That night, someone entered Daniel’s room while the family attended dinner.
Nothing valuable was taken.
But his luggage had been cut open, the mattress overturned, and every pocket of his clothing searched.
May you like
On the mirror, written in dark blue ink, were six words.
Return the key before Mara disappears.
