I scoop up the loose papers and photos, shuffling them into a pile. A photo slips to the floor. I reach for it but freeze when I see the bold red lettering.
I pick up the picture by a corner and turn it over. It’s the same image I found in Brendan’s room—the one of him, his mother and Kaden. I flip the picture back over. Beneath the bold message is another, handwritten in black ink.
Another picture stares up at me from atop the stack. It’s of Maggie and who I assume to be my mother at the beach. But her face is cut out. I recoil. What is it with defiling faces that crosses the line from creepy to psychotic? Another note is written on the back in messy red marker.
I drop the photos. The messages I’ve been receiving … they’re not for me. They were written to my mother, years ago, from Brendan’s mother. And someone at Blackwood knew. Someone who has seen the contents of this box.
“How’s your mother?” I practically jump to the ceiling at the sound of his voice. The voice that won’t stop haunting me.
Vic.
I spin around. He sneers at me, his broad frame nearly filling up the door, wearing a black hoodie pulled up over his head. My teeth clench at the sight of him. In a sudden burst of rage, I rush at him, my shoulder tucked, determined to knock him to the ground. But he sidesteps before I make contact. I stumble and fall onto the threadbare carpet in the living room. I roll over just as he thrusts his boot into my stomach, knocking the air out of me. I gasp and pant for breath, curled in a ball.
“Heard she’s in the hospital. That’s too bad about her heart. But then again, she’s always been weak.” He crouches beside me, admiring the pain etched on my face with a lopsided smirk. “Isn’t that girl there too? Amazing they’re both still alive.”
I glower at him through teary eyes, still clutching my gut.
“Know that I can get to you or anyone you know. No one is out of my reach. So you’d better keep your mouth shut if you don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”
I throw a left-handed jab between his legs. He stumbles back with a cursing moan but catches himself before falling over. His face floods with color. I press up to my hands and knees. Grunting, he slams his boot down as if to stomp on my back. I flatten and roll, barely avoiding the heel that thumps against the floor. His other foot careens into my left kidney. I cry out as white-hot electric pain shoots up my back, instantly incapacitating me.
“You don’t belong at Blackwood. Once we’ve finished contesting the will, you’ll be back in the gutter, where you belong.”
He grabs a fistful of my hair and slams the side of my head against the floor. Pain ricochets through my skull, leaving black spots floating before my eyes.
“You’re nothing. I can make you disappear. And no one will be able to stop me.”
The steps creak. Vic releases my hair, and my head thumps against the worn carpet. I fight to push up to my hands and knees, but I’m too dizzy to rise and chase after him. A wave of nausea overtakes me. I close my eyes and clench my teeth to fight back the retching.
“Lana, what the—” Parker kneels next to me. “Who did this?”
I point toward the kitchen, unable to speak just yet. Parker races after the footsteps descending the back stairwell.
He returns a few minutes later, winded and cursing under his breath. I’m still on the floor with my back propped against the couch, a hand on my head and an arm wrapped around my stomach.
“He jumped the neighbor’s fence before I could grab him. I tried to follow, but I didn’t see where he went.” He growls in frustration while pacing in front of me. I half-expect him to punch a hole in the wall. He manages to reel in his anger and crouches next to me. “What can I get you? An ice pack? Advil?”
“Sure,” I say, my voice a breathy croak.
Parker disappears into the kitchen. I hear him rummage through the cabinet, run the water and close the freezer door. He returns with a cup, pills and an ice pack.
“What did he want, besides to hurt you?” Parker lowers onto a knee and hands me the pills, then the cup.
I hold the ice pack to the side of my head to relieve the throbbing. “To send a message. Keep my mouth shut. Tell me he’s invincible. Same bullshit.”
“What the hell happened?!” Joey hastily sets the bag of food and tray of coffees on the coffee table. He kneels beside me, scanning for injuries. But they’re covered up other than the lump on my head.
“Vic,” Parker tells him. “I just missed him.”
Joey glowers at Parker and shoves him backward, tipping him onto his ass.
“What the hell, Joey? I didn’t know he was going to be here!” He pushes up to his feet, posturing over his brother.
Joey stands as well, taking a threatening step toward Parker. “No, but you have known about the fucking video this entire time and haven’t turned it in! He could be in jail right now instead of threatening Lana!”
“I don’t have it!” Parker yells back, throwing his arms in the air. “Brendan does, and he’s not handing it over!”
“Why?!” Joey yells, his fists clenched by his sides.
I sigh, knowing punching Parker’s not going to get us answers. Although it may make Joey feel better. I lift myself onto the couch to get out of their way.
“I don’t know! I swear. Vic has something on him. Brendan won’t tell me.” Parker plants his feet, as if preparing for a blow. “He’s working on another angle to incriminate him. We’re not planning on letting that piece of shit get away with any of this. But it’s not us against him. It’s us against his grandfather … Thorne Industries.”
Joey stills.
I’m confused.
“Thorne Industries?” I look between the brothers for answers.
Parker sits on the arm of the couch and thumps the back of his head against the wall. “They’re a huge tech company, known for their government contracts. They’re big into innovative tech, like defense software and drones. If they’re involved, we’re fucked.”
“I’m pretty sure the entire company isn’t in on the cover-up. Why the hell would they protect a deranged teenager who hurt an innocent girl?” I question, feeling like we just stepped into a Jason Bourne movie instead of the dizzying Wonderland I was just getting used to.
“They don’t need the entire company,” Joey interjects. “But if Reginald Thorne has even one person working to protect Vic, then any evidence will be untraceable.”
“Except we have the video,” I argue. “Or Brendan does. They haven’t found that yet.”
“How do you know?” Joey asks me.
“Because I saw it.” They both look at me like I confessed to accessing the CIA database. “I snuck into his room. Had a friend hack into his files. That’s how I know it exists.”
“Does Brendan know?” Parker asks at the same time Joey asks, “What friend?”
“I don’t think so. And I’d rather not say who.” Truth is, I have no idea what Brendan does and doesn’t know.
“So what do we do?” Joey asks, sitting next to me on the couch, gently putting an arm around my shoulders to comfort me. I groan at the small shift, leaning into him. “Sorry.” He kisses the side of my head.
“We need to talk to your father,” I announce. “This isn’t just about Allie, not if his grandfather’s company’s involved like you think.”
“What would my father know about any of this?” Parker scoffs, standing from the couch and pacing again.
I chuckle. “More than you could probably ever guess. Vic said something about contesting a will. I’m assuming his mother’s, right?”
The guys nod and shrug in agreement.
“Well, someone’s paying for me to attend Blackwood. Brendan too. Your father arranged it. It has to be connected.”
“I’m lost,” Parker announces, throwing his hands in the air. “What makes you think anyone’s paying your tuition? I was told you’re both receiving some sort of scholarship.”
“Not supplied by Blackwood,” I tell him. “Brendan chec
ked. They don’t have scholarships.”
“This doesn’t make sense,” Parker sighs. “Why would Vic’s mother pay for you to go to Blackwood?”
I shrug. Parker doesn’t know the half of what’s been going on. And I’m not about to fill him in.
“Did you find the medicine?” Joey asks, redirecting the conversation.
“No.” I push off the couch and straighten with a pained grimace. “But there’s something I need to get before we leave.” I stop suddenly, Vic’s words turning me back toward them. “He knows my mother’s in the hospital. He even knows it’s her heart. And maybe he wasn’t waiting here for me … maybe he was picking something up. Something he didn’t want anyone to find.”
“What do you mean? Like hiding evidence?” Joey asks in alarm, standing as well.
“I couldn’t find her new medication.”
“You think he … did something to your mom’s meds?” Parker doesn’t look convinced.
I consider if it’s possible. He did break in; he had access. But how would he know she was taking meds to begin with? Well … all he needs is someone who can access her files, and he has an entire company to do that.
And the why is easy enough to decipher. He wants me to know he can get to her.
That makes me think it was him in the woods with Ashton. Was that a message too? Who else will he hurt to make his point?
“We need to find Tori and Nina.” I gingerly move toward my mother’s room, my body protesting with each step. What the hell did he have in his boots? Lead?
“Why? This isn’t making any sense. Do you really think he’s going after Tori and Nina? You don’t know any of this for certain,” Parker says from the doorway.
“You saw what he’s capable of,” I say, gathering the pictures and papers and placing them back inside the wooden box. The top is decorated with the intricate carving of a girl with a basket, picking flowers while a fox hides in the branches of an apple tree. When I was little, I thought this box was filled with magic. Now I know it’s filled with hate. “They’re my best friends, Parker. They humiliated him. And he’s on some sort of power kick. I can’t risk not trying to at least warn them.”
I know, call it instinct or whatever, that he’s trying to hurt the people I care about to get to me. And it can’t just be to keep me quiet. But that’s what I don’t understand.
First, he drugged us and led Ashton away, leaving me unable to defend her. Then he did something to my mother, maybe switched her medication, which could’ve killed her if she’d been home alone. I’m tempted to think he did something to Allie while I was visiting her, but I can’t imagine him having that kind of access, no matter who his grandfather is. Honestly, I may have done that to her … hearing my voice could’ve freaked her out, even in her comatose state.
I don’t understand what the deranged lunatic is up to, but I can’t wait around to find out.
“Will you call Nina? See where she is?”
Parker still appears skeptical.
“Please, Parker,” I plead emphatically.
He nods with a heavy sigh and steps into the living room with his phone to his ear. Joey has remained in the living room, texting someone. Hopefully finding out if Allie’s okay.
Speaking of … I call Nick.
“Hi. I didn’t find the medication. Is it in her things?”
“No,” Nick answers. “But Olivia gave Dr. Nolan the name of the specialist she took her to, so they should be able to find out.”
“Is there …” I take a breath before continuing, knowing this is going to sound insane. “Do you think they can run a blood test? Make sure she was really taking the medication she was prescribed? I’m wondering if maybe it wasn’t what she was supposed to be taking.”
“Why would you think that?” Nick asks in concern.
“I just have a feeling,” I answer as honestly as I can. “She has so many prescription bottles here; maybe she took the wrong one.”
“I’ll ask,” he says. “She’s getting an EKG right now. I know they were planning to draw blood too, so I’ll see if they can test for the medication. Not sure how that works. Are you on your way back?”
“If she’s still getting tested, then I’m going to go visit Nina and Tori real quick. But please text me when you know anything?”
“Of course. When she woke, she was asking if someone called you. I let her know you’re here,” he tells me. “She doesn’t want you to worry without knowing what’s wrong. I told her that’s what people who love each other do.”
I bite my lip, wondering if she’s forgiven me for what I said to her at Blackwood.
“Tell her I’ll be back as soon as I can. Do you need me to get anything for her while I’m at the apartment?”
“Maybe a few personal supplies,” Nick suggests. “I’m not sure how long they’re planning to keep her here.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in an hour or so. Nick …” I don’t know why my chest tightens when I say this. I mean, I don’t have to say it at all, but … I also need to. “I’m glad you’re there with her.” I hang up before he can respond. That’s as much honesty as I can handle sharing right now.
Needing to chill out and shut down my emotions, I sit on the edge of her bed and take a breath. I try to relax, clear my head and not let panic or even anger cloud my thoughts. I have to figure out what Vic’s up to. And what this has to do with our parents.
Everything that has happened since the night at The Point is connected in some way, like the wallpaper in my grandmother’s—and now my—bedroom that I strip while lying in bed. Every time I peel back a torn edge, there’s another hideous print beneath. Eventually, I’ll unveil the truth, no matter how marred and ugly it is.
I search my mother’s closet and place a few items in an overnight bag. I don’t know what to pack, so I choose a few comfortable clothes in case they let her wear something other than the johnny. Some toiletries. The romance novel that was splayed on her nightstand. And her favorite quilt hanging on the back of the rocking chair. My grandmother made this for her when my mother was a girl. The squares are made up of scenes from nursery rhymes and fairytales. The colors are faded after years of use and washing, but it’s extremely soft—probably for the same reason.
I draw it up under my nose and inhale it. It smells of my mother—jasmine and spice. There have been so many stories told in this house, read to me while sitting in this rocking chair, bound in the quilt. And no matter how fantastical the tales my grandmother read to me of princesses and dragons or fae and their trickery, she left out the story that started within these walls. The true story about a child—actually five children who are tied together for reasons I’ve yet to understand. The story I’m living right now, woven with lies and deceit. Anger and betrayal. Hopefully, its ending isn’t tragic.
“They’re at Stella’s,” Parker announces, his voice spinning me around.
He looks down at the quilt in my hands. I blink away the ill-fated tales unraveling in my head and stuff it into the overnight bag.
“Why would they be at Stella’s? Please don’t tell me they’re eating.” I cringe at the thought of it.
“I don’t know. But I told Nina to stay there.”
Joey appears in the doorway behind his brother. “Dad just called. He asked me to pick up some papers that need to be delivered to the courthouse this morning.” He looks to me. “I’ll meet you at the hospital after?”
“Did you hear anything about Allie?”
He shakes his head. His eyes dip sorrowfully. “Not yet.”
“You don’t need to go back to the hospital with me,” I assure him. “I’ll be okay.”
He hesitates, conflicted. “Okay. Uh, your sandwich and coffee are on the table if you still want them. I’ll give Parker your backpack and check in with you later. Okay? I may go to the hospital anyway … for Allie.”
“Thanks.” I smile softly and watch him leave.
I know he wants to be there for me, but I fear I’m blurri
ng the lines between us, depending on him and letting him comfort me. I feel connected to him; that’s undeniable. But I’m not in love with him. Even the threads of lust that once entwined us have snapped. I didn’t realize it until now. They’re gone. The enchantment has been lifted. There’s only one person that I’m entwined with now.
“Um, can I meet you downstairs in a minute?” I ask Parker as he waits patiently, leaning against the doorframe. “I need to make a quick call.”
He eyes the Blackwood phone in my hand and nods in understanding, his mouth drawn.
My call goes straight to voice mail. I consider leaving a message, but I don’t know what to say, how to explain any of this in a recording. I hang up and stuff the phone in my back pocket. Slinging Mom’s bag over my shoulder, I pick up the box of secrets, balance the coffee on top and snag the bag with the breakfast sandwich in it. Carefully tucking the box under my arm, I shut the door behind me, hoping I didn’t forget anything.
Parker is waiting in the driveway with the engine running, focused on his phone. He looks up when I open the door.
“Want me to take that?” He reaches for the box, but I hand him the coffee and bag instead.
“Thanks.” I set the overnight bag on the floor and keep the box on my lap.
“What’s that?” Parker asks, nodding toward the box.
“It’s my mother’s,” is all I say.
I know Parker and Brendan are business partners. And from what everyone has surmised, they’re not friends. So I doubt Brendan has confided in him. Honestly, Brendan doesn’t seem like the confiding type. He probably keeps his secrets locked away too … unless someone knows a hacker as talented as he is to access them.
Parker waits for more, but I don’t say anything. He sighs and backs out of the driveway. “Still don’t trust me, huh?”
“I’m not sure what you do or don’t know,” I explain. “And I’d rather not bring you into the parts you don’t.”
“Do you think keeping me in the dark is a good idea?” he challenges. “I’ve done nothing but help you, Lana. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”
The Cursed Series, Parts 3 & 4: Now We Know/What They Knew Page 18