The Darkest Secrets

by Heather Wynter

  All thoughts stopped as she heard a noise in the hallway. The floorboards creaked.

  How? She had the best security system money could buy. How could they still get in? Wouldn’t they ever stop coming for her?

  Quietly and carefully, she eased out of bed just like she’d practiced. Yet they didn’t seem to let up. They weren’t even trying to be careful. The footsteps came closer. And closer. Louder.

  She hid behind the curtain and cursed, furious at herself for forgetting her gun. She deserved to be kidnapped. How could she be so foolish? All her senses flooded with fear as the intruder entered the bedroom.

  She closed her eyes, just like she was a little girl again. Closed her eyes because she didn’t want to see what was coming, couldn’t handle it, couldn’t protect herself. She just wanted the nightmares to go away.

  She yelped as fur brushed against her skin.

  Fur?

  Dove let out a little meow at her yelp, and tears fell uncontrollably down Emma’s cheeks. Tears of fear and relief, of not quite believing it could be this simple.

  She stood there for a few minutes and waited. Made sure that the sound she’d heard was just the cat and truly not an intruder. Was she really so paranoid that the cat was causing panic now?

  Dove meowed again, giving up her hideaway if anyone was in the house anyway. She scooped up her naughty cat and brought her to bed with her, curled up, and tried to get some sleep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “We’ll figure this out.”

  That’s what Everett had told Amelia, and she loved feeling like she could trust someone, like she wasn’t alone in this. But “we” still meant mostly “me” to her. She knew that this was far more important to her than it’d ever be to Everett. She couldn’t expect him to invest much time into this. So the second she got home from work, she pulled up the files from the flash drive on her computer.

  Once she was beyond starving, she ordered take-out. She noticed some texts on her phone as she went to call her favorite Chinese restaurant. She read the ones from Brenda as she waited for her food.

  “Hey! I tried to catch up with you at work today, but I kept missing you. I heard about the break-in. Are you okay? I’m sorry about what I said to you the other day. Hearing about you being in danger made me realize how much I care about you. Care about our friendship. Let’s make time to talk sometime. Can I come over tonight, if you aren't busy?”

  It made her feel bad for avoiding Brenda at work, but she suspected her friend would swoop in like this, and she couldn’t face an apology from her. Mostly because she knew she didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve to have Brenda come to the rescue like she always did after the way she treated her sometimes.

  Amelia also didn’t trust herself around her. Brenda had a way of knowing when something was going on, when Amelia was hiding something. She worried she’d see how frightened she was, that she’d confide in her about everything. She couldn’t deal with that kind of vulnerability with her best friend right now, and she still wasn’t sure she could trust her with all of this.

  So, she did what she did best. She ignored the texts from Brenda and didn’t even read the ones from Trent. She’d deal with them later. Apologize later. Fix friendships later. Eventually she’d tell them about everything, and they’d be annoyed that she hadn’t opened up sooner, but they’d forgive her, and life would go on.

  For now, she had to focus on this. She wasn’t getting anywhere with it, and that infuriated her. Made her more determined to figure out why her mother valued this information.

  She found names that were probably scandalous somehow. Places, dates, figures. Though honestly, she wasn’t really interested in all of that right now. She wanted to know how this flash drive was connected to her mother and what this meant. Why had her mother given this to her?

  Once again, Amelia longed for her mother’s presence. It was becoming a common occurrence lately. She missed her in a way she hadn’t often missed her when she was alive. It was twisted and awful, and she wished things had been different.

  Sure, she still blamed her for getting abducted. If her mother hadn’t been so focused on her brother, Amelia would’ve been safe, potentially. Perhaps it never would’ve happened. She wouldn’t have had to live her life with all this fear, all this trauma.

  Yet ever since reading that letter, a voice whispered that maybe she didn’t mean it. Maybe the voice had been there the whole time, but she couldn’t hear it until now. Now she couldn’t help thinking that maybe they should’ve come to an understanding before she died. Regret snuck up on her from every corner of the house.

  Amelia stood, anxious. She paced. She wasn’t one for cracking codes. Trent might understand. He might have some ideas. He was better at this computer stuff than she was. Brenda might be willing to help; she was always willing to help. Getting an outside perspective could be good. But it was too personal. That would be allowing them to get a little too close. She couldn’t trust them. Why was she being so indecisive and insecure about everything?

  She paced and paced until her eyes caught on a photo in a gold frame, a picture of her and her brother. Pictures like this were all over the house. They looked happy. What if her mother hadn’t paid so much attention to Cameron? What if he had died when they were young? Would she have rather had that happen?

  Amelia couldn’t face this introspection, especially when it was too late to do anything about it. So she sat back down and fiddled with the flash drive as she focused on the screen, begging it to offer some answers.

  A little pop distracted her as something gave between her fingers. The cap of the flash drive popped off. She bent to retrieve it, having lost one too many things by leaving them on the floor for too long.

  She noticed a bit of rolled up paper that was under the couch. Answers? She hoped so. Her heart raced as she lifted it, excited and nervous at the possibilities. She unfolded the letter.

  Dearest Emily,

  I know that you’ve been uncomfortable with our affair from the start, and I guess you were right to be. Melinda found out about us, and she’s furious. You know I can’t have something like this tarnish my image. Your reputation is everything in this business, and she’s great for mine. So, as much as it hurts me, I feel I must say goodbye to you, for now. Kindly delete all messages between us, throw away the pictures, destroy the evidence. I’m in a vulnerable spot in my career right now. And I promise you, if I win, you will too.

  Think of how much I’ve helped you so far. You always say I’m a monster, claim that you don’t care about me. But look at the career you have. Look at what I’ve built for you. You are my proudest achievement, my finest project. And I will continue to provide you access to all my resources from afar. I would never fully give up on you. I’ll do whatever I can to help you build a good life. I’ll help you take care of things if your concerns about our little problem prove to be true. I’ve paid off plenty of people so far. I’m not afraid to spend a bit of money to keep someone quiet. And I will give you whatever you want.

  Though I must warn you, if you do decide to tell someone… Well, I have enough money to take care of that too. People in the right places. You don’t want to cross me, Emily, I promise you that.

  You’ll soon start getting random offers in your career. Wonderful advances. Hefty, anonymous payments to your bank account. Accept that and for the love of all things holy, keep your mouth shut.

  Love always,

  Brett

  Amelia took several deep breaths that turned into shallow, quick ones. It couldn’t be, could it? Had her mother really gotten mixed up in an affair with a married man? Did she love him? Was that how she paid for all her brother’s expensive treatments?

  The thought of it made her sick and furious at her mother. How could she ever be with a slimeball like him? It went against everything Emily had ever taught her. She never seemed like that kind of woman. How could she let this happen?

  Was it for Cameron? That was the onl
y rational explanation she could think of. But they could’ve found money in other ways. For her career maybe? Was that how she became so successful? Why would she burden her with this now? She didn’t want to know. She’d never want to know.

  Amelia turned this inner turmoil onto the screen in front of her before it could tear her apart completely. Blackmail. Brent was clearly blackmailing her mother. Was that what all these figures were? Other people he’d blackmailed? Had her mother accepted the money? What other secrets was he hiding?

  It was easier for Amelia to think about that, worry about his secrets rather than uncover the secrets of her mother. She didn’t want to know how they got so entangled with each other, what this all meant. So instead, she focused on the figures, on the names and dates. It’d be easier now that she knew who these accounts were attached to.

  Yet tears blurred her eyes and made it difficult for her to focus, to see anything besides the bright questions blinding her eyes. She wished her mother had never given her this, but she couldn’t turn away now.

  She cried out as she took a break and took a moment to process when she couldn’t handle this anymore. She sat back in the chair, stared at the gaudy desk, the photo of her, her mother, and her brother together, smiling like a happy family. No one would be able to guess the secrets hidden within it. Not even her.

  “Mom,” she whispered. “What did you get yourself into? What did you get me into?”

  She didn’t want to be in this house anymore. This house that was probably paid for with his blood money. So, when her cellphone rang, it was a welcome distraction.

  “Hey!” A familiar voice brought her back to reality. “How are you?”

  “I’m good,” she lied. But it was only Everett. He hadn’t known her long enough to deserve her truth. “Have you found any new information on the flash drive?”

  “I haven’t,” he admitted. She debated telling him what she knew about her mother. It was just so personal, though. “But I called with a proposition to help you get your mind off that.”

  “Oh?” She doubted that anything could get her mind off it.

  “Yeah. I know you’ve been dealing with a lot lately. With the flash drive, your mother’s death, the break-in. That’s got to be overwhelming. I know it would be for me, for anyone really. So, I was wondering if you’d like to go hiking with me. It’s what I always do when I feel overwhelmed. The fresh air pumping through your lungs is great for clearing out your brain. Making room for new thoughts to form. It’ll help us uncover more on the flash drive if we can tackle it with a clear head.”

  She considered it. It might be nice to get a break from this house, from this flash drive, especially after what she’d just discovered. And it was nice to have someone understand, see that she was overwhelmed and validate that. It really had been a lot, and she could handle it. Yet if she was honest, it was kind of getting to her.

  Still, she didn’t want to get too attached to Everett. She didn’t want to get too attached to anyone. It was too easy to trust the wrong person.

  “I have a lot going on right now…”

  “I know. I know you do, but that’s exactly why you need it. Come on, having a break will make you even more productive once you get back.”

  Perhaps. Plus, she did need to tell him about the flash drive; who it belonged to, at the very least, and her mother’s connection to it.

  Maybe. If he was really going to help her, then spending more time with him would allow her to know how much she should trust him. If she could trust him with this news about her mother.

  “Okay,” she said. “I guess it’ll be fun.”

  “Wonderful! I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  “Fifteen minutes is not enough time to get ready for a hike!”

  “I think you can manage.”

  And with that, he hung up the phone. It surprised Amelia to catch herself smiling in the mirror as she got ready for the hike.

  Chapter Eighteen

  When Everett knocked on the door, Amelia debated with herself one last time if this was the path she wanted to go down. All the lights in the house were off, as it was still early in the day and she favored natural light. By all accounts, it looked like no one was home. She could ignore his knocks. She could refuse to let him in. She could tell him that she’d had an emergency errand to run, a friend to attend to. There were a million ways she could get out of this.

  Perhaps if she made up a good enough excuse, he would still help her, but distance would effectively be created. She wouldn’t have to worry about them getting too close. Wouldn’t have to worry about if she should trust him or not, because the thought of trust wouldn’t come up if they didn’t spend any time together. She could stop this friendship or whatever it was from forming straight in its tracks. Because it was something different, wasn’t it?

  Hiking was different than seeing each other in a law office, different than meeting to discuss the contents of a flash drive. It was even different from having him come over to go through the box with her. This was an invitation into her personal life, and that terrified her.

  Trent and Brenda were already frustrated with her, and they were her best friends since forever. Clearly, she wasn’t good at close relationships. Ignoring him would be for the best.

  Yet she already had her hiking boots on, and it had been almost two years since she wore them last. She’d thrown on some ripped shorts, a cute, light blue tank top, put her hair up, and even gotten a water bottle and some snacks ready. Zipped it all into a tiny backpack. She looked ready for a hike.

  Her mind was ready for a hike, for the fresh air, the feeling of reaching the top of the mountain. It had been so long since she’d gone, and she used to go all the time when Cameron was well. She missed it.

  Yet she could always go another time, by herself.

  He knocked. What would she do if she didn’t go hiking?

  Well, it wasn’t like she wasn’t busy. She was far too busy for this.

  She headed towards her bedroom, then turned. Quit being an insecure twit, she told herself as she turned around and walked to the door so quickly she didn’t have time to change her mind. As she opened the door, she was slightly surprised to see an Everett that looked far more casual than she’d ever seen him.

  His black t-shirt hugged his muscles, showing off just how fit he was. Excitement lit up his green eyes, and it caught her, made her a little excited, too. His smile…it was nice to see after all the stress. It was nice to have someone there to distract her. And he was a rather handsome distraction. Could be worse.

  “Looks like you had plenty of time to get ready for a hike,” he said, his dazzling smile growing even wider. She couldn’t help but smile back.

  “I guess.” She rolled her eyes. “Let’s get going before I change my mind.”

  She wasn’t sure if she should mention the flash drive as they got in the car. She debated for those first few awkward moments, just so they’d have something to talk about. It’s all she wanted to talk about lately anyway.

  “Have you ever been hiking before?” he asked before she could mention the flash drive.

  “Of course,” she retorted. Her voice softened. “Sometimes my mother would take us, when my brother was well enough. He loved it and he begged to go even when he shouldn’t have. We indulged him because we knew…we knew he might not have a lot of time left. When it got to the point where he couldn’t go anymore, Mom took me hiking once in a great while. Especially as I got older. I think she was trying to make a connection, and we made it, a few times.” She smiled as she recalled it. Things had been tense between her and her mother, but perhaps they weren’t all bad. Perhaps grief painted everything more dramatic. “We had real conversations on the mountaintop. It’s how we really got to know each other. When I felt most like her daughter. Sometimes Trent, Brenda, and I will hit up a trail. But lately, I don’t know. Something’s changed. We’ve stopped going. How about you?”

  “Of course I’ve been!” he s
aid. “I always loved hiking. I grew up a bit…well, less well off than I am now. My family struggled, and that was made worse by having three sons and two daughters to feed. We couldn’t always afford the things others had, but hiking’s free. A great way to relieve stress. My whole family loved it. Even now, I’ll call them up on days when I feel lost. When I need to get back to nature, and we’ll all meet up for a hiking trip and a picnic on the top of the mountain. Sometimes I’ll go alone. Be reminded of who I really am. What I want in life.”

  With him being so open and honest, it encouraged Amelia to do the same. She slowly opened up to him as they shared stories about the struggles of growing up in imperfect families, the secrets that made them the people they were now.

  There was something comforting to her about knowing that Everett didn’t have it easy. It was the connection of a soul who understood hardship and came out of it alive but not unscathed, the kind of bond only suffering can forge.

  By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, she was looking forward to the hike, to experiencing nature in the way Everett did, to getting to know him more.

  As she got out of the car, she looked up at the top of the mountain, covered in trees. It was overwhelming, just like her life lately. It didn’t seem possible that they could ever reach the top.

  “It’s a lot,” Everett admitted as he followed her gaze. “But it’s worth it for the view at the top, promise. And if you can do this, you can climb any sort of mountains you’re coming across in your life.”

  She liked the sound of that. “I already can climb any mountains in my life,” she retorted. “I don’t need your lame, cheesy metaphor to cheer me along.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he laughed. “We’ll see if you’ll be singing the same tune once we’re halfway to the top.”