by HR Mason
“Your husband.” The woman smiled mirthlessly.
“Yes, Chase Everwine, my husband.”
“You’re so naïve,” the woman said with a toss of her dull hair.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Runa stiffened.
“It means there’s a lot you don’t know.”
“Like what?”
“Like the fact that he was my husband first.”
The woman dropped the bomb without even the slightest flicker of emotion.
“Your husband?” Runa’s breath came in short, fast spurts as the pieces came together. “Freya? You’re alive?”
The room began to spin, and Runa reached out and grabbed Freya’s arms to steady herself. About that time, a second voice, small and quiet, echoed in the room. Runa swiveled her head to the side as a little girl with blonde ringlets tugged on Freya’s shirt.
“Mama, who is that?”
Runa looked back and forth between Freya and the child. The girl looked just like her, so she knew in an instant she was Freya’s daughter.
“You’re alive and you have a child?”
Freya sighed heavily, nodding her assent. “Yes, this is Alina, my daughter.”
“I… I don’t understand,” Runa stammered as she backed away from them, her knees buckling as she collapsed on the bed. “You’re Freya? Chase’s wife? And your child… Chase’s child…?”
“You’ve really put me in a bad place here, Runa.” Freya scowled. “You’re not supposed to know about any of this.”
“How do you know my name?”
“I know everything about you,” Freya answered cryptically.
“This is a bad dream. I’m going to wake up any minute. None of this is real. You’re not real,” Runa muttered to herself as she placed her hands over her eyes, rocking back and forth on the bed.
“Alina, go up into the turret room and read your book. I need to talk to the woman,” Freya said quietly.
“She looks like you, Mama. I want to talk to her, too,” Alina argued.
“I know. Just let me talk to her first,” Freya insisted.
With a nod, Alina ran up the stairs into the circular room.
Freya sat on the bed next to Runa. “I’m sure this is all quite confusing to you,” she began, her voice softening a little.
“That may be the understatement of the year.”
“Look, it would be best for everyone concerned if you just went back to your life.”
“Back to my life? My life is a sham!” Runa yelled.
“There’s too much to explain, too much you can never know. Forget what you’ve seen and leave now, before it’s too late. Once you know, you can never go back.”
“You want me to forget there’s a woman who looks exactly like me and a little girl living on the third floor of my home?”
“Yes. That’s what I want. Please?”
“Well, that’s not going to happen. And I’m not leaving here until I get an explanation,” Runa demanded, crossing her arms defiantly.
“Fine. I’ll tell you everything, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Talk. Now,” Runa said through gritted teeth.
Freya took a deep breath and began her tale.
“I’m Freya, Chase’s wife. Everyone thinks I disappeared seven years ago, but I’ve been up here the whole time.”
“You expect me to believe you’ve been on the third floor for seven years?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not possible,” Runa insisted.
“I assure you, it is,” Freya disagreed.
“You let people believe you were dead? Why would you do that?”
“It was the best solution.”
“For what? What could have possibly happened that the best solution was remaining a prisoner for seven years?”
“I’m not a prisoner. And I said you wouldn’t understand.” Freya shrugged.
Runa glanced up into the turret toward Alina. As she watched the little girl coloring and humming to herself, a light bulb went off in her brain.
“Freya, how old is your daughter?”
“Alina is seven.”
“Seven? But how?”
“She was born here in this room. She’s never been out of it.”
Runa’s blood ran cold as she considered what that meant. The little girl had never seen the light of day. Her whole life had been lived on the third floor of Everwine Manor.
“Freya, is Chase her father?”
“No, he’s not.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I don’t even know if I understand anymore. It all made sense to me once upon a time, but now…,” Freya said sadly.
“Please tell me.”
“Chase and I were married for five years. From the start, he loved me more than I loved him. A lot of people said I loved the Everwine name more than anything, and maybe they were right. I was dazzled by his wealth and prestige.”
“It’s hard not to be. I know I was,” Runa commiserated.
“I came from a good family. We were wealthy, and I led a bit of a charmed life. But then I found out that my parents weren’t who I thought they were. It destroyed me. From that moment on, I was searching for something, some hole inside I needed filled. Then I met Chase. He wanted me, and I liked being wanted. I was hungry for the power that came with being an Everwine.”
“So you never loved him?”
“No, I didn’t. Not really.”
“Did he know?”
“At first, I was good at hiding it. I let him dote on me. I enjoyed the gifts he gave me. I loved the fact that he would do anything I wanted him to do. I liked how people watched us as we walked into the room together. I loved the attention from the press. Being married to Chase was like a drug to me.”
“But something happened to change that?”
“Yes. I fell in love.”
“With someone else.”
“Yes. With his father.” Freya shrugged.
The walls began to close in as Runa processed Freya’s words. “You fell in love with Easton?”
“Not long after Chase and I were married, Easton began to pursue me. Instead of being put off by it, I realized I liked it. Before long, we were meeting secretly, going off for weekends together. It was exciting and dangerous and forbidden. I fell hard for him.”
“But how did that lead to you being here?”
“I wanted to divorce Chase and marry Easton. He wanted that, too. But money makes things complicated. Then I found out I was pregnant, which only compounded the problem. Easton and I knew our time was running out to come up with a plan. Chase and I hadn’t slept together in months, so there was no way I could pretend the child was his.”
“What happened?”
“Easton and I met to discuss our plan, but we didn’t know that Chase had already found out about us. He followed us. When he confronted us about the affair, he threatened to tell everyone. Easton was worried about the Everwines’ reputation, and he didn’t want to see such a sordid scandal leaked to the press.”
“I still don’t understand why you’re a prisoner on the third floor,” Runa inserted.
“Easton and I wanted to be together more than anything, so we set about to make that happen. We knew it was only a matter of time before my pregnancy came to light, so we had to act quickly. Easton said he needed time to get his affairs in order to ask Camille for a divorce. He said it would only be for a little while.”
Freya’s voice shook, and tears filled her eyes.
“What are you talking about, Freya?” Runa still didn’t completely understand.
“I agreed to the plan. I agreed to come up here. I agreed to disappear so that eventually everyone would believe I was dead. It was the only way we could be together.”
“Freya, you’ve been a prisoner up here for seven years!”
“I’m not a prisoner. I agreed to it. I came here willingly,” Freya defended.
“But haven’t you figured out that Easton lied to you?”
“No he didn’t!”
“He’s going to leave you here forever. He’s tucked his dirty little secret away in the attic. He never intended to divorce Camille.”
“That’s not true. Easton loves me, and I love him. We’re going to be together,” Freya insisted.
“He has you brainwashed. He never intended to set you free. You’re his hostage.”
“He’s the father of my child. He takes care of us. I agreed to this plan.”
“Freya, listen to me. Let me help you. Think of Alina. This is no life for a child.”
“I agreed to the plan,” Freya repeated numbly.
“That doesn’t matter now. Just because you agreed to the plan seven years ago doesn’t mean you have to agree now. I’ll help you. I’ll get Chase to help you,” Runa pleaded.
“Chase?” Freya laughed ruefully. “You think he’s going to help me? He was in on this from the beginning.”
“I don’t believe you. Chase had nothing to do with this. He thinks you’re dead. He mourned you for years,” Runa insisted.
“He knows everything. He’s known for seven years that I’m here, raising his father’s child on the third floor. Why do you think no one comes up here?”
Runa shook her head, trying to keep Freya’s words from taking root in her brain.
It couldn’t be true. Chase couldn’t be in on a plan to keep his wife a prisoner. It had to be a lie, because if it was true, Runa’s worst fears were confirmed.
Chase had simply married her to replace Freya, which meant he never really loved her at all.
Forty-Two
“I’m sorry, Runa. I know it’s easier to believe I’m making it all up, but it’s true. Chase is nothing but a narcissist. He couldn’t accept the fact that I didn’t love him. It was easier for him to pretend I was dead,” Freya explained.
“Mama, can I talk to the lady who looks like you now?” Alina asked as she descended the stairs from the turret.
The little girl, with her gray pallor and dull hair, put everything into dizzying perspective for Runa. Alina was an innocent child who was nothing but a pawn in a sick adult game. She needed to be protected at all costs.
Runa remembered the portrait woman demanding, “Find her.” She suddenly knew why she was there—to save Alina.
“Freya, listen to me. You have to get out of here. You have to get your daughter out of here.”
“Mama, I want to go outside. I want to feel the ocean,” Alina whined.
Freya looked back and forth between her daughter and Runa, her inner struggle written all over her face. Runa understood the decision was anything but simple. It meant choosing between the man she loved and her child.
“Freya, I know you think you love Easton, but I promise you, he’s been lying to you all along. I understand this is hard. I’m asking you to betray the man you love. But don’t do it for yourself. Do it for your daughter. Alina needs you to do the right thing for her,” Runa pleaded.
“Take me to the ocean, Mama,” Alina repeated.
As Freya considered, something shifted in her face. A look of resolve filled her eyes, and she nodded.
“Yes, Alina, yes. Let’s go see the ocean.”
“You’re making the right decision,” Runa encouraged.
“I just need to pack our things. I need a few days,” Freya decided.
“No. You don’t have time for that. The Everwines are gone right now. We need to get out of here before they come home. We have to go now.”
Not giving them a second to reconsider, Runa grabbed Freya and Alina by the hands, ushering them away from their third-floor prison. When they reached the hallway of the west wing, Runa broke into a run.
“Follow me,” she instructed as Freya and Alina ran behind her.
At the top of the staircase, they stopped.
“Wait right here. I’ll grab my car keys, and then we’re leaving. I’m not even packing a bag. We just need to get out of here. We can sort it out later,” Runa implored, not wanting Freya to change her mind.
Runa raced to her room, grabbed her purse and keys, and led them down the main stairs and into the entryway. Their hurried footsteps pounded across the marble floor, reverberating off the high ceilings as they raced toward the door.
The foyer was dark, and Runa was too focused on escaping to pay attention to the fact that they weren’t alone. She screamed as she slammed directly into Easton, who had just come in the front door. He flipped on the light, and shock and confusion distorted his features as he looked back and forth between Runa, Freya, and Alina.
In an instant, Easton’s face registered the fact that his secret was out. Camille and Chase, standing behind him, gasped as understanding dawned for them as well.
Runa’s heart pounded in her chest. Feeling like a cornered rabbit, she was overcome with fear, but she pushed it down. Freya’s sharp intake of breath and Alina’s small whimpers gave her the courage to push on.
“Get out of our way,” Runa demanded. “We’re leaving.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” Easton laughed derisively.
“We’re leaving,” Runa repeated, refusing to back down.
“Freya, take our child and go back upstairs,” Easton roared.
Freya recoiled, fear covering her face. “I’m sorry, Easton,” she sobbed.
Alina began to cry. “I want to go outside. I want to feel the ocean.”
Runa’s hands shook, and a crackle of electricity flickered in her fingertips. A flash of boldness hit her in the stomach, and she knew she would fight to the bitter end for that little girl.
“Freya and Alina are never going up there again. You’re through manipulating their feelings for you,” Runa sneered.
Firmly grabbing the hands of the frightened woman and child, Runa dragged them along with her as she advanced toward the door.
Chase sidestepped his father, planting his large body in Runa’s path, his cold smile sending shivers down her spine. “Darling, I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere. You should have left well enough alone.”
“No one is leaving this house. I will not deal with the scandal this is going to cause when it gets out,” Camille shouted as she shoved Chase aside.
“Mother, stay out of this,” he yelled.
“I told you bringing that girl here was a mistake. Why wouldn’t you listen to me?” Camille shrilled.
Turning on his mother, Chase shoved her out of his way. Camille stumbled, losing her balance. Her stiletto heel caught on the corner of the Persian rug in the foyer, tangling in the tassels. She tried to catch herself, but the force of Chase’s shove was too strong. Camille toppled to the floor, her head making a sickening thud on the unforgiving marble.
Stunned, Runa looked on in horror, waiting for Camille to move, but she didn’t. She glanced back and forth from Chase to Easton, waiting for someone to help the fallen woman. Neither man moved a muscle. Instead, they stood motionless over her body without saying a word. It seemed both men were in shock.
It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters but getting Alina away from this nightmare. Run!
The words echoed in Runa’s brain, spurring her into action. Knowing she must move quickly, she grabbed Freya and Alina, pulling them out to the porch and closing the heavy front door behind them.
All at once, headlights flickered through the darkness as a car came to a screeching halt in the driveway. Asta sprang from the driver side and ran toward the house, tears streaming down her face as she screamed for her daughter.
“Runa! Runa, are you okay?”
“Mom, you’re here,” Runa answered.
“I knew you were in danger.”
Asta’s eyes widened when she saw Freya standing next to Runa. Then her face crumpled and her body shook.
“It’s you,” Asta whispered. “How is this possible?”
“What are you talking about, Mom?” Runa asked.
“Yes, tell her what you’re talking about, Mom,” Freya echoed bitterly.
F
orty-Three
“What’s going on?” Confused, Runa looked helplessly from Asta to Freya. “Why did you call her ‘Mom’?”
“How can you be so naïve, Runa? Don’t you understand? Our mother has been lying to you your whole life,” Freya spat.
“Mom? What is she talking about?”
“I’m so sorry,” Asta sobbed.
“Why did you say ‘our mother’?” Runa asked, trying to block the truth as it pounded in her head.
“I can’t believe you haven’t figured it out. It’s so obvious. We’re twins, Runa,” Freya announced.
“Mom?” Runa gazed helplessly at Asta, begging her to put an end to the lies.
“Freya is your sister,” Asta admitted. “But I had no idea she was here.”
“How is that possible?”
“Because our mother is a liar who only cares about herself,” Freya interjected bitterly.
“I don’t expect you to understand or accept my apology,” Asta cried.
“I’ll never forgive you,” Freya hurled back at her.
“I am so sorry, Freya. I’ve had to live with my choice.”
“Sorry? Little good that does,” Freya quipped.
“Will you let me explain?” Asta begged.
“There’s no explanation good enough,” Freya threw back.
“Mom?” Runa repeated, horrified.
“I didn’t know I was having twins,” Asta said to Freya. “When you were born, I was afraid I couldn’t take care of you both. I was a child myself. I panicked. I kept Runa and gave you up for adoption.”
“You lied to me? All this time?” Runa shook her head, backing away from her mother, who continued to stare at her long-lost daughter.
“I’m sorry. A loving family wanted to adopt you, Freya. They had money. They promised to raise you well. I had no idea we would all end up here,” Asta explained tearfully.
“Mom? How could you?” Runa shook her head in disbelief.
“It broke my heart to give you away, but I thought I was doing what was best,” Asta pleaded with Freya.
“You can see how well that turned out, can’t you?” Freya hurled at her mother.
Suddenly the front door opened, and Easton stomped onto the porch. His eyes were crazy and wild, and he was brandishing a shiny silver handgun.