The Lost Sister

by Megan Kelley Hall

  Tess , she thought sadly. How could she not have known that Tess had passed away? She thought about that terrible night—the night that was recapped in the newspaper. The night at Ravenswood when her mother tried to take her own life. The night that everyone she cared about: Maddie, Finn, Rebecca, Tess, all could have been killed. The night that claimed Tess’s life. Cordelia believed that Tess knew all along what was happening at Ravenswood and that she traded her life to save Rebecca’s. It was the only thing that made sense.

  Cordelia started to cry, coming to the realization that all of this could have been caused by her leaving. Everything. Tess’s dementia and death, Rebecca’s attempted suicide, Finn and Reed thought of as suspects in not only her disappearance, but now in the murder of Darcy Willett.

  And what had it been for? Because she was angry that she’d been lied to for so many years about her father. Because she was treated so horribly by the Sisters of Misery, as well as Abigail. Because she felt like she was trapped in a town that despised her.

  Her boots crunched through the fallen leaves, patches of ice and snow, and underbrush. Could Maddie really be waiting for her out there? She had imagined this reunion so many times in her mind, ever since she’d taken off to Maine. Once she came upon her cousin—or half sister or whatever she was to her now—Cordelia would jump out from behind a rotted stump, a crown of wildflowers in her hair, lips dyed bright red from fallen berries, yelling, “Aha! Who dares awaken Queen Mab from her sweet fairy dreams?”

  They would then fall into the softness that only forest floors possess, laughing and giggling until the last few rays of sun seeped into the woods and the mosquitoes hummed greedily in their ears. Then they would trudge home along the path and Maddie would tell Cordelia of all the trouble she had caused, and what a big deal was made of her vanishing act. Cordelia would smile wickedly, all the while concocting a remarkable tale of her adventures. She was taken away by fairies that were plotting to return a changeling to her mother instead—an evil being who resembled Cordelia, but was actually sent to do evil bidding. Or perhaps a roving band of robbers took her into captivity, forcing her to pilfer in exchange for her life. Or instead, she might say that modern day pirates nabbed her while she was collecting sea glass along the glossy black harbor rocks.

  Cordelia heard rustling to her left, but realized it was only two chipmunks playing tag, scuttling from under a rock and up into a birch tree. Cordelia insisted that the stories she told Maddie about encounters with fairies and elves, spirits and magic were true, even if Maddie refused to believe. For some reason it was of imminent importance that Cordelia open Maddie’s mind to the impossible. She had grown up in a town that had such a narrow view of the world that Cordelia felt it was her responsibility to introduce Maddie to fairy tales, to magic, to all the wonderful things that made every day and night mysterious and exquisite. She described to Maddie her encounters with members of the elvin world when she had lived abroad in Ireland; lithe fairies with glittery wings that beat faster than a hummingbird yet were more graceful than a butterfly. Once, Cordelia told Maddie, she happened upon a fairy ring one night and watched the fairies dance and fly up into the starlit night. Another night she had come upon gruesome gnarled trolls that lived in the gullies along the roadside, waiting to snatch a wandering child and drag him deep into the crevices of the earth.

  At night, Maddie sat at the foot of Cordelia’s bed as they whispered and giggled. Cordelia remembered those times fondly as she spun incredible tales of mermaids, demons, sorcery, and magic, watching Maddie’s eyes grow larger with every word. Then, at the end of the tales, Maddie would creep downstairs to her own bed. Cordelia giggled as she imagined her cousin shivering all night at every strange sound and creak, trying to decipher if the stories were real or not.

  Cordelia should have known at the time that they were sisters. That’s what sisters do: they tease each other, they play games, they taunt, they tell stories. She was as angry with herself for not knowing, as she was at Rebecca and Tess for not telling her. Cordelia wondered if Maddie even knew. Probably not, she figured, because if Maddie had known that they were sisters, she would have gone looking for her sooner. At least, she hoped that would be the case.

  It was when she finally got to Old Captain Potter’s Tavern and stepped into the circle of light thrown by the lantern and saw Maddie’s face that she realized what she’d done. Maddie’s face was racked with a look of pain, horror, relief, and sadness. It was the look that sisters give each other when they’ve done something wrong. Emotions swelled within her and she started to cry.

  “What have I done?” Cordelia wailed.

  “It’s okay,” Maddie said in a comforting tone. “You’re back now. We’ll fix everything. We’ll do it together. We’re sisters, remember?”

  Cordelia nodded dumbly, and repeated the word sisters .

  Cordelia was taken aback at how strong Maddie seemed. It was as if Maddie were the older sister welcoming back the reckless, thoughtless little sister, calming her down after a tantrum. Cordelia was finally home. That was all that mattered.

  Sisters.

  Maddie knew that Cordelia was panicked when she received the phone call. She couldn’t believe that after all this time—all this heartache and anguish and fear—all of it ended with a quick phone call in the middle of the night. She wanted to rush right out and get Cordelia, whisk her away from whatever demons had been keeping her from returning all these months, but instead they made a plan to meet each other at Captain Potter’s Tavern—a place that was hidden and neutral—a place where Cordelia wouldn’t get spooked and slip away into the night like a fairy mist. Her voice was shaking on the phone. She didn’t sound like the crazy person that her mother had described her as in those last moments spent in Hawthorne. And yet there was a nagging feeling that wouldn’t go away.

  Now here they were, driving in Abigail’s ancient station wagon, so many questions between them, so many things left unsaid. Maddie barely knew where to start.

  Cordelia wasn’t ready to return and face the old Victorian and all of those memories at Mariner’s Way just yet. Instead they drove to the harbor, parking in a spot that overlooked Misery Island. Maddie ran into the coffee shop and grabbed two steaming cups and some muffins for the two of them. She raced back to the car, half expecting Cordelia to have vanished—for all of it to have been another one of her inexplicably real dreams.

  Cordelia greedily ate the muffin and sipped at the coffee. They sat in silence, looking at the shifting waters for a little while before either of them said a word.

  “I always thought you blamed me,” Maddie said quietly. “I thought that you would hate me forever.”

  “You’re the one who should hate me,” Cordelia said with a laugh, but there was a sadness in her voice. “I had no idea all that would happen—how everything would just get so messed up when I left. With Tess, with my mom…” It seemed like she was trying to fight back tears. “I just thought that my leaving this town and making our father pay for what he had done—I don’t know, that somehow it would make things right again.”

  “And what would killing our father have done to help any of us?” Maddie asked, almost scolding her half sister.

  Cordelia shrugged. “I was just so angry. I wanted someone to pay.”

  “If anyone should pay, it’s Kate Endicott,” Maddie said, and then added, “y’know, an eye for an eye?”

  “With Kate it should be a heart for a heart,” Cordelia offered. “If she even has one.” They both laughed.

  “Still, I was there that night. I could have stopped things. If there’s anyone to blame, i
t’s me,” Maddie offered quietly.

  “No, no, not you. I’ve never, ever blamed you, Maddie. You have to believe that.”

  Maddie wanted to head back to the house, but Cordelia was worried about facing Abigail. Maddie assured her that the coast was clear. Abigail was going to be tied up at Fairview for hours, trying to figure out how Rebecca had escaped from the facility, as well as fill out additional paperwork to make sure that it never happened again.

  “How can you not blame me? I mean, they were my friends. I invited you,” Maddie insisted.

  “You had no idea what was going to happen out there. Believe me, I probably knew more about the situation than you did.”

  “But I…” Maddie couldn’t bring herself to say that she had struck Cordelia in the head with a rock—the horrific image that would remained burned into her memory forever. Perhaps Cordelia didn’t even remember.

  They continued driving toward the house, an awkward silence hanging over them for a few minutes.

  “You were doing what you had to do for your own survival,” Cordelia assured her. “I know that you’re strong, but there’s no way that you could have survived that night. I made the choice to be in your place. It was my choice, not yours.”

  “But it was a choice you should never have had to make in the first place.”

  Cordelia smiled as she looked out the window. “I know, but sisters have to make sacrifices for each other once in a while, right?”

  Maddie smiled as she looked over at Cordelia.

  Sisters. That’s what they really were. It seemed like she almost knew from the start. Tess knew. Maddie wondered if that was why she was so adamant that they stick together…“no matter what.”

  They pulled into the driveway and Cordelia hesitated before unlocking her seat belt.

  “Don’t worry, my mom isn’t here.”

  “That’s not it,” Cordelia stammered. “It’s—it’s just…”

  “Too many bad memories,” Maddie offered.

  “Yeah,” Cordelia said, stilted. “Too many bad memories.” What she didn’t tell Maddie—or couldn’t—was that the pictures in her mind were not of things that had already happened, but of what was yet to come.

  Chapter 20

  THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

  Unexpected opportunities. Good fortune that is unexpected. Coincidences. Luck. The beginning of a new cycle. Advancement. Positive upheaval. Change. A card of good fortune, the appearance of destiny and karmic change .

  T he night of the fires also marked another local tragedy. Bronwyn Maxwell was missing.

  It was all over the news the next evening. It happened a week and a half after Darcy was killed and at the exact time Cordelia returned to Hawthorne. So, obviously, Abigail scrutinized Cordelia upon her return.

  Even Maddie had her doubts. Could it have been just a massive coincidence that Ravenswood—now thought to be the result of arson—went up in flames the very night that Cordelia returned home? Had Cordelia sent those tarot cards? Was that some type of warning of what she planned to do?

  “Why don’t you just come out and say it, Abigail?” Cordelia snapped at her aunt when she received a very bristly, cold shoulder after Abigail returned from her visit with Rebecca. Maddie noticed that Abigail’s demeanor had softened quite a bit since she began visiting Rebecca—only now with Cordelia back, all of her anger had a new target. “You think I’m to blame for all of this—for my mother’s institutionalization, for Darcy, for Bronwyn. Hell, you probably also think that I torched Ravenswood.”

  Abigail held Cordelia’s gaze firmly. Neither one was going to back down. Maddie could feel it. They were like two dogs baring their teeth at each other, each taunting the other to make the first move.

  “Don’t be silly,” Abigail scoffed. “I don’t blame you for any of those tragic events. What I do hold you responsible for are your actions. I just don’t think you realized how many people you hurt by taking off like that.”

  “How many people I hurt? Me?” Cordelia yelled. “That’s hilarious coming from you. I guess the view must be pretty nice for you up there on your high horse. Or maybe it would better be described as a glass castle.”

  Abigail smirked. “I wasn’t the one to throw the first stone.”

  Maddie froze as her mother suddenly eyed her. What did her mother know about that night? Did Rebecca tell her? Could she have heard it from one of the Sisters of Misery? Maddie’s face turned red and she turned to leave. Cordelia grabbed Maddie’s arm protectively.

  “If anyone is to blame for setting the wheels in motion of all that has happened, it’s you—and Kate Endicott. That’s some wonderful company to keep, by the way.”

  Abigail smiled in a Cheshire cat sort of way. “If memory serves me right, it was your mother that really started all of this about seventeen years ago.”

  Cordelia turned bright red. If steam could actually come out of someone’s ears, it would be happening right now. She turned on her heel, grabbed her coat, and raced out the front door.

  “Mother!” Maddie scolded. “Cordelia had nothing to do with who her father is. You know that.”

  “All I know is that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I’d keep your Luke fellow far from Cordelia if I were you. Like mother, like daughter.” With her mouth in a grim, straight line, Abigail turned into the kitchen and started angrily slamming the cabinets.

  Maddie took off after Cordelia, struggling to keep up with her, which was no easy task as Cordelia’s gait was much longer and faster than her own. She was a girl on a mission. Her hair flew wildly behind her as she hurried down the street.

  “Wait, wait,” Maddie said, out of breath as she reached for Cordelia. “Where are we going?”

  “We have to talk to Finn.”

  “They won’t let us in to see him. You know that he and Reed are being held for questioning.”

  Unfortunately, the prime suspects—Reed and Finn—were brought back in for questioning when Bronwyn disappeared. Only this time, the police weren’t as quick to release them. They were being held indefinitely and—from the looks of it—the police weren’t looking too hard for another suspect in the crimes. Cordelia hadn’t even had a chance to reconnect with them, but that wasn’t deterring her from getting in to see them, or from finding out the truth.

  The walk to the police station wasn’t that far, but the sight of Cordelia back in town spread like wildfire. Maddie could hear the murmurs of surprise and anger and disbelief as the two girls whisked through the crowded streets of the annual Winter Festival.

  Cordelia, dressed in her long black coat, hair now returned to its natural shock of red curls, stood out among a sea of washed-out onlookers.

  Is that the girl who disappeared last year?

  Yes, the one who drove her mother to try to kill herself.

  I heard she had an affair with Bronwyn’s boyfriend. If you ask me, I think she had something to do with the girl’s disappearance.

  I think she set Ravenswood on fire to get back at Kate Endicott. You know how girls can be. So catty. So vicious.

  She’s a witch, you know. You can tell by just looking at her. She was sent to bring a reign of terror on this town. She can’t be stopped.

  Ma
ddie heard the women in town talking, so obviously Cordelia heard the harsh words being spoken about her. But she never seemed to let any of it bother her. She even seemed to enjoy it. In fact, she made a point of looking straight into people’s eyes when their paths crossed. Maddie had never been so proud.

  “Let us in to see them, Sully,” Maddie demanded.

  “Not happening,” he shot back in his typical smug manner. “Out of my hands now that they’ve called in the big guns from Boston. No one gets to see O’Malley or Campbell until the big bosses give the go-ahead.”

  Cordelia asked, “Why are they even suspects?”

  “Well,” said Sully, scratching his goatee, “Reed is Bronwyn’s fiancé, despite what you might think, Maddie.”

  “What is that supposed to mean, Sully?” Maddie snapped. Sully held his hands up in the air as if to say he wasn’t going to get involved.

  “And Finn?” Cordelia asked impatiently, ignoring Sully’s taunts to Maddie. “What about him? Why is he a suspect?”

  “Well, because the last dead girl in town turned up wearing his jacket and if I recall correctly, he was held as a suspect in a missing girl case last year. Do you remember that, Cordelia?”

  “Obviously, he’s not responsible for kidnapping me, Sully. I’m standing right here in front of you!” She stamped her foot angrily.

  “Well, go on and plead your case to the Boston officers. I’m sure they’d love the chance to talk to the girl that wasted all the taxpayers’ dollars on a bogus statewide manhunt last year. I’m sure you’re at the top of their list right now.”

  Cordelia glowered at him. “Well, you did a bang-up job at tracking me down, didn’t you?”

  “Wouldn’t go down that road if I were you, Miss LeClaire. You and your mother aren’t exactly the toast of the town these days,” he said.