Page 2 of Moonlit Thorns

My mom is listlessly moving her eggs around her plate. I don’t know if she’s even registering the conversation right now.

I pass my grandmother the crumpled notice, and her age-spotted hands with swollen knuckles smooth the paper out on the table next to her plate. She holds it at arm’s length because she doesn’t have her reading glasses. She must be at the part that says we have to vacate the premises because she glances at me, unable to disguise her alarm. When she finishes reading, she puts a hand to her chest and sets the crumpled paper on the table saying nothing.

“What is it?” Luke asks. When neither of us answers, he pushes his chair out and leans across the table to grab the paper.

“It’s a mistake, right?” I ask my grandmother while Luke reads. Even though I’m sure the Voss family doesn’t make errors, especially the eldest of the four Voss brothers.

“I can’t be sure.” Her voice is smaller than I’ve ever heard.

“What the fuck!” The paper slips from Luke’s grip, dropping to the table.

“Watch your mouth,” my grandmother says, regaining some of her elegant composure.

“Apologies.” He lets his head dip. “Anabelle’s right, this is just some mix-up or a prank.”

“The Voss family aren’t known for being pranksters,” my grandmother says.

That’s putting it mildly. The four brothers who live high on the hill in Midnight Manor are known for a lot of things—being billionaires and untouchable, mysterious deaths, the vast number of unmarked vehicles that roll onto their property once a month—but definitely not their sense of humor.

“It has to be a mistake. This property has been in our family for well over a hundred years. There’s no way Dad would have taken a loan and risked Oak Haven, especially with the Vosses no less.”

“Frances,” my grandmother says gently.

For once, my mom acknowledges her name. “Yes?”

“When the lawyer gave you everything for the estate, did you see anything about the Voss family?”

My mother’s eyes gloss over. “Do you know when Heath will be home?”

A pained sound, similar to a wounded animal, escapes my throat.

This isn’t the first time since my father’s death she’s asked about him as though he’s still among the living. I don’t know whether she’s losing her mind entirely or if her confusion is a by-product of the medication her doctor put her on after my father’s death to help her through the process.

“Safe to say she’s not going to be any help,” my brother sneers.

I glare at my brother. He’s taken my mother’s new mindset personally. I understand his anger. Our mother was always alive and vivacious, so full of love for her family. I’m sure it’s horrible trying to carry on without our father, but she has to try.

My grandmother pushes away from the table. “I’ll get the papers from the lawyer and see what I can find.”

I snatch the paper off the table. “I’m not waiting. I’m going directly to the source.”

My brother’s chair legs screech along the floor, and he stomps around the table until he’s standing in front of me. He places his hands on my shoulders and dips his head so we’re at eye level. “You’re not going to Midnight Manor, Belle.”

My chest squeezes from him using the nickname my dad had for me. “It’s the fastest way to get answers, and if this is true, it’s the only way to find out what we can do to keep the estate.”

Luke shakes his head. “No way. We can figure something else out. That place…”

He doesn’t finish his sentence. He doesn’t have to. Midnight Manor is where our father died.

“I have to. If there’s any chance of us losing our ancestral home, I have to see if there’s a way to stop it. It’s what Dad would have wanted.”

His lips press into a thin line, and his jaw clenches because we both know I’m right. “Then I’ll go.”

“Not happening, little brother. You stay here and help Grandmother search through the lawyer’s papers. Look after Mom.”

He looks relieved, and I can’t blame him. Midnight Manor is not a place I want to go either, but this is too important to wait.

Luke nods. “Be careful.”

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