Page 41 of The Silence of Monsters

“No one was there. No one knew you survived the fire, Archie. She’s the person who hurt you. She killed your wife.”

I was stunned. I always knew Colette had a hand in orchestrating my sister’s death, but what Win just said made it sound like she outright murdered Willow. There was never an accident. It was a manufactured tragedy. Willow had been a scapegoat all along. When I got full feeling back in my limbs, I was going to tear Colette Halliday to pieces. Well, I’d seek vengeance if I survived the impending explosion.

“My wife?” The muffled words were hard to understand. The shaky finger pointed in my direction was much easier to decipher. “Willow.”

I tried to get Win to put me down once again, but his attention was fully on his brother.

“This isn’t Willow. This is Channing. Willow is gone because Mom killed her. She started the fire but only saved you. Remember, Archie?”

“Enough!” Colette barked the word and marched threateningly toward Win. It seemed surreal this was playing out in one of the most well-known colonial estates in the country. The lifestyle of the rich and famous was supposed to be above something as mundane as murder. Though, it made sense that the more you had, the more you were likely to lose. And the less ethical and rational you became to keep it all.

Win reluctantly set me down so I wasn’t an easy target pinned to his chest. My knees were too gooey to hold my weight. I slumped to the floor and noticed I was right next to the fireplace. Silently, I started to feel around for a ledge, thinking there might be another hidden entrance in the hearth. We had to get out of the room, and going through Colette and her gun didn’t seem like an option. The woman had our demise perfectly planned. We couldn’t out-calculate her. And while Win could definitely overpower her, the space was small enough that there was a real danger of a wayward shot hitting either me or his brother. Plus, Win wasn’t exactly familiar with brute force. His life up to this point was too soft. If we managed to survive this, I was going to nag him to learn how to hold his own in a bare-knuckle fight. It was a useless skill for a billionaire, but any man as annoying as Win Halliday should possess it.

Without warning, Archie moved. He grabbed his mother from behind, his thin hands clamping down on her arms to reach for the gun.

“Fire. Hot. Burning. Willow sleeping. Why won’t she wake up? Where’s Winnie?” The questions were garbled, and his lifeless eyes suddenly glowed with vengeance. “She wanted to leave. You wouldn’t let her!”

“Let go of me! Be a good boy, Archie.” The gun swung wildly as the two wrestled.

While they were distracted, I grabbed Win’s hand and pulled with my limited strength. “Open this passageway! Hurry!” I pointed to the oxygen canister. “If that’s open, and the gun goes off, we’re all going to die.”

He was much faster on the uptake than I would be. He dropped and helped me lift the heavy marble hearth. It opened easily, indicating frequent use. Colette screamed like a banshee and demanded her younger son let her go. Archie couldn’t put up a lengthy battle. That’s why he had to incapacitate me with the same drugs his mother used to keep him docile. No wonder he was haunting his childhood home in the dark. He wasn’t a ghost. He was searching for one.

“I’ll kill what’s left of your family, Archie! Behave! Why are you stupid boys always messing up my plans? This family would be nothing without me.”

As soon as the gap in the floor was visible, Win shoved my sluggish body into the dark hole. I reached out to clutch his arm, trying to pull him down with me. His stormy eyes locked on mine with regret, and the line of his mouth was ferociously grim.

“I can’t leave my brother behind again. Get somewhere safe and wait for me.” He squeezed my hand and tried to straighten up. I kept my tight grip on him.

“Now is not the time for you to be a hero. One wrong move and no one is making it out of this fucking cursed house.”

He kissed my fingers and pried them off his arm. “I missed every other time I should’ve been the hero, Channing. I can’t let my little brother down.” I argued as he started to close the hidden entrance, but he ignored my pleas and muttered, “Maybe the best thing is for the Halliday name to go away for good. Winnie has always been more of a Harvey, anyway.”

I wanted to scream and climb out of the security of the subterranean stairway, but the drug still coursing through my veins slowed my actions. I tried to crawl toward him. It didn’t do any good. Win seemed determined to lock me away from the massacre unfolding a few feet away.

Suddenly, a new voice joined the fray. I wasn’t familiar enough with Win’s assistant to recognize him by sound alone. It wasn’t until Win called Conrad’s name and told him to put down yet another gun that I realized the situation had taken another turn for the worse. I attempted to crawl to the top of the stairs, but it was slow going.

“Conrad, this room is filled with flammable gas. If anyone fires a weapon, we’re all going to die.” I heard him exhale a long, slow breath. “While my mother and I might deserve such an ending, my younger brother doesn’t. He’s had half his life stolen from him. He’s not well. You need to let him go.”

“I don’t need to do anything. I’ve got a gun I took from Rocco. Serves him right for always thinking he was better than me. I swear, rich people are so incompetent. You all think you’re untouchable. The truth is, you’re all so fucking fragile. The minute something doesn’t go the way you want, you’re ready to burn the world to the ground rather than think of a compromising solution. I’ve had enough of the entitled bullshit to last a lifetime.”

By the time I managed to peek over the lip of the opening, the dynamic in the room had changed drastically. Win’s mother was now pointing her gun at his assistant, screaming that he was messing up her plan. If there were extra bullets at the scene, a murder-suicide would be a harder sell. Win stashed his younger brother protectively behind his body. There was still a weapon directed at the center of Win’s chest, but the threat had changed.

Even though I was bitter about the abduction, I stuck out my hand and grabbed the bottom of Archie’s sweatpants. I tugged until the incoherent young man responded. Fortunately, he was familiar with the secret passageways, so getting him to duck down into the safety underneath the toxic manor went smoother than any part of the rescue mission thus far.

Colette was arguing with the man she’d hired to subvert most of Win’s life. They were screaming about who was responsible for all of the Halliday’s great achievements, forgetting that the Halliday who actually put in the work was directly in the line of fire. Once Archie was fully out of sight. I whisper-yelled that it was time to retreat, but Win refused to acknowledge me.

“Didn’t you just tell me you would never be a CEO, Conrad? Haven’t you been planning to take my spot since my mother first approached you?” Win shook his head, but finally stepped backward, closer to the opening. He was too far away from me to grab without exposing myself. I made a mental note to chew him up one side and down the other for being so unnecessarily heroic. I understood the man had regrets about the way he’d lived his life until now, but catching a bullet wasn’t the correct way to make amends.

“You never should’ve been in charge of Halliday Inc. You think it’s a burden. You treat the company as if it’s boring and redundant when it’s the lifeline for so many. It’s not your dream; it’s worthless to you. You aspired to be a musician and you’ve been crying about your mommy making you give up the violin for years. You’re pathetic, Win. You’ve never appreciated anything you have. Colette should’ve taken you out instead of your father. At least he showed up and played his part without complaint.”

I gasped. I’d never expected to find out Colette was behind multiple murders when I went adventuring under this cursed house. Marrying Win was bringing me truths that I never would’ve imagined were possible.

Lady Halliday was a killer.

“Enough.” Colette whipped around and pointed her gun back at her son.

Win stood still, just out of reach.

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