Page 30 of The Silence of Monsters

My heart pounded. “The third time.”

The first occurrence was when I asked my mother if I truly had to give up the violin. The second was when I asked Channing if she was going to let me in so I could fuck her. This was the third. There may have been another question scattered somewhere here or there throughout the years, but it certainly didn’t happen often.

I was about to touch our lips together when my cell phone rang. The sound broke whatever pleasant lull we’d fallen into.

I wasn’t surprised to see Conrad’s name on the screen. My assistant and Rocco were two of the only people who would call me when I had personal business to attend to. Channing climbed to her feet and disappeared up the stairs. I let out a string of swear words as I watched her go. It always felt like the peaceful moments between us were fleeting.

“This better be important.” I impatiently tapped my fingers on the railing.

“It is. There’s an issue with the zoning permissions on the project we just signed the contracts for. Nothing can move forward until it gets straightened out.” I could hear the urgency in Conrad’s voice. “You need to fly back to England and meet with the lawyers. This is a high- priority project.”

“Why can’t the legal department handle this?” Normally, I’d drop everything and fly halfway across the world. Right now, my top priority had to be my niece. I paid millions of dollars in legal fees to delegate tasks of this sort down the chain of command.

“If the project is delayed, we need to find an entirely different company to contract the construction. The team we’re working with now has back-to-back jobs for another developer. You need to smooth things over with the zoning commission or sign off on a new contractor. This can only be handled by you, Win.” Conrad’s tone was succinct. “I never had to explain things like this before you got married.” I could hear the frustration in his tone.

I weighed the profits and losses in my head, even though there was no getting around making the trip.

“Figure out travel arrangements. I’ll be back in the city in a couple of hours.” I swore under my breath and grumbled, “The timing of this could not be any worse.”

Conrad sighed like he was just as displeased as I was. “Have Rocco stay behind to keep watch over the girls if you’re that worried about them.”

I grunted as I started up the steps toward my wing of the manor.

It was a good idea. But I couldn’t shake the irritation that someone else would be responsible for the safety of the people I cared the most about.

I wanted that to be my job. Not salvaging a billion-dollar deal.

Channing

After Win departed for his emergency business trip, Winnie was a wreck. It didn’t matter if I spent all day stuck to her side like glue; she was still overwhelmingly afraid. I thought that having Rocco shadow her might give her some comfort. It didn’t. She was even more tense around the large man, as if she was worried that he might report her concerning behavior back to Win. She didn’t want to be a burden, but it was impossible not to worry about her. She wasn’t sleeping very well. She didn’t have much of an appetite. Her focus was all over the place, and she was having a hard time with her classes. She was struggling to keep her emotions in check even though there hadn’t been another monster sighting and the sounds from the walls completely disappeared. I felt like I was watching the way my sister slowly faded away all over again.

If Winnie wasn’t in the middle of a school year, I would’ve taken her to the city and camped out at Salome’s until she stopped jumping out of her skin at every single sound. I couldn’t care less what Colette had to say. I settled for a rushed backup plan to keep Winnie’s attention diverted to help with her anxiety. I called Beverly, the opera singer from the gala, and told her I wanted to take her up on her offer for singing lessons. My niece needed to get out of the house. Beverly immediately agreed and gave me her schedule. I sent Winnie off with Rocco when the time came, and Beverly was available. While she was away at her lesson, I spent the morning poking around the manor. Win promised to track down the original building plans, but he had his hands full with whatever was going on overseas. I’d barely spoken to him since he left. When we managed to connect, we only had time for a quick update about Winnie.

I was determined to locate any secret doors or hidden passageways. I went through Win’s suite and came up empty-handed. Nothing was out of place or noticeably covered. The walls appeared to be solid, even hidden behind the furniture. Winnie’s room showed no signs of alterations. I went as far as to climb around in the closets looking for attic access, but I came up with nothing more than frustration and a hacking cough from the dust.

I attempted to pick through the empty wing of the manor where my sister had lived. I was surprised to find every door in that area of the house sealed shut. I rattled all the doorknobs and even tried to kick in the door of Winnie’s old nursery. It didn’t take long for one of Colette’s staff to appear out of nowhere and inform me I was not allowed in that section of the house. When I asked why everything was locked, there was no response. I found the situation suspicious. However, I did my best not to push my luck when Win wasn’t around. A full-blown confrontation between me and his mother with no referee was more than likely going to end with one of us doing something drastic. Regardless of who was at fault if things blew up between me and her, there was zero question who would be facing any consequences.

Since Winnie was gone for the day and I couldn’t move freely around the Halliday estate, I decided to visit the mausoleum where my sister’s ashes were laid to rest. I always thought Willow would have hated to be confined in such a small, dull space. I’d wanted to take her somewhere beautiful and vibrant to give her a beautiful send off. My older sister would definitely prefer to spend her ever-after carried across the world by the whim of the wind. Unfortunately, my mom was so hysterical, and in such denial after Willow’s death, she refused to accept that her eldest daughter was dead. It took locking Willow away in this dreadful place for my mom to snap out of her fugue state and comprehend that Willow was gone. She kept my sister in a static, lifeless location so she could visit her anytime she wanted. Little did either of us know that she was going to have an irreparable break from reality and wouldn’t be able to visit Willow at all. I often toyed around with the idea of setting my sister free and leaving her urn empty. No one in my family would ever know the difference. The only thing that stopped me was paying for an empty spot in the mausoleum. I couldn’t throw my money away on something just to make a point. But now that Win was in the picture, I might liberate her ashes.

I always brought flowers when I visited my sister. It annoyed me to no end that she was trapped in a wall with strangers. Archie was buried somewhere on the Halliday property with his father and generations of Hallidays that came before them. Of course, Colette wouldn’t let the spouses spend an eternity together. Different burial sites meant that Winnie rarely got to visit her mother, even though Colette forced her to spend time at her father’s grave once a week. It was grossly unfair.

I spoke out loud to the picture of Willow on the marble slab. I told her how Winnie was doing and shared my concerns about her daughter. I unloaded all my pent-up feelings regarding Win and our fake marriage. I told her how desperately I missed hearing her advice. I vented about the ongoing war with her mother-in-law, and I told her that I still hated the Cove with every fiber of my being. I rambled on about meeting Alistair and how there was finally a member of the Halliday brood, aside from her daughter, who wasn’t completely awful.

When I ran out of words, I cried. It happened every visit. I lost the hold over my grief. Whenever I looked at that smiling picture of a vibrant young woman who was gone too soon, I fell apart. Willow had loved me unconditionally. She never made me feel like I was too much or not enough. Since our mom was often difficult to deal with, and our father was a certified scumbag, Willow more or less raised me. I felt alone even though my parents were still around. Without Willow, I had no one to depend on. I had to face all of life’s ups and downs by myself. I carried everything alone. My best qualities were directly attributed to her, and she always forgave my worst. She would have been the most amazing mom to Winnie because she’d had tons of practice with me.

Once I was out of tears, I wiped off my face with my sleeve and pulled myself together, just like I always did. I told Willow I would be back soon and promised to bring Winnie on my next trip.

I hopped on my restored bicycle and rode into the tiny downtown of the Cove. Since it was off-season, the main street was mostly empty. I didn’t have to fight any sunburned, flip-flop-wearing crowds when I stopped to grab a smoothie. I sat outside and marveled at the empty streets and muted atmosphere. It was nothing like people watching in the city. I’d left this idyllic, coastal town the moment I was able. With my extensive dating history, I would never survive in a town where everyone knew everyone else. As soon as I dumped or got dumped, the entire population of Halliday Cove would know all the gory details. I would never have come back if Win hadn’t blackmailed me.

By the time I finished my drink, Winnie texted that she was ready to be picked up from Beverly’s place.

I rode to the house that was still on the seaside but not up a cliff. It was a modern mansion. Colette would turn her nose up at it, even if it cost several million dollars and she saw Beverly as an appropriate match for Win. The young woman met me at the gates and walked with me to the impressive entryway. The landscaping was lovely but not in the same league as the Queen of Hearts’ gardens that sprawled around the Halliday estate. I planned to grab Winnie and head back to the manor, but Beverly’s family insisted we both stay for dinner. Her parents and younger brother were incredibly welcoming. Beverly’s mother was a stunning Hispanic woman, and her father was a distinguished African American. It was no wonder Beverly was so beautiful. She got her distinct looks from both sides of the family. Winnie and Beverly’s brother actually attended the same school but were in different grades. They were familiar with one another in passing. My niece seemed more relaxed surrounded by Beverly’s family than she had been all week.

I felt like I could finally breathe once Winnie started smiling and laughing again. It was an immense relief that she finally ate a full meal and didn’t pick at the food on her plate. We stayed through dessert. When it was time to head home, Rocco insisted on driving us back to the estate. Because the big man was only following orders to keep Winnie safe, I decided it wasn’t worth a fight.

After saying an obligatory good night to her grandmother, Winnie took a quick shower and almost immediately zonked out. It was the first night she slept in her bed. I stayed with her until I was positive she wasn’t going to wake up as soon as I left. She’d been having nightmares. It was likely that she would jolt awake later, which meant I only had a couple of hours to myself.

I took a shower, making sure I locked all the doors, and kept an eye on the bathroom entry while I washed my hair and scrubbed my body. I’d been on high alert for disturbances ever since my hairbrush vanished. Fortunately, nothing weird happened, and the walls remained silent.

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