Page 40 of The Silence of Monsters

I wanted to dropkick something. That woman was always at the center of every fucked-up scenario.

“I’ll bring Winnie to see you, Archie. I’ll make sure you get everything you want, but you can’t take Channing. She’s mine. I’m sorry about what happened to Willow, but they aren’t the same. Don’t listen to anything our mother promises you. She’s been lying to both of us for a long time.” I took a deep breath and held Channing close to my chest. She was still limp and lifeless, but the soft moans stopped, and her eyelids were fluttering. “Mother started the fire. Do you remember?”

I wasn’t sure how Archie’s mental state was after all the trauma he’d suffered. I hoped I might trigger his memories with the right prompt.

Before my brother could respond, a muffled bang echoed throughout the large estate. I wanted to run, but I was hesitant to hurt my younger brother.

“Gun.” Channing whispered the word so softly I barely heard it.

At first, I thought she was trying to tell me that Archie had a gun. I should’ve known. My innocent, simple little brother would never have the heart to shoot someone, no matter how damaged he was. My mother, on the other hand — she didn’t have a heart at all.

I was certain of the fact as she stepped around a frozen, befuddled Archie and pointed a weapon directly at me.

Channing

My limbs felt like they were made of soggy pasta, and my head felt like it was full of cotton candy. I could barely keep my eyes open, but I was no longer alone with the creepy doll and my attacker. I didn’t see Win, so much as I sensed him. A lot of the panic and fear that rose to the surface once some of my awareness came back online was tempered by the feel of powerful arms holding me and the steady heartbeat underneath my ear. I sensed Win was tense and angry and was trying to unwind his words in my fuzzy brain. It sounded like he was carrying on a conversation with his dead brother. Which was concerning, but not as much as the gunshot echoing through the halls of the massive estate. I’d lived in the city long enough to be intimately familiar with the noise.

I attempted to warn Win that his rescue was about to go tits up when I heard him ask, “Where did you get that gun, Mother?”

Colette laughed like Win just told the best joke in the world. I never thought the woman had a sense of humor — and I was right.

“If you were more invested in the legacy that comes with your last name, you would know this pistol has been handed down to every generation of Hallidays since the nineteen-twenties. It was a gift to your grandparents from the Winchester heiress before she died. It’s where your father came up with your name.”

Win’s dissatisfaction rumbled from his chest. “Isn’t the Winchester heiress the woman who lost most of her family and built a never-ending mansion out of guilt because she was compelled by all the souls lost to her family’s firearms?” Even through the fog filtering around my brain, I could hear the irony in his question.

I wiggled my fingers and got the faintest response. Whatever anesthetic my captor pumped into my veins was slowly starting to dissipate. I needed to be mobile so Win didn’t have to fight two-on-one. Without the gun pointed at him, he could take them. With the weapon in play, the other side had a distinct advantage.

“There isn’t time for a history lesson, Winchester. You’ve made quite a mess of everything, haven’t you?” Colette sounded as arrogant and unfeeling as always. It seemed holding her beloved heir at gunpoint barely fazed her.

“I heard the gunshot, Mother. Who did you shoot at?” Win’s voice was strained, and I realized he was trying to buy time. Rocco was undoubtedly close behind. He was waiting for the rescuer to be rescued. “I know there’s no chance you’ll pull that trigger while you’re facing me. If you do, you risk losing everything you’ve worked so hard for.”

My head lolled to the side, and I saw Colette pat the thin shoulder of the man who dragged me into the bedroom.

“I’ve always had two sons. Of course, I wanted you to be obedient and marry someone suitable. I wanted you to give me a high-quality grandchild who would eventually take your place. But you’ve always been difficult and stubborn, and Winnie takes after her mother far too much for my liking. Your brother is much easier to deal with. Why do you think I’ve been taking care of him all this time? It was out of necessity.” She walked fully into the room and pushed the silent man behind her who was still staring at me obsessively. “If you anticipate your security team riding bravely to your rescue, I’m afraid that won’t be possible. I ran into Rocco. He’s currently incapacitated and won’t be able to save you or alert the rest of the team that there’s a problem.”

My skin prickled like a thousand needles were stabbing me at once. Colette was evil. It was still shocking to hear just how conniving and vile she could be. Could you even be called a mother if you were only keeping your child alive for spare parts? How could Colette see her own flesh and blood as nothing more than a tool for breeding? It was disgusting on so many levels.

I moved my head and caught Win’s eye. He hugged me closer and nodded when I mouthed, “That’s Archie?” I was baffled. How had he survived the fire when my sister didn’t?

“Mother.” Win paused, took a deep breath, and changed how he addressed the deranged woman holding him at gunpoint. “Colette. How do you think you’re going to explain this? Bodies keep adding up where you’re involved. And even the Hallidays don’t have the power to bring back the dead. People are going to ask questions about the fire. When they do, all the skeletons in this manor are going to fall out, one after the other.”

I tugged on Win’s sleeve and tried to get him to look at the oxygen tank by the bed. When I was on the floor, I’d been tangled in the cannula tubing. If the canister was open, there was no telling how long it’d been leaking into the room. If Colette fired the antique pistol, there was a chance the entire room would blow up. I gained enough feeling in my hands that I could worriedly clutch the hem of Win’s sleeves. I was nervous. We needed to find a way out of this room, this house of insanity, in a hurry.

“No one bothers to look below the surface when the right people and enough money are involved. It’s no secret Ms. Harvey hates our family. It’s not a reach for people to believe she married you to seek revenge. Once she integrated into your life, she concocted a murder-suicide plot that sadly ended both of your lives. Your head of security tried to intervene. He died a hero, trying to protect the CEO of Halliday Inc. I’ll have my hand-picked replacement fill in for you until your brother provides me with a suitable heir.” The smile that crossed the older woman’s face was Machiavellian. She spoke of murder as if it was nothing more than the price of doing business. “No one outside the house has to know that Archie survived the fire. This family has a history of bastard children appearing out of the blue. As long as I recognize the progeny as my grandchild, the rest of the world will be none the wiser.”

Win scoffed. “Let me guess. You promised to make Conrad the interim CEO while this madness plays out. That’s why he agreed to be your lackey for so long.”

“He follows directions well. It’s a shame his family isn’t more noteworthy. He could achieve great things with the proper motivation and backing.” She gave Win a disgusted look. “I don’t understand why I was cursed with such disobedient children.”

“Maybe because you tried to murder their father because he dared to love someone who wasn’t you.” Win’s words were as frosty as the Arctic.

It sounded like Colette had everything perfectly planned. Win was shaking where he held me, and the man whom he identified as his brother seemed frozen in place. Archie’s injuries were pretty horrific. However, when his eyes caught mine, I could tell the damage done to the inside was worse. I couldn’t imagine what it felt like to rise from the dead and realize you lost everyone you loved. I wondered if Archie would be so compliant if he comprehended that his own mother made him like this.

I tried to motion with my eyes that Win should put me down to fully confront his mother. The situation was getting more dangerous the longer the two bitterly argued. If flammable gas was leaking into the air, and so much as a tiny spark ignited, all of us were doomed to be caught in a fiery inferno — and there’d be more deaths attributed to the cursed Halliday manor.

Win gave me a squeeze to stay still and ignored my silent pleas. He turned his attention to his younger brother and asked, “Archie, do you remember what happened the night of the fire?”

The other man tilted his head as if trying to process the question. Colette reached out and grabbed the arm of her youngest. “Go to the nursery and wait for your daughter. Mom will make everything better. Remember who took care of you when no one else was there?”

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