Page 72 of The Bitter Heir and the Beauty

I whisper, “This place isn’t haunted.”

As if in response, the wind blows a longooooooohoutside.

Spooked, my goosebumps turn into ghoul-bumps. At this rate, I won’t be able to fall asleep. I could be restless in bed, wondering or I could check one last thing ...

Preparing myself with a deep breath, once in the secret passage, I shine my cell phone’s light up, down, and all around. Then I look up again. The ceiling is low, lower than the floor above would be. I poke at it, thinking maybe it’s false like the drop ceiling in the kitchen, but all I hear is squeaking and skittering as if I just interrupted someone’s slumber.

Yep, rodents.

I retrace the steps Maddock and I took when I showed him the passageway. Half expecting to see our footprints, the wooden floor is streaked with dust.

“Minou, where are you?” I whisper.

Hopefully, I’m not dealing with anything larger than a mouse.

I try to picture the layout of the chateau and where I am in relation to the hidden stashing place containing the Christmas decorations. I’ve been back here once already but can’t find a way to get to them.

From above comes a creaking sound. I go still. The hairs on the back of my neck and arms lift. I listen. I don’t hear Leonie on the baby monitor and the alarm system is armed. Must be the cat.

“Just keep telling yourself that,” I mutter.

Then I look up at the shadows I’m making with my light. I swallow thickly then tilt my head to the side. Huh.

Coated in cobwebs, I spot something I’ve never before noticed gleaming from the flashlight.

It’s the handle attached to a sliding drop ladder.

I tug at it, hoping to pull it down, but it’s rusted in place. Propping up my phone so I can see, I reach for the highest rung I can and then using the wall, walk myself up so I’m perched at the bottom. From my weight, the thing abruptly drops a few feet and my stomach whooshes. I let out a stifled shriek, not wanting to wake the baby.

“Sorry, sweetie. Mommy is in the wall. Don’t mind me. Nothing to see here,” I mutter the last part, having sworn off creeping around like this years ago, well, until Maddock came along.

It was easier to show him my old life than to tell him.

I climb the rest of the ladder and reach the rafters ... to one side is a crude plaster ramp that’s the reverse of the staircase. Shining the light, I follow its glow and see that it leads to the Christmas decorations. Excitement rushes through me.

It’s arduous, but I start to haul the boxes out one by one. Why on earth Eloise or Hogan did this, I may never know, but I feel like I struck gold, er, treasure. However, some of the boxes are incredibly heavy and I have to push them up the ramp.

With the last one remaining, I’m nearly done when I hear another strange sound. It’s a splitting noise, kind of like ice cracking or paper ripping.

Then, with a crash, I slide down the ramp to the bottom. It broke, taking my phone with it in the debris. My backside and pride are already sore. But now it’s official. I need help.

And fast because I can’t have Leonie wake up and for me not to be there.

Without a ladder or something to hold on to, I can’t climb out of here. I start to stack the pieces of the ramp on top of the lastbox, hoping I can jump up into the rafters when another sound stops me in my tracks.

The goosebumps return because there’s nothing else for me to fall through ... and I’m not alone. But I don’t think it’s Minou or a mouse. A tingle runs up my spine.

Someone is outside.

Chapter 18

Baby's First Christmas

It’s late and I’m over-caffeinated, making the last leg of the trip purely on coffee fumes. But I couldn’t spend another night in a hotel between Nevada and Hogwash.

My hands shake a little from the road and excitement. The house is quiet, but light shines from the hallway. I tap the code into the alarm keypad and freshen up in one of the bathrooms on the lower level because I am ready to collapse onto the couch ... and cannot wait for Honey to find me here in the morning.

Heck, I don’t even mind if the baby wakes me up crying. I just need a minute or two of shuteye.

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