I blinked, sure I’d heard her wrong. “What? Is it a rental property?”
“No.” She started walking toward the house.
I trailed behind her, completely confused. He obviously didn’t live in what was probably a two-bedroom home. “Why would he buy this place?”
“Now that’s a good question,” she said as she walked up to the front porch and inserted a key into the doorknob. The door swung open, and she walked into the empty living room.
“How do you have a key?” I asked, still standing on the front porch.
“I used to live here.”
“Why wouldn’t he change the locks?”
She stood in the middle of the small room and turned around to face me. “Because he’s an arrogant asshole. He thinks he’s untouchable, and up until now he has been.”
What was she talking about? A buzz of excitement tickled my spine, but I couldn’t ignore that we were about to enter a house we had no business being in. “This is trespassing.”
“No one’s here to see us.” She headed toward the kitchen.
I turned around and looked toward the empty road, then groaned and followed my mother inside, shutting the door behind me. No need to make us look any more suspicious than we already did. “Why are we here?”
When she didn’t answer, I followed her into the kitchen. Empty. There was an open door next to the refrigerator, so I edged over to it. “Momma?”
“In the basement,” her muffled voice replied from the dark staircase.
The basement.
My head grew fuzzy and my knees turned weak. I stumbled and my butt hit the counter. I lifted my hand to my chest in an attempt to ground myself.
“Magnolia,” she said impatiently.
My breath came in rapid pants, and memories of the night I was held hostage in a basement ten years ago swamped my head. My stomach churned and I swallowed, frustrated and angry that I could still be paralyzed by the mere thought of descending the staircase. I was perfectly safe, for God’s sake. My dying mother was down there getting more irritated by the second that I was dragging my feet.
I could do this. I was tired of giving that man any more power over me than he already had.
I took a deep breath, steeled my back, and headed down the stairs.