Page 84 of Ruthless Legacy

“I’m separating things into piles. Pictures, here. Documents there and kid’s artwork right here.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see what a young Scott Hughes’ imagination brought to life.”

We work for an hour, then she stops to make lunch. When she comes back with the food, I hold up a picture and ask, “Who’s the hottie, Van?”

“Hottie?” She takes the photo from me. “Oh, just an old friend.”

“A friend, or afriend?”

“Those are the same word, Thea.”

“Yes, but the emphasis is different.”

I find another picture with the two of them together. It answers my first question, but prompts a second.

“What you got there, hun?” She asks, when I stop digging in the box, my hand frozen in the air.

“Uh…” I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to assume anything; but Van’s sporting a baby bump and the date on the picture is before Scott was born, and before the date on her framed marriage license.

Maybe I should just not go through boxes. It seems like every time I do; I find questionable pregnancy photos. I hand the photo to her as I climb to my feet.

She has a soft smile on her face as she says, “I cared a lot for the gentleman in that picture. When I met Sam, I was already pregnant. He didn’t care, and married me anyway, and has always treated Scott as his own.”

“I won’t say anything.”

She laughs. “Oh, dear. It’s not a secret. Scott knows. He’s known for most of his life.”

“But I’m assuming no one else in town does. I’d definitely be hearing ‘Who’s your granddaddy’ if it was common knowledge.”

“It’s not. Sam and I agreed not to tell anyone else.”

“And the guy in the picture was okay with that?”

Her smile slips. She’s not angry, her expression is a bit melancholy. “I don’t know how he would have felt. He passed away a month after we took that picture.”

“I think I have another photo of him.” She goes to another box and pulls out a stack of pictures.

“Where were these taken?”

“On campus.”

“Canyon Falls?” I frown, holding the photo closer. “I’ve never seen this building before.”

“That’s the original school chapel. It’s about two miles from the old ground keeper’s cottage. I used to love going there and staring up at the ceiling for hours. The town condemned the building years ago, and put chains on the doors, because of the structural damage. I guess people forgot it exists because of the new chapel in the middle of campus. The old cemetery is just on the other side of it, too.”

The side of campus she’s talking about is over by the sports complex. I remember touring the ground keeper’s cottage. It’s a historical landmark on campus. I did a virtual tour and live tour. Neither tour mentioned anything about an old chapel hidden in the woods.

Chapter37

Thea

The selectee numbers are dwindling, but we’re still divided into groups to make herding us around more manageable. Every organization has to give you the two-dollar tour and point out their energy efficient windows and high-tech security system.

The League of the Daggered Raven is no different. Except for the windows part. There are none, since I’m pretty sure this place is underground. I can’t say for certain, because I was bagged and blindfolded when they brought me in. We descended a shit ton of steps, so I feel pretty good about my guess.

Our tour guide says, “This is our founder’s circle. The names etched on the walls belong to the first members of The League of the Daggered Raven. They are the first to take the oath.” He calls out the names. “What can you tell me about these gentlemen?”

People throw out answers, and I scribble them in the notebook I’m carrying. My phone is locked away in a faraday box, so this is the only way I can take notes. They throw too much information at us for me to retain it all.

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