Page 6 of Bittersweet Revenge

“I presume she has no belongings,”my father said.

“No, I do not,” I replied firmly. No matter what, I hated being treated like a doll.

My father glared at me. “I’ll call Sophia to take her upstairs for some things. Caleb, you stay here; we have things to discuss,” he added, leaving no room for dissent.

Archie took a step toward me. “I don’t think Sophia is the best choice, father. I'm still not convinced she hadn’t played a role in Esmeralda’s escape.”

It took all my willpower to keep my face smooth. Since Archie and I had made up, I seemed to have forgotten he could be as ruthless as the rest of them, and throwing poor Sophia under the bus when he knew she had no hand in this was as cold as it came – especially in the environment we lived in. My father was an evil man who treated her like dirt at the best of times. How he would treat her if he thought she was involved, didn’t bear thinking about, and it seemed that Archie could not care less.

“No she didn’t. Nobody did,” I finally choked out once the shock wore off, but I was yet again ignored.

“So what do you suggest Archibald?” My father's voice lashed like a whip.

Archie shrugged, ignoring the tone. “I can do it if you want. You know with me she won’t be going anywhere.”

I was impressed and a little worried about my brother's ability to twist the situation to his advantage and make it as if he was doing them a favor and not the other way around. He really was a master manipulator, but at least he was working for me in this case… or was he?

I shook my head, willing the doubt away.Don't be silly Esme. He risked a lot to get you out. Don’t start doubting him now.

“Esmeralda?”

I focused on my brother now standing before me.How long did I zone out?“Sorry?”

“I said you need to move; I don’t have all day.” He gestured toward the door.

“Archie, what–”

“I don’t have time for this,” he barked, but his face was gentle, his eyes worried. He rested his forefinger against his mouth in a ‘shh’ gesture.

We walked silently to my bedroom, my mind still reeling from everything that was happening, especially me moving into the Astor mansion. That was such a step back in my plan to find my– our mother’s killer.

As soon as Archie closed the door to my bedroom, he pulled me into a bear hug and for a minute I let myself forget about all the insanity and enjoyed the comfort of my brother’s arms. He really gave the best hugs – it was like being in a cocoon of warmth. He really should give them more often.

He reached for my shoulders and gently forced me out of the hug. I let go reluctantly.

“Why are you here, Esme?” he whispered with urgency. He detailed my face. “Why did you come back?”

“Ah, you don’t think I was stupid enough to get caught?” I asked, somehow glad that he thought higher of me.

He snorted. “Of course I don't. If you got caught it’s because you wanted to be caught. The question is why?”

I pulled him into the closet. “I came back because of this,” I said, passing him the folded note.

He unfolded it to read, but kept his eyes trained on the paper much longer than reading‘YOUR MOTHER’S DEATH WAS NOT AN ACCIDENT’ warranted.

“Archie?”

He looked up at me with incredulity. “Please tell me you didn’t come back just because of this,” he said, waving the piece of paper.

I frowned in confusion. Why didn’t he look more shocked? Why didn’t he take it for the bombshell it was? “I…What?”

He sighed. “Esme, you just gave up your freedom for something you’re not even sure is real. We don’t know who wrote this. It could be a hoax. You should have told me, let me deal with it.”

“And let you take all the risks?” I shook my head. “No, if we do this, we do this together. And why would it be a hoax? This person had mom’s journal, didn’t they? Mom called this person her ally. Why would they lie?”

Archie shook his head in defeat, running a hand over his weary face. “Because they might justthink so? We don't even know who this person is! Why didn’t they make themselves known when they gave you the journal? It might be some delusional wacko who–”

“Who’s a delusional wacko?” Caleb asked as he stepped into the wardrobe.

---