Page 42 of Ruthless Legacy

Chapter Twelve

By the time I’m dropped back home, it’s gone midnight, and the house is in darkness. I unlock the front door and sneak in as quietly as I can and re-set the alarm. I pause in the hallway when I notice my bedroom door is ajar. When I came down for dinner earlier, I know I closed it. In fact, now that Chester is living here, I need to ask Calvin to put a lock on the inside of the door for me.

I cautiously open my bedroom door and peer inside. As my eyes readjust to the darkness, a cold shiver runs through me. That sense of foreboding, that something isn’t right here. I switch on the light and my breath stops in my throat. My room has been completely trashed, and when I say trashed, I mean ruined, but it’s what’s written on the wall above my bed that pulls my full attention.

In big red capital letters, it says: ‘Leave town or regret it.’

Shaking, I step further into the room, hugging my arms around myself as I take in the damage. My pillows are shredded, and my mattress looks like someone has hacked it to pieces with a knife. A sob rips from me when I see that the photograph of my family is ruined, someone has scraped out the faces of both my parents and my brother. Is this a threat against Kit? With shaking hands, I pull my phone from my coat pocket. I swear to myself when I realise my first thought is to call Archer. Could this be him? Could he be luring me in with a false sense of security? His words to me on my first day at school were that I didn’t belong here and that I needed to leave. Is he playing psychological games with me?

I slip my phone back into my pocket and, hugging my coat around me, I leave the house and cross the grounds to Edith and Rory’s Cottage. The house is in darkness, and I feel bad for waking them up. I knock firmly on the door, and the sound echoes through the silence of the night. I see a light come on in the hallway and I breathe a sigh of relief when the door opens, and Calvin greets me in nothing but his boxers.

“Eliza,” he says, looking at me in confusion, rubbing his tired eyes.

I hug at my arms. I hate feeling this shaken and vulnerable. “I’m sorry to wake you, but I didn’t know who else to come to.” Behind him, Edith steps into the hallway, tying the belt of her dressing gown as she comes closer.

“Eliza, my dear, what’s the matter?”

“Someone’s been in my room whilst I was out. It’s completely trashed. I’m sorry to wake you, but I didn’t know what to do.”

Edith moves past her son and ushers me inside. “Come in my dear.” She drapes an arm around me when I enter and guides me into the house. “Calvin, get dressed and go and take a look. Call the police on your way over there.”

Calvin nods and disappears out of the room. Edith guides me over to a comfy-looking sofa, and she sits herself down beside me. “Oh, you’re shaking. Wait here while I wake Rory. Honestly, the man could sleep through a bomb explosion. Then I’ll make you some tea. Tea makes everything seem better.”

Edith comes back a couple of minutes later and hands me a warm cup of tea. “Thank you.”

“Rory is going over to the house now. Did it look to be just your room that they’ve been in?”

“Shit!” I jump to my feet, almost spilling boiling hot tea all over myself. “Kit. I didn’t check on him. What if they went into his room when he was in there? I have to go back over now.”

Edith hushes me. “Hold your horses, young lady. You are not going anywhere near that house until the police arrive.” She pulls a mobile phone from her dressing gown pocket and holds it to her ear. “Calvin, can you check on Kit please for Eliza?” She pauses, listening. “Oh, thank goodness. Don’t let him come over on his own, will you?” She nods and puts the phone down beside her. “Kit is fine. He was fast asleep in his bed,” she pauses, a concerned look crossing her face, “it looks like it is just your room that was targeted.”

I gulp, clutching at the cup of tea in my hands. “There was a message on the wall in red paint. It said leave town or regret it.” I shudder as the image of those words flits through my mind.

She places an arm back around me and her sweet vanilla scent surrounds me. “Do you know of anyone who might have done this?”

Archer crosses my mind immediately, but he was with me all night. Could he have got someone else to do it for him, though? Maybe one of his clubs. “No. I barely know anyone here yet. Why would someone want me gone?”

Edith sighs. “You’re an Alderman, Eliza. Your grandfather is a rich and powerful man. Someone may be trying to threaten you to get to him. Try not to worry, we’ll sort this out.”

Edith’s mobile phone rings and I startle, splashing my boiling hot tea all over my hand, and I yelp in pain.

“Oh dear. Get some cold water on that hand,” she instructs me as she answers her phone. “She’s fine, Wilbur. Shaken up, but fine. We’ll keep them both here until the police arrive.”

I run the cold tap over my hand and wince. Why can’t I just have an easy life? Just for once. I just wanted to come here, keep my head down and get to eighteen.

I hear Edith enter the kitchen and she comes up beside me and inspects my hand. “That’s looking red. Come on, let’s get some cream on it.” She guides me over to a small circular dining table and I take a seat. I look around the room while she rummages in a cupboard and pulls out a first aid kit. The kitchen is warm and cosy, with cream shaker cabinets and pale blue tiles. A shelf full of recipe books lines the wall between the cooker and the sink. She takes a seat beside me and carefully takes my hand and dabs it with a wet cloth.

“Rory is bringing Kit over now. Your Grandad wants you to stay here at the cottage for now.”

I nod my head. I’m eager to see my brother and confirm to myself that he is okay. “How did they get in? I mean, I thought this house had top-notch security?”

Edith shakes her head, frowning. Her red curls fall over face as she leans over my hand and applies the cool cream to my burned skin. “It does. Whoever did this somehow knew how to by-pass the security settings, which suggests that this is no amateur.” She places some gauze over my hand. “There you go. That should do it for now.”

The front door opens, and I jump to my feet and hurry into the hallway. When I see my brother, relief washes over me and I rush to him and fling my arms around him. “Are you okay?”

He scoffs, squeezing me tightly. “Am I okay? It’s you who’s had their room trashed. Are you okay, sis?”

I pull away from him and tenderly push his hair out of his eyes. “I’m fine,” I say with a reassuring smile, attempting to ease the worry etched across his face. “It’s just a room. Probably just someone from school playing a prank.”

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