Chapter 26 - MY MOTHER'S HOUSE
We drove there immediately.
The front door was unlocked.
My mother's purse was on the kitchen counter.
Her glasses were beside the sink.
A cup of tea was still warm.
"Mom?"
Nothing.
I ran through the house.
Bedroom.
Bathroom.
Garage.
Empty.
Then Noah shouted from the hallway.
"Mom!"
I ran toward him.
He was standing beside the bookshelf.
A photograph had fallen to the floor.
It showed my mother when she was young.
She was standing beside two men.
One was my grandfather.
The other was Arthur Bell.
But on the back, my mother had written:
They promised they would protect her.
"Protect who?" I whispered.
Noah turned the photograph over.
There was another sentence.
They failed.
Julian searched the desk.
He found a sealed envelope.
My name was written on it.
I opened it with trembling hands.
Inside was my mother's handwriting.
Emily,
If you're reading this, I am probably already gone.
My heart stopped.
Do not trust the man who says he knows your grandfather.
Do not trust the man who claims to be helping you.
And most importantly, do not let Noah open the second box.
I looked at the brown box.
Then at Noah.
"What second box?"
He looked confused.
"I don't know."
I remembered Arthur.
The box he had left.
Then I looked at the photograph again.
Something was written beneath my mother's signature.
Three letters.
May you like
A.B.
Arthur Bell.
