Page 31 of The Curse Breaker

Eleven

Benny

“You’re a Rudd?” Benny sputtered, incredulous. She glanced back anxiously at Gil and Kimble, almost wanting them to hear this. Zara was across the street still talking on her phone.

“I found out earlier this year when I learned my mom’s name was actually Selena Rudd.” Ryan’s eyes were pleading, as if he knew being a Rudd was a curse he’d have to wrestle with. “She was really young when she had me, and Vivian didn’t want a scandal. My mom ran off with Harris, and they changed their names so the Rudds couldn’t find them.”

Vivian’s daughter was Ryan’s mom. Benny felt the whispers of the island growing louder, the pieces clicking into place. She was related to Evelyn. Zara to Aggy. Ryan to Axel. They were all connected to the past and the present, just as Aggy knew they would be. Benny wasn’t sure what to say, and something told her nothing was best. The only way to keep Ryan talking was to let him actually speak without interrupting. People want to be heard, Grams would say.

“My mom died when I was seven.” Ryan stuck his hands in his pockets, his eyes on his boat shoes. “My dad remarried two years later, and that’s when he and my stepmom had my little sister, and suddenly I was the outsider. Not on purpose, but I felt like—”

“Like you didn’t belong,” Benny whispered. She knew that feeling well.

“Yeah.” Ryan nodded. “I guess I asked about my mom a lot. My dad said she was really bright. She studied history at a local college, and was obsessed with her family history and Axel’s disappearance. She learned something you should know.” He looked at Benny again. “Axel told his family about the treasure. The night Axel took Gil’s coin and went to the island, he left his family a letter telling them everything.”

The Rudds knew about the treasure. More pieces of the puzzle were clicking into place. There was no way a man as greedy as Elias Rudd wouldn’t have wanted Axel to snag the treasure for them to sell to the highest bidders. The question was: Did Elias realize Axel was still alive? Or did he decide either way, he’d pass down Axel’s letter to future generations so that during the next Blood Orange Moon, they could get the treasure they wanted? How much did Vivian Rudd know about the island she knew Benny was tasked to find? Benny’s head hurt trying to keep track of all this new information. “So your mom was a treasure hunter?”

“Yes. A good one, according to my dad.” Ryan held his chin higher. “My mom studied Axel’s letter and the diaries Elias and the family kept about Axel’s disappearance.” He paused. “Someone supposedly came to them after the Blood Orange Moon and said they wanted to help the Rudds come out on top in twenty twenty-five when the next Blood Orange Moon came around.”

Benny’s heart beat faster. Who was this mystery person? Even more troubling: Was this why Harris was on the Terry Estate board? So he could keep tabs on everything? She had to warn her mom. “So basically the Rudds have had it out for Evelyn and been after the treasure since day one. Is that what you’re telling me?”

He swallowed hard. “No! My mom was different. She didn’t care about the treasure.” Benny gave him a look. “I mean it. My mom was trying to find Axel. She thought he was still alive.”

Benny felt a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. “What makes you say that?”

“I found her old journals.” He looked at Benny pleadingly. “Someone told her she could get on the island before the next Blood Orange Moon.”

“They can’t— ” Benny sputtered.

“That’s not what my mom learned,” Ryan snapped back. “She went searching and there was a boating accident…and she was gone.” He looked away.

“I’m sorry.” Benny meant it. Losing Grams had been awful, but she still had her mom. She could only imagine Ryan’s pain.

“When she died, my dad had to call Vivian,” Ryan continued. “Vivian insisted we move back to Greenport. She helped my dad invest in local restaurants and get on the Terry estate board. They thought it was too much to tell me the truth till I was older. I only found out that I was a Rudd this year after she…” He trailed off. “Never mind.”

She. The hairs on Benny’s arms stood up. Was it Grace? Or someone else? Someone Evelyn met too?

“I am not showing them to you,” Ryan snapped. His words crisper. Tarter now. He sounded sort of like Axel…or Vivian. “I am finishing what Evelyn started on my own. For my mom.”

“Ryan, it doesn’t have to be this way. We can help each other. Forget what your grandmother wants. What do you want?” Ryan hesitated. “You must see, from reading Evelyn’s diary, the treasure is dangerous.”

“What I see is my mom’s legacy being stomped on by people like you who don’t know how valuable that treasure really is,” Ryan said icily. “My grandmother says the Terry family has taken so much from mine already. First Axel. Now my mom. If anyone deserves that treasure, it’s the Rudds.”

Don’t trust her. Did Aggy mean Vivian? Ryan’s mom Serena? Grace? Calia? Who was Ryan’s mom working with? Could it be all the same person? “Don’t you see? That treasure needs to be locked away and never found. Look what it’s done to everyone. You need to help me end this. We can work together.”

“No.” Ryan stepped closer, and his face crumpled. “Look, I like you, Benny.” His voice softened. “I don’t want you to get hurt, but they’re not going to let you return the treasure. Strike a bargain, get a payout, and just walk away.”

Benny’s stomach swished uneasily. “I can’t. If that treasure isn’t returned, they all remain cursed. Axel included. How can you do that to them? Haven’t they been through enough?” Across the street, Benny saw Kimble and Gil look her way.

“You’re a fool,” Ryan argued, his face reddening. “Who wouldn’t want to live forever? Don’t you realize what one coin is worth? What that treasure can do?”

“Yes!” Benny argued. “It’s ruining people’s lives!”

Kimble came roaring across the street and picked Ryan up by the front of his shirt, pressing him against the door. “Scoundrel! That treasure is not meant for any man! She put you up to this, didn’t she?”

“I…I…I…” Ryan’s eyes were bugging out of his head.

“I want to grow up! You can’t take that from me!” Gil’s face was a deep red.