Page 91 of New Blood

Danielle snapped her head in her direction and saw her unfold a piece of paper. “Did you find it?”

For a second, her heart stopped, but then Priscilla let out a disappointed mewl. “Damn. Sorry. It’s just a drawing of an engine or something. It was in a jacket.”

Danielle forced a smile. “Bummer. But don’t worry, we’ll find it. It has to be here.”

It was more of a pep talk for herself rather than Priscilla.

The second box she went through didn’t yield anything either. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe William had destroyed the letter from her mother after reading it. Perhaps it contained something he didn’t want anybody else to know.

The third box held a few books and other paperwork. She opened the books and fanned through the pages, making sure that if something was tucked between them, it would fall out. But the books hid no letters. It took a little more time to leaf through the stacks of paper, most of them related to the purchase of a condo in San Francisco. It didn’t surprise her. Cameron had spent many nights away from the estate.

She placed the books and papers back in the box and closed it, then reached for the next one when she heard footsteps rapidly approaching. She looked up and saw Flora coming closer.

“I just spoke to Eve,” she started. “Is it true? Your mother and William were lovers?”

Her voice was clipped.

“It looks that way,” Danielle replied.

“Are you saying you didn’t know?”

There was an accusatory tone in her voice that raised the tiny hairs on her nape, but she decided not to react. After all, Flora was under tremendous stress because of Violet.

“No, I didn’t know.”

“Hmm.” She pointed to the boxes. “What is all this?”

“We’re going through Cameron’s belongings. Eve said you found the letters in them.”

“Yes. And I gave them to Eve. You must know that Jude put her on an ultimatum to support what she said about you…” She cleared her voice. “Well… I guess that backfired quickly.”

Danielle didn’t comment. There was really no good answer to Flora’s comment.

“So what are you looking for now?”

She didn’t see any reason to keep this information from Flora.

“There was another letter. One that I brought with me to give to William from my mother. I need to find out what it said.”

“Well, if you brought the letter, surely you know what was in it.”

She shook her head. “I promised my mother not to read it.”

“And you think Cameron had it?”

“Since he had the love letters, it’s not too far-fetched to assume he also had that particular letter.”

“Well—”

Flora was interrupted by Priscilla’s excited cry. “Danielle, is this it?”

She held up an envelope with William’s name on it. Danielle instantly recognized the handwriting as that of her mother.

“That’s it!”

Priscilla handed her the envelope, and Danielle pulled the sheets out of it, surprised by how heavy the letter felt. When she unfolded the two sheets, something heavy fell to the floor, making a loud sound of metal falling onto wood. She glanced at it briefly, homing in on it. It was a long metal key.

“What does it say?” Priscilla asked eagerly, and Flora, too, stepped closer, crouching down.