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Now, it feels like she’s here.
So far, the entries have been about trivial matters – about books she’s read, the lessons she learned in school, the hours she spends outside. There’s one, though, that starts out serious.
Today, I was afraid.
Carefully, I read the entry.
Today, while we were out riding our horses, something bad happened. Alex fell. Vivi said it was an accident but I saw her push him. She got mad and she pushed him. I saw it. I saw the look in her eyes after. She wasn’t sorry for what she did.
I think I’ll be afraid of Vivi from now on.
The notebook falls from my shaking hands. It clatters on the floor.
No. This means that Vivian killed Alex, my other uncle, the one who died young.
I shake my head. It can’t be. I can’t imagine my aunt Vivian killing anyone. Still, the words my mother wrote resound in my head.
I saw her push him.
Vivian pushed him. She pushed her brother off his horse and he died. It was no accident.
She wasn’t sorry for what she did.
Which means Vivian is a cold-blooded murderer.
I don’t want to believe it, but I believe my mother. I know she’s not lying. I can feel it. I can hear her whispering those last words in my head.
I think I’ll be afraid of Vivi from now on.
It’s a warning. I know it is. Maybe that’s why she ran away from home the first chance she could – because she was afraid. If Vivian could kill Alex, her own brother, what was to stop her from killing her own sister? If Vivian killed once, who’s to say she won’t kill again?
I suddenly remember the note I tossed into the fire.
What if that really was a threat, after all? What if Rainier was right and there is a murderer on the loose in this house? What if Vivian pushed Norman down the stairs because she didn’t want Christine to be with him?
Sure, she said she wanted Christine to be happy, but suddenly, I don’t believe her anymore. I don’t know her anymore.
But my mother did. And she was afraid. Now, I am, too.
I can barely breathe, but I force myself to calm down. I can’t let the fear overwhelm me. I have to do something.
I have to do what my mother did – run away.
I pick up the notebook from the floor, grab my mother’s picture and run out the door, straight down the corridor, through another, down the flight of stairs and out the back door. I know that from there, I only have to walk a short distance to the garage.
As soon as I get out of the house, though, I realize I can’t drive in this weather. There’s too much snow. The roads must be closed.
Still, I have to get away. I suddenly can’t stand another second in this house, not with my mother’s words still ringing in my ear.
I think I’ll be afraid of Vivi from now on.
Suddenly, I hear a horse neighing in the distance. Right. Cars may not be able to pass through the roads, but a horse can. I know how to ride one. I’ve done it a few times before, back when my parents had their big house and a neighbor who owned horses. I just have to find one that will let me ride it.
Sure, I know it’s not exactly the best choice given what I’ve just read. Even though I know how to ride a horse, I could easily fall, or both the horse and I could stumble into the snow. But I’m desperate.
I have to get away, as far away from Vivian Beaumont and Northup Manor as I possibly can while I can.
I wrap my coat tighter around myself and begin walking to the stable.
Chapter 26 ~ Fight
Rainier
“What do you mean Ellis isn’t here?” I ask Calvin in the calmest voice I can manage even as my hands clench into fists at my sides.
I rushed here to Northup Manor hoping to find Ellis safe and sound, hoping to pull her into my arms the moment I saw her, hoping to tell her how I felt. Instead, I find her missing.
“No one has seen her since this morning,” Calvin tells me. “The last time someone saw her, she was running down the stairs.”
Running? Why was Ellis running? What was she running away from?
“Have you searched the whole house?” I ask.
I know it’s massive, but surely, there are enough people to look. Surely, she’s just somewhere in here.
Calvin nods. “None of the maids or valets have seen her.”
I frown. “Well, they better keep looking!”
Just then, a valet comes running into the room.
“Did you find her?” I ask him hopefully.
“No,” he answers.
The worry gripping my chest turns to fear.
“But all the cars are there. She didn’t drive off.”
“Of course not,” I say. “I could barely reach the house myself.”
