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There are a million Lucy’s in the United States, but my heart pounds as I look her up. No social media profiles, which is a red flag in itself if Ava wanted to keep them hidden. But I find a grainy photo of a Lucy Phillips at a librarian convention held late last year, and it’s her.
My granddaughter.
Who’s coming to stay.
I assume she’s seen Ava’s tattoo and linked thevegvisirto Arcania, but why has she taken this long to reach out?
She’d be twenty-five, plenty of years for a curious girl to want to know more about her extended family. So the fact she hasn’t called or visited before now means she doesn’t know.
Any of it.
She arrives the next day at dusk. I watch her from my office window, my pulse racing at the thought of our impending meeting. I need to play it cool. Find out how much she knows. Lead gently into our familial bond.
She stares at the taxi’s tail lights for a long time as if wishing she could leave, and I know then she has no clue we’re related. If I was in her place, I’d be dying to meet my relatives, to have support as I grieve. But Lucy is trudging up the path toward the house as if Arcania is the last place she wants to be and my heart aches for this poor girl who’s now motherless.
Because of me.
I meet her halfway to the house, I’m that eager to meet her. She’s the spitting image of Ava, and me, but if she sees the resemblance between us, she doesn’t show it. We exchange pleasantries and I welcome her to Arcania. I give her the usual spiel and we head toward the house to check her in when I notice she’s not following.
Instead, her gaze is fixed on thevegvisiremblem emblazoned on the back of my tunic.
She’s definitely seen the tattoo on her mother’s sole.
“Our logo is something else, isn’t it?”
“It’s distinctive.”
“The only one of its kind. My husband’s ancestors were from Iceland, so you’ll see a lot of Nordic influence in Arcania. We use Norse mythology and symbolism in a lot of our treatments, too.”
She wants to ask more. I can see it in her eyes. Which proves she doesn’t know who I am and has come here to investigate her mother’s links to this place, just as I assumed.
The thing is, I can’t have Lucy poking around too much. She may discover a lot more than I want her to. And she’ll figure out by the lengths her mother went to in order to escape Arcania, we have secrets to hide. She’ll blame me too, just like Ava did.
I’ll give her a few days, get to know her better, before revealing small clues that will lead her to the conclusion that I’m her grandmother. The realization has to come from her, because if she figures out I know the truth about our familial bond and have been hiding it, she’ll have more questions I have no intention of answering.
Chapter41
Lucy
On the walk back to the mansion, Spencer tells me his suspicions. He knows for a fact, courtesy of travel receipts on the wellness center’s computer, that Cora had been in New York City the day my mom died, and the day preceding it. So he’s assuming Cora somehow discovered Ava was alive, where she lived, and pushed her in front of the bus because her daughter had betrayed her and was of no use as the future heir to her one true love, Arcania.
“And you think she’s somehow grooming me for the role?”
Spencer nods. “It’s the only explanation why she’d harm your mother.”
By his trembling hands before he shoves them into his pockets, I can see now’s not the time to poke holes in his theory. My grandfather—it’s unbelievable to even think we’re related—is seriously rattled and I want to placate him.
“If what you say is true, me leaving abruptly will only anger Cora and she’ll still come after me.”
His expression is pained. “Let me think—”
“Won’t it be better if I confront her? Get her to admit she’s toying with me. I mean, she already wants me to stick around and do her precious research, so if she knows who I am, maybe I can get her to admit the truth?”
He shakes his head. “It’s too risky. I heard Craig and Demi checked out early, and now Jase and Cindy have too. So you’re the only guest here and confronting Cora will be foolish.”
I try not to let my fear show. If Jase and Cindy have left too, I’m alone in a remote mansion with a lunatic and others I’m still not sure I can trust.
“With all due respect, my entire life has been a lie. My mother, who I adored, kept secrets that now, according to you, may put me in danger. So I would rather face this thing head on than run away, not knowing the truth.”
