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The darkness is all-consuming, the air dank, and as I reach out blindly I encounter a jagged rock that’s damp to my touch. The tide must’ve gone out recently and while it should inspire me with confidence, it doesn’t. I know how quickly the tides change here. It’s an anomaly locals have whispered about for years, a silly superstition that the souls from the shipwrecks scattered along this coastline are angry and demand justice by causing inexplicable tide surges.
I’ve never paid much attention to those tales, but now I’m here, a hint of something otherworldly ripples over me and I shudder.
“Spencer, I can’t see a thing,” I murmur, the chill in the air piercing my cotton jacket, and I tug it closer around me.
“Let your eyes adjust, then you’ll see it. The clue. I can’t believe it’s been here all along.” His voice is coming from my right and as I take a step toward it, I hear soft footfalls behind me.
I spin around, still blind. “Spencer?”
A door slams and a light flicks on, illuminating Spencer’s face in the small glass porthole set high in the door.
His expression is apologetic, but his eyes are wary, like he doesn’t trust me.
Fear crawls over my skin like ants, and nausea clogs my throat as I break into a cold sweat.
He’s trapped me in the chamber.
My legs are jelly-like as I make my way to the door and try the small round steering wheel that mimics the larger one on the outside.
It doesn’t budge.
Dizziness swamps me, my heart pounding so hard I can’t breathe. My torso trembles and I drag in deep breaths, willing the spots dancing before my eyes to disappear. The last thing I need is to pass out.
Once my breathing and heart rate are under control, the wooziness passes. Spencer is a kind man. He’s stayed by my side for over four decades, so whatever game he’s playing won’t last. Perhaps this is payback for what he thinks I did to Ava? Whatever his rationale, I need to talk him into letting me out of here.
Keeping my voice steady in an effort not to clue him in on my terror, I say, “If this is a prank, it’s not funny.”
He’s stony-faced. “I’m sorry, Cora, but it’s the only way to get the truth out of you.”
“What truth?” I snap and rattle the wheel on the door again. “Let me out so we can have a civilized conversation.”
“No. Because I can’t trust you.”
My stomach clenches at his contemptuous expression. “You’ve known me for forty-four years. You’ve stuck by my side all that time. And now you say you can’t trust me?”
He’s conflicted. I see it in the way his gaze shifts, but not before I glimpse a flicker of remorse. “I initially stayed for you, to make sure Harlan didn’t harm you like the others. But then I stayed for Ava.”
“So Harlan killed those employees who disappeared?”
“I don’t know how he did it exactly, probably drugged them and trapped them here. But yes, he boasted about it one night when he ingested hallucinogens. The lunatic was proud of getting rid of his parents, too.” He shakes his head. “He was a cruel man and to this day I can’t believe you married him rather than leaving with me when we had the chance.”
Surely Spencer isn’t doing this because he’s harboring the resentment of a jilted lover? Doubtful, but my belly knots with regret at the many mistakes I’ve made. No good can come of rehashing the past, but I know one thing: I’d do it all again to protect my daughter.
“I did it for Ava. To give her the life I never had.” My lips press together to refrain from saying so much: how I know now he’s right, that we should’ve left together when we had the chance, that I never should’ve married Harlan, that I should’ve grown a backbone sooner and stood up to him. “Surely you can understand that?”
He nods, his eyes downcast. “I can, because that’s why I stayed. To protect her.” When his gaze locks on mine again, I see defiance. “And it’s why I helped her fake her death.”
My mouth drops open, and he continues. “She came to me, desperate, and I had no idea what to do. I knew what Harlan was capable of and he’d go ballistic when he found out. Then I found a corpse on the beach and what I had to do became clear.” He blanches, at odds with his resolute tone. “I severed a finger, then told Ava of my plan. I gave her money, told her to stay off the grid completely, and get as far from here as possible without telling anyone who she was and where she came from.” He jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “She went through the other tunnel.”
I can’t believe this. The one man I thought I could trust has lied to me for decades. And while I admire his protectiveness toward Ava, I can’t forgive him for decimating my life in order to protect hers.
“What other tunnel?”
“One you don’t know about that leads to an alcove about three miles away. I left a car there registered to an Ava Reynolds, because she wanted to keep her first name to make things easier.”
Stunned by his duplicity, I say, “So you’ve known where she’s been all this time? You watched me mourn my only child like some sicko ghoul?” I thump the reinforced glass with my fist, fury making me shake. “How could you do that to me?”
He has the audacity to shrug. “It wasn’t about you. I would’ve done anything to protect my daughter. Something you should’ve done if you had the guts to stand up to that bastard Harlan.”
