Chapter 2
Ottavia went completely still.
Eulalie looked confused.
So did I.
“Your mother?”
Ottavia reached for the phone.
I moved it away.
“She’s dead.”
Callum heard.
His laugh came through the speaker.
Not amused.
“She wishes.”
Ottavia’s face changed.
That was enough.
I asked:
“Where are you?”
Callum hesitated.
Then:
“Ashdown House.”
I knew the property.
Small country residence ninety minutes outside the city.
Owned through one of Ottavia’s family trusts, though she rarely mentioned it.
“What are you doing there?”
“Maintenance.”
A pause.
“And making sure Mrs. Arden doesn’t leave alone.”
Ottavia hissed:
“Stop talking.”
Callum ignored her.
“Her name is Miriam Arden.”
Eulalie whispered:
“Who?”
Callum answered:
“Ottavia’s mother.”
The rooftop disappeared around me.
For two years, Ottavia had told me her mother died when she was sixteen.
Illness.
Quiet funeral.
Painful subject.
I never pushed.
Apparently grief had been convenient.
“Is Miriam safe?”
Callum hesitated.
“Physically?”
Not the answer I wanted.
“Yes.”
“Mostly.”
Mostly.
My voice dropped.
“What does that mean?”
“She isn’t locked in a room.”
Ottavia exhaled as if that helped.
Callum continued.
“But the gate stays closed.”
“By whose order?”
No answer needed.
Eulalie stared at my fiancée.
“You told me Callum was fixing a car.”
Ottavia closed her eyes.
Callum said:
“There was never a car.”
There.
Fake debt confirmed.
“What happened four months ago?”
Callum paused.
Then:
“I found out who Miriam was.”
Simple.
That was all.
He had not stolen.
Not damaged property.
Not betrayed anyone.
He had recognized a woman.
And apparently that recognition cost sixty thousand dollars he could never repay.
I told him:
“Stay where you are.”
He laughed again.
“Been doing that.”
Fair.
I corrected myself.
“My men are coming.”
Ottavia looked at me.
“Tobias, you don’t understand.”
I returned the phone to my pocket.
“No.”
May you like
I looked at the shredded money.
“Tonight I’m discovering how expensive your explanations become when other people are paying for them.”
