Chapter 11 - BENEATH THE LILY STONE
The mausoleum stood silent on the edge of the estate. Rain drummed against the marble roof. I stepped inside. Cold air wrapped around me. Rows of names gleamed in gold lettering. Generations of Harringtons resting in stone.
I found the stone marked with the carved white lily. It bore Elena’s grandmother’s name. A woman who had died when Elena was a child. Elena had loved her. Had spoken of her often.
I ran my fingers along the carving. At the bottom corner, the stone shifted. A loose panel. Hidden in plain sight. I pried it open. A small recess lay behind it. Inside rested a metal box.
I pulled it out. Rust bit at the hinges. A single key lay atop it. On a chain Elena had always worn around her neck. The chain they had returned to me with her things. The key I had kept on my nightstand all these months.
I fumbled it from my pocket. My hands were shaking so badly I nearly dropped it. I inserted the key. Turned. The lock clicked.
Inside the box lay documents. Photographs. Letters. And a bound ledger. Written in my father’s handwriting.
May you like
I read by flashlight. The truth hit me with such force I nearly dropped the box.
Elena had been right. The secret was not debt. It was not theft. It was murder. Years before I was born. A young woman. A distant cousin. Found dead at the bottom of the same river. Ruled a suicide. But the ledger told another story. My father had been there. He had covered it up. And my brother… he had been there too. A child. Watching
