Chapter 12 - The Proposal Was a Trap

"Where is he?" Nora demanded.

Grant's voice used to soothe Nora. He'd called from airports, remembered the birthdays she forgot, and brought soup when she caught the flu. Now the same voice used affection as a threat. She understood, suddenly, that she'd confused consistency with goodness. A man could show up every day and still be building walls around you. She thought of the ring in her pocket. It was expensive, heavy, and too tight when her hands swelled in winter. She slipped it off and put it on the table, where it looked smaller than the damage it had helped conceal.

"Somewhere safe if you behave," Grant said. "You and I can still fix this."

"There is no us."

"There was. You said yes to me."

"I said yes to the man you pretended to be."

Grant was silent for a beat. "You think Eli came back because he loves you? Ask him why he stayed away when your mother was buried."

The call ended. Nora looked at Eli. "You knew something before the car crash. What was it?"

Eli didn't answer quickly enough.

"Eli."

"I found June's name on a ledger six months before my accident. I didn't tell you because I wanted proof first. I thought it would protect you."

"You let me date Grant while you investigated his family?"

"I didn't know he was involved until after I disappeared."

Nora shook her head, sick of being treated like the fragile object in everyone else's story. "I need you to stop protecting me with lies."

She called Grant back on a different phone. "I'll meet you. Alone. But I want proof Vale is alive."

Grant sent a live video: Vale in a basement, wrists cuffed to a pipe, one eye swollen. He looked straight at the camera and said, "Don't bring the key."

Nora's skin prickled. "What key?"

Grant cut the feed.

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Tessa held up the music box. Its base had a narrow slot shaped exactly like the silver key Eli had brought to the ballroom. Nora inserted it. A hidden compartment sprang open, revealing a folded deed and a thin brass plate engraved with three numbers.

Underneath, in June's writing, were four words: THE HOUSE IS THE PROOF.