Chapter 7 - Before Sunrise
Adrian drove to his parents' lakefront house while the city was still dark. He asked Claire to keep Lily away from the residence until he could be sure it was safe.
Mrs. Larkin met him at the side door in scrubs and slippers. “Your mother left at eleven,” she whispered. “She hasn't come back.”
Robert sat in his study under a wool blanket, a chessboard open before him. His face brightened when Adrian entered.
“Son.”
Adrian knelt beside the chair. “Dad, I should've come sooner.”
Robert's hand shook as he raised it. “Your mother said you moved to London.”
“I didn't.”
“I knew.” Robert's voice was thin but clear. “You would have called.”
Mrs. Larkin showed Adrian the mysterious pills. He photographed them and arranged for an independent physician to review Robert's medications. She made it clear she wouldn't administer anything she couldn't verify.
Robert tapped the chessboard twice. “Blue.”
Adrian went still. “The folder?”
Robert nodded. “Not hers. Mine. She took it out of the safe.”
“What was inside?”
“A letter from Nora's father.”
Adrian had never heard of any connection between Robert and the late Thomas Bennett, a modest contractor who'd left Nora a house, some savings, and a stack of old family photographs.
Robert struggled to speak. “Thomas found invoices. Cole Foundation. Properties. Names they didn't want seen.”
“Who didn't?”
Robert's eyes filled with tears. “I trusted your mother.”
Adrian lowered his head. He had spent years believing Patricia was simply controlling, a woman who confused love with authority. His father was telling him something much larger.
A car door slammed outside. Mrs. Larkin glanced through the curtain. “It's Mrs. Cole.”
Patricia strode up the front walk, followed by Ethan. Her face changed when she saw Adrian through the glass, but she entered smiling.
“Sweetheart. What a surprise.”
“I came to see Dad.”
“Of course. Isn't that nice?” She glanced at the medication box in Mrs. Larkin's hand. “Margaret, why isn't he resting?”
Robert closed his fingers around Adrian's sleeve. “The key,” he whispered.
Adrian leaned closer.
May you like
“Thomas hid it,” Robert said. “Inside Lily's music box.”
