Chapter 31 Echoes of Lily
Cade
I sat at the dark wooden desk in the study, staring at the folded piece of paper.
It wasn't just a message. It was a physical threat.
I wonder if Lily saw something like this before they ended her. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine her sitting in her own apartment, holding a note just like this one.
Did she feel the same cold chill that I felt now? Did she look at the warning and decide to ignore it?
I realized then that my sister and I were exactly the same. We both had a relentlessness that didn't let us quit, even when things got dangerous. I wondered if that same trait was what got her killed.
I stood up and walked to the doorway of the bedroom. I’m sure she was asleep, but she wasn't resting. Her brow was pinched, and her hand was curled into a tight fist on top of the blanket. I stood there for a long time, just watching her.
Sloane hadn't wanted this life. She didn't ask for a war with her own family. But I had handed her this danger anyway.
I had wrapped it up in the promise of a marriage and the idea that we were doing the right thing. I told myself she was smart enough to handle it. That she was strong enough to survive.
But I had told myself the same thing about Lily. I had trusted Lily to be careful, and I had been wrong. Now, I looked at Sloane and felt a weight in my chest. I didn't know how to protect her anymore.
Every path forward seemed to involve lying to her or using her as a pawn in my game. Usually, I could convince myself that it wasn't necessary. But looking at her now, I felt a crack in my own armor.
The morning sun was bright, but the townhouse still felt cold. I was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and drinking coffee that tasted like burnt beans. I heard the soft sound of footsteps on the stairs.
Sloane walked into the room, wearing a thick sweater that looked too big for her. She looked pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes.
I didn't say anything. I just observed her. I didn’t trust myself to speak. I watched instead.
I looked at the way her hands shook as she reached for a mug. I saw the way she avoided looking at the spot on the table where the note had been last night.
"I'll be fine," Sloane said. She didn't look at me. "If that’s what you’re wondering."
I set my coffee down. I wanted to tell her she didn't have to be fine. I wanted to tell her we could leave.
But I knew that wasn't true. We were too deep into this now.
"You'll have to be," I said. My voice was rougher than I meant it to be.
Sloane was silent for a moment. She poured her coffee and turned to face, across from me.
"I thought about Maria all night," she said quietly. "Our chief housemaid at the hotel."
"The one who was scared?" I said.
"Yes. She looked at me like I was a monster, Cade. She didn't see the girl she used to give cookies to when she was little. She saw the niece of the man who made her life a nightmare."
Sloane sighed, and the sound was full of pain.
"I think she knows something. Something about what happened after the dinner. But I couldn't get her to talk to me. She doesn't trust me because she thinks I’m involved in the family business."
I stayed silent, thinking about what that meant. If a maid was that terrified, the secrets in that house were bigger than just "logistics."
"Then we should find out what she knows," I said. "If she won't talk to you as a Hartford, we find another way to make her talk."
Sloane looked at me with a tired expression. "I don't want to hurt her, Cade. She’s been with us forever."
"I’m not talking about hurting her," I said, grabbing my keys. "I’m talking about the truth. The truth is the only thing that’s going to keep us alive."
I didn't wait for her to answer. I couldn't stay in that kitchen any longer. The air felt too heavy with her guilt and my own. I walked out the door and headed for my car.
As soon as I got into the driver’s seat and closed the door, my phone started to ring.
I saw the name on the screen.
Detective Chen.
"Chen," I said, picking up.
"Cade. I have an update," she said.
Her voice was steady, but I could tell she wasn't happy.
"Concerning your sister... I’m still working on those leads in the shipping yard. It’s a dead end right now. No one saw her, and the security footage from that night was wiped clean months ago.
And the people in that part of the city are tight-lipped. They don’t know what happens to people who talk to the police. It’s going to take more time to find anything tangible."
I gripped the steering wheel so hard the leather groaned.
"I get it, Chen," I said. I didn't raise my voice, but I felt a coldness settle deep in my bones. "But justice for my sister shouldn't be this hard to find. Every time we hit a wall,” I said, “It feels like I'm starting over".
"I know you're upset," Chen said. "I’m doing everything I can.
But listen. You asked me to look into Sloane Hartford, too."
I sat back in my seat.
"And what did you find?"
"As for Sloane herself, I didn't find anything incriminating," Chen said. "She isn't connected to your sister’s case. At least not directly"
I frowned. "Directly? What does that mean, Chen? Give it to me straight."
I heard her sigh on the other end of the line. I heard the sound of papers shuffling.
"There’s something about her you should know, Cade.”