Chapter 27: The Price Of A Secret

The elevator doors closed, and for a second, the world felt quiet. Edward was holding my hand so tightly I could feel the heat from his palm. We were heading down to the garage to start the war against Louise. We were finally free, or so I thought.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the screen.

Mom.

I hesitated. Edward looked down at the phone and then at me. He still hadn't forgiven her for the years of lies and for what she did with his father.

"Don't answer it," he said.

"Edward... she’s called three times," I said. I swiped the screen and put the phone to my ear. "Mom?"

"Serena?" Her voice sounded shaky.

"Serena, please. You have to come to the apartment. Right now."

"Mom, I can't. Edward and I are going to the estate.”

There was a long pause on the other end. "But I have something to tell you. I found something Arthur left for me. You need to see it. It changes everything."

I looked at Edward. He was watching me.

"What is it?" I asked her.

"I can't say it over the phone," she whispered. "Just come. Please come alone. If Edward comes, well, you know how he feels about me right now."

I hung up the phone and looked at the floor of the elevator. My mind was spinning. If there was another secret about the Vance, Edward needed to know. But if my mother was telling the truth about Arthur leaving her something, she wouldn't tell Edward. Not after he threatened to put her in jail.

"What did she say?" Edward asked as the elevator hit the garage level.

"She says she has something from your father," I said. "She wants me to come to the apartment."

Edward shook his head immediately. "No, we are going to the estate."

"Edward, listen to me," I said, stopping him before he could reach the car. "You need to handle Louise. Let me go to the house. I’ll talk to her, get whatever she has, and meet you at the estate in an hour."

"I'll take you there," he insisted.

"No," I said. "If she sees you and the guards, she won’t be comfortable. Let me handle my mother. I’ll take the other car. I’ll be fast."

Edward looked like he wanted to argue, but I stopped him. He looked at me, his eyes full of worry. He kissed me, his hand resting on my cheek. "Fine. But take the car, drive straight there, and call me the second you step inside. If you aren't at the estate in sixty minutes, I’m sending the police to that house."

"I promise," I said.

I watched him get into the black SUV with Michael and the guards. They sped out of the garage, heading toward the rich side of town. I felt guilty for lying, but I needed to do this myself. I didn't want more men with guns around my family. They have suffered enough.

I got into Edward’s second car. I drove fast through the streets of Oaktown. The sun was fully up now, but the air felt heavy.

When I reached the old, brick apartment building where I grew up, everything looked normal. I parked the car outside and pushed the heavy gate. I didn't wait to knock. I used my old key and pushed the door open.

"Mom? Dad? I’m here," I called out.

The living room was dim. The curtains were closed. I saw my mother sitting at the small wooden kitchen table. Her hands were folded in front of her. She looked like she had been crying for hours.

"Mom, what is it? What did Arthur leave?" I asked, walking toward her.

She didn't look at me. She looked at the hallway behind me. "I'm sorry, Serena," she whispered. "They said they would kill us all if I didn't call you to come here."

My heart dropped to my stomach. I turned around fast, but I wasn't fast enough.

Two men stepped out from the shadows of the hallway. They were wearing dark hoodies and masks. One of them was holding a heavy black handgun. The other was holding a pair of zip ties.

"Don't scream, Mrs. Vance," the man with the gun said. His voice was deep and scary. "Unless you want to see what your mother’s brains look like on this table."

"Who are you?" I screamed, backing away until I hit the wall. "Louise sent you? We have the DNA results! Her plan won’t work!"

"We don't care about DNA, lady," the second man said. He moved forward and grabbed my arms. I tried to fight; I tried to kick, but he was too strong. He flipped me around and pulled my hands behind my back.

The plastic ties cut into my skin. I screamed in pain, thinking of the baby. "Please," I begged. "I’m pregnant. Don't hurt me."

"Then stay quiet," the gunman said. He looked at my mother. "Good job, Susan. If you call the police, we come back for the husband and the rest of your children. Understand?"

My mother just nodded, her face buried in her hands, sobbing silently.

The men didn't waste time. They pulled a black hood over my head. Everything went dark. I felt the cold air of the hallway as they dragged me out of the apartment. I tried to dig my heels into the carpet, but one of them lifted me off my feet.

I heard the sound of a heavy sliding door opening. The smell of old cigarette smoke and oil filled my nose. I was being thrown into a van.

"Hey!" I shouted through the hood. "Edward will find you! He has guards everywhere! He knows I’m here!"

"He thinks you're here," the scary voice said as he turned on the van engine. "But by the time he figures out you're gone, you'll be exactly where the boss wants you."

The van moved fast, throwing me against the metal floor. I lay there, my hands tied, my heart beating fast.

I had been so focused on the DNA result that I forgot the simplest rule of the Bennets: they didn't need the truth to destroy you. They just needed you gone.

As the van sped away, I realized I had left my phone in the car. I had no way to call Edward. No way to tell him that the forty-eight hours of waiting hadn't ended the nightmare.

The real war had just begun, and I was the prize.