Page 33 of Collateral Claim

“Sorry. Didn’t know she can’t hang.”

“She’s a bloody princess. I bet it’s her first time.”

“You are incorrect.” My body’s so completely relaxed. “This is wonderful. I can see why Mary smokes. It heals all ills. Oh wow, those cupcakes on the ceiling are so nice.”

Chapter 15

The house is haunted

Scarlett

Endo deposits me in my room, and after a few hours of giggling, I cry. Once the floodgates open, there is no holding back. All the worries pour out of me in the form of tears, and I don’t try to stop them or be strong or any of that nonsense my mother used to tell me I should do when I was a little girl.

She was a great mom, but she raised me to think that feeling anything was a sign of weakness. I should be strong and impartial. A logical thinker who would do what was needed of her. It means I grew up meeting everyone’s expectations, a people pleaser, if you will. I also smiled at everyone feeding me the crap about duty to self, to family, to society.

I’ve been the person who doesn’t disappoint.

But then I hit the crossroads. My mom brought up med school, and I applied. My dad wanted me to marry a successful man. Any man would do, as long as he was wealthy. When I chose med school over the advantageous marriage, my dad looked disappointed.

He disappeared from the house for a few months and then came back with Josh.

I often wonder if my mother tried to buy her way back into Dad’s good graces by pushing Josh onto Charlotte. I remember my sister already had a crush on someone else, so she didn’t care for Josh, and despite being on birth control, she got pregnant with Beatrice.

I suspected foul play and brought it up to my sister, but by then she’d fallen for Josh.

Maybe I owed Charlotte my freedom. Maybe she would have gotten together with that random kid she dated before Josh if I’d married a rich guy and smiled at his functions while nannies raised our five children. I didn’t need to love him. I just had to love the money he’d give me. My dad’s words, not mine.

It’s dark outside, and the moon is full, illuminating the room, for which I’m grateful, so I can see my way to the light switch. There’s no lamp on the nightstand, I don’t have a phone, and the only light in the room comes from the chandelier I turn on.

The bright glow illuminates the space. I squint as I walk to the closet to grab my pajamas. I need a shower, and since there’s none attached to the room, I assume it’s somewhere nearby. Carrying my pajamas, I step outside, expecting to see Declan standing guard, but his station is empty.

Maybe he’s off-duty at night.

Maybe I could escape.

And go where? Down the river in the middle of the night? No way. I’m not that brave or that desperate. Yet. My dad will deliver Cass’s location, and Endo will return me home. I hold on to hope. The alternative is that I resign myself to being buried. That line of thinking won’t make me want to run. It might not even get me out of bed in the morning.

Just find a shower, Scarlett.

Endo said the east wing had been remodeled, which means there are probably showers there, but I overheard someone mention a bath located on this side.

I keep the door in my room open so I can see where I’m going since I can’t find any other lights in the long, narrow hallway. There’s one door on my right, and I pass small wooden doors on my left. They’re so narrow, they creep me out.

I’m not afraid of the dark, but my bare feet pad over cold stone, which serves as a stark reminder of the age of this house. These aren’t hardwood floors.

The house might be haunted.

By pirate ghosts.

Are they behind me?

My heart’s in my throat now. I want to turn around and run back to the room, crawl under the covers, and hide. It’s pitch black in the hallway. I lose courage and turn back. That’s when I spot a thin line of light under a door.

I feel around for the doorknob, and when I find it, I twist and open.

Bingo. Fist pump. Found the bath.

Gosh, it’s beautiful. One of those old baths with a square pool of steaming hot water, a tranquil stone wall with a gentle waterfall running over it, and high windows on the left overlooking the expansive estate. White towels are stacked on the wooden bench between a pair of showers with modern bamboo panels.