Page 44

VIOLET

I may have lost Sarah, but she’s left something, and I know where. The fire only singed the main bedroom, all furniture intact, although smoke damaged. I chew my lip and turn in a circle. S leeps on the left.

I drop to my knees beside the bed to drag back a rug that stinks of smoke.

Aha. Circular runes that match those I accidentally revealed during my altercation with Grayson in the Sawyers’ main residence.

An excitement all too rare recently surges as I pick at the edges of a floorboard with my fingers.

The thrill zings through my blood as a board and the one beside it lift easily.

“Will you wait for people instead of running off?” grumbles Leif as the others join me.

Not looking at them, I delve into the dark of the revealed space and pull out my prize—a white cardboard box labeled with a picture of a high-heeled shoe and the number eight.

Grayson sits too and watches as I remove the lid, revealing papers and a notebook. “Do you think this is the box that Kai found?”

“If so, she took the gun.” Leif joins us on the floor.

“Yes. What other shoebox would Sarah take the trouble to hide?” I remove a folded sheet of torn paper from the top of the box, heart thudding as I unfold and read the note. “And she left something new.”

I’m not stupid. I know you’ve followed me recently.

I also know that Viktor is back and that he hurt your friend.

Viktor will finish what he started, and Josef can’t help me anymore.

I have to leave. Kai can’t come with me because he isn’t safe unless Violet’s father watches him.

Don’t tell Christopher. He doesn’t know the truth.

Let him think I left the marriage. Viktor will follow me.

I can’t risk more lives. If you want to help, find Madison and my brother’s bodies. I can’t reach them.

My jaw slackens. “Viktor is dead. Sarah is running for no reason.”

Rowan takes the letter from me. “The Sawyers knew about the body in the morgue, and so will also know someone covered up when it went missing. Sarah must’ve thought it was another human victim, and that Viktor was closing in.”

“Josef could’ve told Sarah that Viktor died, but instead he’s letting her run to god knows where or who. What an evil bastard.”

Grayson makes a derisive sound. “And you only just now came to that conclusion about my uncle, Leif?”

I carefully unpack the contents, and we sit in a circle around our findings. Amongst the papers and envelopes, we find a jewelry item. A silver and blue heart-shaped pendant hangs on a silver chain, two pieces of a heart slotted together: M and S.

“I bet that’s what Grayson and Violet allegedly stole,” says Leif. “Why didn’t Sarah tell her husband that she took the necklace?”

Rowan takes hold. “I don’t think Sawyer knows everything about his wife’s history.”

“Do you think it’s a talisman?” asks Grayson. “Magic?”

“A human item. Hidden magic, maybe.” Rowan clenches his fist around the pendant. “There’s nothing unpleasant in the item’s energy, but I’ll check it out properly later.”

As Rowan pockets the pendant, we delve deeper and discover other hand-written letters and documents, along with old photographs that exactly match the ones Kai showed us.

One letter written on plain white paper rambles with vitriol and vengeance.

The letter is filled with jealousy, and threats about how Madison is “gone” and that it’s “your fault” and “you need to watch your back.” The author hasn’t signed the note, but this must be Viktor.

Halfway through, the author addresses the recipient as Robert.

Sarah’s brother.

Another letter, not addressed to anybody, and in the same handwriting, taunts Sarah about Robert’s disappearance.

I push the letters to one side and pick up a blue notebook covered in cat stickers. A diary. The content outlines dates and events linked to Madison, Viktor, or Sarah’s brother.

“Do you think Sarah copied runes from the cave walls?” asks Rowan, indicating a page with pencil rubbings of shapes.

“Maybe.” I run a finger around the unfamiliar outlines. Sarah’s Woodside runes? Perhaps Julius can identify if these belong to their family’s magic.

Grayson leans back, arms stretched behind him and palms on the floor. “Did Sarah know Viktor was a witch?”

“Not at first, but her investigations show notes about spell evidence and the nearby academy’s weirdness and rumors.” Rowan flicks over a page in the diary. “The girls in the film footage we found all knew about witches and talked freely about it.”

More notes. How Sarah hated Viktor because he was hurting Madison.

The date Madison went missing.

Sarah’s entries show that she spent time digging into Viktor’s life after Madison disappeared, including suspicions that they were both witches, since Madison drunkenly joked that she was one.

She discovered Viktor’s surname, tracked him down, and noted their confrontation which involved denial and a dismissive attitude.

A family trait.

A gap of three months follows. No mention of her parents death apart from “Longdale Bridge.”

More blank pages.

Then the date that Robert disappeared.

No entries until a month later

I will keep this. I will not forget

Beneath the words, she drew an outline of the necklace pendant and colored each side to match the blue.

I tap the book. “Sarah knows who Viktor is and that he is—was—still alive. How does she remember?”

“She’s kept every record and correspondence between her and anybody from around the time.” Rowan chews his bottom lip. “In case she ‘forgets.’”

“Or to remind her not to forget?” suggests Grayson and points at the diary entry.

“Sarah never forgot. That’s the problem.”

Rowan sits upright. “Violet. Cornelius doesn’t have these items— physical memories that a human owned. He couldn’t erase everything.”

I pick up a postcard with a smudged date stamp. No address, just a picture of cartoon rabbits, and a very un-fluffy message.

MY CHILD IS DEAD. I’LL KILL YOURS.

“Whoa. What?” asks Grayson. “Whose child?”

I take Viktor’s letter and compare handwriting. The same? Or similar? “Does Viktor mean his and Madison’s? Nobody told us she had a baby, and I’m sure that small detail would’ve emerged.”

Leif’s brow tugs down. “When did Cornelius remove Viktor from existence?”

“In the month after Madison died,” I say.

“Yeah, around the time Viktor became more unhinged from the looks of things,” adds Grayson. “Viktor refused to hide himself from Sarah. He terrorized her.”

“After he killed Sarah’s brother? One murder too many?” I study the postcard again.

“Violet. One murder is too many, not two.”

“Or four if you include her parents.” Leif waves the postcard. “How long after Madison’s death was Kai born?”

“A year. In the diary, Sarah mentions dating Christopher, but there’s no mention of a baby because Kai wasn’t born yet.”

“Which means somebody sent the postcard later.” Leif smiles and taps the postcard on his hand. “After Kai was born.”

“But Viktor was ‘dead.’ Or was it Cornelius? His child because Viktor ‘died?’”

“There are no dead children.” I remove another paper from the box, this one a thicker cream vellum with typed words.

I understand that you’re marrying into the Sawyer family, and that Christopher is set to inherit their fortune.

I wanted to advise you that his family business faces ruin due to recent ill-advised financial ventures.

Marriage will not be the escape you think, and you’ll return to the life you wish to escape.

However, to assist, I intend to invest funds into Sawyer Enterprises. I will contact Christopher to arrange a meeting between him, myself, and my board members. In return, you can assist me by returning the items we discussed. I am sure you can see how this will be beneficial to all involved.

I also wanted to pass on my condolences.

I’m sorry to hear about the recent loss of your parents. Tragedy does indeed surround your family, and I hope that your fortune changes soon.

Give my regards to your brother.