Chapter 4
The red emergency lights transformed Lenora Hawthorne's silhouette into a looming nightmare as she stood in the doorway of the hospital room.
She wore a long, charcoal-grey trench coat buttoned tightly to her throat, completely unfazed by the sudden power outage.
Behind her, two uniformed deputy sheriffs stood silently, their hands resting comfortably over the holsters of their sidearms.
"I told you brought a curse into this house, Evan," Lenora said, her voice dropping into a raspy, commanding tone.
"Mom, get out of here," Evan said, stepping between his mother and his wife, though his voice lacked conviction.
"Step aside, son," Lenora commanded without looking at him, her pale eyes locked entirely on Tessa and Maisie. "You were always too weak to accept the bloodline duty."
"What duty, Lenora?" Tessa demanded, holding Maisie tighter against her body. "Calling police officers to harass your own family?"
Lenora raised the heavy leather-bound ledger in her hand, tapping it against her knuckles with a sickening rhythm.
"This family built Pine Ridge in 1888, Tessa," Lenora said, her voice ringing with absolute, terrifying conviction. "We built the mills, we funded the roads, and we made a pact with the land."
"You belong in a psychiatric ward," Tessa spat back, moving slowly toward the side door of the room.
"When Abigail died thirty years ago, the land demanded restitution!" Lenora shouted, her eyes bulging with unhinged zeal. "And when Evan brought you—a complete outsider—into our blood, the pact was shattered!"
Sheriff Miller took a step toward Lenora, putting his hand on her shoulder with familiar authority.
"Lenora, that's enough," Miller said quietly. "We agreed to handle this discreetly without terrifying the mother."
Tessa’s eyes widened as she processed the sheriff’s words.
"You knew?" Tessa gasped, looking between Miller and her mother-in-law. "You're helping her?"
"Mrs. Hawthorne, Pine Ridge operates under specific historical covenants," Miller explained smoothly, his voice dropping all pretense of official detachment. "Your husband knows this. He grew up here."
"Evan?" Tessa turned to her husband, her heart breaking into a thousand jagged pieces as she saw the confession in his eyes.
"Tessa, listen to me," Evan begged, stepping toward her with open palms. "If we don't complete the ritual, they won't let us leave the county. They own everything here."
"You sold out our daughter?" Tessa screamed, a sob tearing through her throat.
"It's not selling her out! It's clearing her blood!" Evan pleaded desperately. "Just let my mother perform the blessing!"
"It isn't a blessing!" Lenora barked, holding out the heavy brass key. "The girl must be taken to the upper orchard before dawn. Abigail demands her place back!"
"Over my dead body!" Tessa yelled, grabbing a heavy metal IV pole from beside the bed.
She swung the pole with all her strength, crashing it against the glass window behind her with a deafening shatter.
Glass rained down onto the emergency fire escape outside, cold Oregon night air rushing instantly into the sweltering room.
The loud impact startled the deputies, who instinctively drew their tasers and shouted for Tessa to drop the weapon.
Taking advantage of the sudden chaos, Tessa kicked out the remaining glass fragments and swung her leg over the window sill.
"Tessa, no! You'll fall!" Evan screamed, reaching out to grab her coat.
May you like
Tessa violently shoved him backward, sending him crashing into his mother and the leather ledger she held.
With Maisie clutched securely against her chest, Tessa leaped out onto the metal platform of the fire escape in the freezing, pouring rain.
