Chapter 7
Tessa pressed her back hard against the rough bark of the dead apple tree, holding her hand over Maisie’s small mouth to stifle any sound.
The cold mud seeped through her sneakers, but she ignored the discomfort, her entire focus fixed on the conversation occurring yards away.
Evan walked toward the icehouse, his flashlight beam illuminating the thick blue frost coating the heavy iron lock.
"The seal is breaking, Mom," Evan said, his voice dropping into a register of pure, unadulterated dread. "Look at the ice."
"It's breaking because your daughter carries the blood of an unholy union!" Lenora shouted, coming to a stop beside him. "You married an outsider from California! You diluted the bloodline!"
"Tessa had nothing to do with what happened thirty years ago!" Evan yelled back, turning on his mother with sudden, explosive rage.
"She has everything to do with it now!" Lenora countered, taking a step closer and thrusting her silver lantern into his face. "You made a trade, Evan! Thirty years ago, you took the life that belonged to Abigail so you could live!"
Tessa’s eyes widened in absolute horror behind the tree trunk, her breath hitching sharply in her chest.
You took the life that belonged to Abigail.
The spectral child's words rushed back to her mind with violent clarity: He pushed me.
Tessa realized the horrifying truth that had been hidden under layers of family lies for three decades.
Evan hadn't just lost his sister in an tragic accident; he had sacrificed her, or caused her death, under his mother's monstrous direction.
"I was four years old, Mom!" Evan wept openly now, his shoulders shaking as he dropped the tactical flashlight into the mud. "I didn't know what you were doing! You told me it was a game!"
"And that 'game' bought this family thirty years of wealth and protection!" Lenora snarled, showing no sympathy for her son's tears. "The pact requires a swap every generation! One child given, one child saved!"
"I won't let you take Maisie!" Evan screamed, grabbing his mother by her shoulders and shaking her furiously. "I'd rather burn this whole estate to the ground!"
"It's too late, Evan," Lenora said softly, a dark, terrifying smile spreading across her wrinkled face. "Look behind you."
From the dark edges of the orchard, three more figures emerged from the gloom, holding heavy wooden walking sticks and lanterns.
It was Sheriff Miller, accompanied by two older men Tessa recognized as prominent members of the Pine Ridge city council.
They moved in a synchronized, practiced line, surrounding the central icehouse like a ring of executioners.
"Evan Hawthorne," Sheriff Miller spoke, his voice booming over the sound of the falling rain. "Your family signed the county charter in 1888. The covenant must be maintained."
"Tom, please," Evan begged, stepping back toward the locked door. "She's my daughter!"
"And Abigail was your sister," Miller said coldly, drawing his service weapon from his holster. "Where is your wife, Evan?"
Tessa knew her time was up; they were about to surround the orchard completely and search tree by tree.
May you like
She looked down at Maisie, whose eyes were wide and filled with an ancient, terrifying understanding.
"Mommy," Maisie whispered, her small voice cutting through the heavy air. "The key is under the rock with the red flower."
