Ellis looks into the camera, and I feel her eyes onmebefore they flick higher—beyond the camera. A loving smile graces her face that’s directed at her husband.
“She was beautiful. You look just like her.”
“Yeah,” Scarlet sobs. “Sorry, I’ve seen this a hundred times before.”
“Don’t apologise,” I tell her, moving to sit on the sofa.
I pull her into a tight hug just as the tape cuts off.
* * *
Vinny arrives latein the afternoon to take me home, and I dread it. I pushed the piano to the back of my mind for the remainder of the afternoon, not allowing my brain to make sense of it. But I know I need to.
Especially before I face Mason.
“Hey, Vin.” I smile as I slide into the back of the Audi.
“Good day?” he asks, looking up at the grand house with a thoughtful look.
“Yeah, just draining.” I yawn, dropping my head to the seat and closing my eyes. “I will be glad to get in my bed tonight.”
We leave the estate behind and head towards the city, which gives me plenty of time to think. And the only thing on my mind is Mason’s mother’s piano.
Why is it in the studio?
Did Mason know?
I pause at that thought. It’s like everything clicks into place. My head calls a ceasefire. The confusion settles as I get the image of Mason in the studio. It was the day Joey took the photos. It was the first time he had been upstairs.
I thought he was mad. I thought it was Joey.
The way his eyes cut through me as if he wasn’t looking at me.
He wasn’t. It was the piano.
He knows it’s there—but how,why?
My body flushes ice cold then hot, goosebumps making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
He knows it’s there.
If the piano is Mason’s and he knew where my studio was, why didn’t he ever tell me about it? God, that doesn’t even make sense. Not with the way he behaved that day. Did he not know? He didn’t seem like he knew. He seemed…
“Vinny, do you know anything about Ellis’ piano?”
He flinches. It’s quick and only slight, but I catch it, and it sets my pulse racing.
“It’s just, I think it is in my studio.” I shake my head, correcting myself. “My old studio.”
He hesitates, and it’s obvious he is choosing his words carefully. “Yes, Nina. I’ve heard about the piano, but you should probably ask Mason about it.”
“I’m asking you.”
“And I am asking you to speak to Mason about it,” he says sternly, and I frown at his tone.
He has been quiet since he got back from his holiday. I put it down to Anthony’s passing because I know they were close, but this isn’t like Vinny.
Resigning myself to the fact that Vinny isn’t going to help me, I try to piece it together myself starting with the day Mason came to the studio.
