I exchange a look with the twins.Now that doesn’t sound ominous at all.What other possible life-altering shit could Emma have to tell us now? But everyone else is so distracted by the house that it seems I’m the only one who stops to think.
“Holy wow!” Oliver lets out a loud whistle as he looks around the room.
Nana, Poppy, and Dad don’t seem so surprised, but the younger generation of Summers looks around in awe.
The entrance foyer is large, with dark porcelain tiles covering the floor and burgundy runners decorating the middle of the room to the bottom of a set of steps. There’s a mezzanine level that the steps lead up to, overlooking the foyer. Decorative arches and columns line the length of the space, each arch leading to a closed door. The room is lit by a big wrought-iron candelabra that hangs above us, and there are wall sconces that look like they could have been used for candles. There are also two candelabras either side of the staircase, both with lit candles in them.
Nana sees me studying them. “The count liked to say the candles created an elegant ambience even though they would make a mess and drip wax all over the floor, not to mention burn down. He had an employee whose only job was to keep them all lit and clean up the wax in the mornings.” She points to the roof, and of course my eyes naturally follow. “That one used to be candles too, but someone got hurt lighting them, so he switched to electricity.” The ceiling is cathedral-style, with gothic cornices and frescoes painted on its surface. I’m trying to get a better look at what’s actually painted there when Hope claps a hand over her mouth. I frown and look at her, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s porn,” she whispers, and my eyes fly back up to the ceiling. Sure enough, I can now make it out. There’s an orgy on the ceiling, but it’s not just a human orgy. There are all sorts of creatures painted there, defiling one another.
“That stays,” Oliver chuckles, and even though Holden elbows him, he can’t hide his smile. Tablet in hand, Jacinta turns to me. I feel my cheeks grow pink, but I quickly nod. It certainly is a talking piece, and unless you look up, no one will notice. Jacinta raises an eyebrow but smirks and makes a note.
“Hey, let’s go in here first.” Emma walks across to the first door on the left, and we all follow. When we enter, it looks like an office. There’s a huge gothic-looking desk taking up a good portion of the room, and it looks out over the moat and the drawbridge at the front. There’s a mismatched array of chairs taking up the rest of the room, and Emma gestures to them. “Take a seat. I stole chairs from all over the house, so we would have enough. I know it’s a squeeze, but there are some things we need to talk about.”
We do as she asks, and as we get comfortable, I see Emma sort of brace herself like what she has to tell us isn’t going to be good. There’s something about the gesture that puts me on high alert, and I grab a twin’s hand in each of mine.
Emma sighs. “I’m afraid I haven't been completely honest with you all.”
ChapterSeventeen
Harlow
“My father wasn't just the caretaker for the place; he’d worked for the count since before I was born. I guess he was his manservant or butler or whatever you would call it these days. Simply put, my father was a jack of all trades. He’d been working for the count for a few years when he’d met my mom. She thought he was a catch because he was handsome, and had a well playing job and quickly agreed to marry him. My father wasn’t a stupid man and he kept his relationship with my mom very separate, I don’t think my mom had even met him before the wedding. And she certainly hadn’t realized what a deviant the count actually was until after she had married my father. Dad kept her well clear of all the orgies and drugs. She told me it only got worse once Dragos was born and his mother died in childbirth.”
Nana nods. “Yes, Adelina and I got pregnant at the same time, and with her pregnancy, she started to see things in a different light. Their lifestyle was fun when we had no responsibilities, but once she found out she was pregnant, she begged the count to stop, to change, but he wasn’t interested. By then, he liked his lifestyle and the power. After Adelina passed away, we barely saw the count, and Dragos was raised by nannies.” Nana smiles gently at Emma. “I didn’t realize your father was Vincent and that he had become the caretaker when the count had disappeared.”
“My mother begged my father to quit, but he wouldn't. He chose the count over the two of us, so my mother divorced him, and we moved away. Looking back now, I think Dad knew too much, and him pushing Mom away was his attempt to keep us safe. I still had a relationship with him, but he would come to me. I never stepped foot on the property again until after Dragos and Count Bucataru had disappeared. My dad called me about five years ago. He’d been diagnosed with stomach cancer and only been given a few months to live. He said it was imperative that I take over as caretaker because he trusted no one else. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to drop my whole life, but my father had limited time left, and this had beenhisentire life. So I left Molly to run the boutique we own, then moved in with him here. In the few months before his death, he told me things that made my toes curl. He said that he had known about Carmen being pregnant and that she had given her children up. He was adamant that they would reappear one day and would need to know things.”
My dad is staring at Emma with hurt in his eyes, and I want to reach out and hold his hand, but I’m not close enough to without getting up. She must see the hurt because she quickly reassures him.
“He had no idea that it was the twins or that you had them. She had come to him when she was heavily pregnant, begging for his help, but his hands were tied. He couldn’t access any of the accounts because they’d been frozen by the police when Dragos and his father went missing. Once the Bucataru wealth was handed over to the trust, he was only able to get them to pay for things that were needed around the property. He was also suspicious of Carmen. He knew her history and didn’t necessarily believe that her child was Dragos’. She was furious with him and made vile threats before eventually leaving once again, and he never saw her again. He made me promise that DNA tests would be run to make sure that the heirs were really of the count’s line.”
“Why would he be so insistent on this? It seems a little bit paranoid,” Poppy muses.
“Not really. I know you look for the good in everyone, but in reality people are assholes. Plus, there were other measures that made it important to verify the biological connection. The vault is secured with a biometric lock that can only be activated by someone with the same genetic signature of the count, and it needs a code which only one other person knew.”
“Your father?” Thomas guesses.
“Yes. With his last dying breath, he told me the location of the vault and the code. That wasn’t even the last of the secrets he shared; contained in the vault are maps detailing the secret tunnels within the estate. Tunnels which make it easy for people to move around undetected.”
“Holy fuck! Why did you never tell the trust about this?” Holden asks her, and she shrugs.
“My dad told me not to. He was suspicious of one of the lawyers—Patricia. She was always coming around to inspect the house, stopping by at least once a month. By the time she began to grow really bold, Dad had been diagnosed with cancer, so he obviously had other things on his mind. He called the firm to ask why this was happening, but they were just as confused as he was. Apparently, she’d been given no orders to spend any time on the property, let alone the amount that she was. He started to refuse her after that, and I think she must have gotten a reprimand too because she stopped coming. Once he passed, she tried to do the same thing with me, but I put a stop to it immediately. She was definitely looking for something, though how she would have any idea what to look for, I have no clue.”
Thomas pulls out his phone, already on his way out as he says, “I’m going to call Jake and ask him to do a background check on her.”
“So that’s it. I have the code you need to get into the vault. Nobody else would have been able to even if they had found it. Even if they had your blood.”
Jacinta gasps, her hand slapped over her mouth, as Jaxon starts to swear a blue streak.
“What’s wrong?” Declan growls, though I don’t know if he’s freshly upset because his siblings are upset or if this is still part of his anger over our unannounced ride.
“In the month before Mom took us to Brad, a woman came and took a vile of our blood; she came back once every week.” He turns to look at me. “Actually, it was the friend who I thought looked a little like your mom. After the blood was drawn, they would usually go out, leaving us alone, only for Mom to return the next day, angry as shit again. But on the last visit, something happened. She and Mom argued the whole time she was there, and Mom made her leave just as soon as she was done with the blood draw.”
“It was the only time I really remember Mom being kind to me. The woman wasn't gentle. It was like she didn't know what she was doing. It always took her a couple of goes to get the needle in.” Jacinta's eyes glaze over like she’s lost in the memory. “Mom would hold my hand and tell me I was such a good girl, that our lives would be so much better if I did this for her. But it never lasted. Mom was even more manic and twitchy after that last blood draw. The day after, we were on Dad’s doorstep.”
“Do you think she was looking for the vault?” Oliver leans forward, his elbows on his knees, like he’s completely enthralled by the story.
