It’s a truth blended with a lie. The faded phone number I found scrawled on the bottom of Frankie’s nightstand might not have been left there for me, but, as I learned, this place is invite-only in the most exclusive sense. You don’t seek out the Matthews House; they seek out you.
When I picked up the phone with trembling fingers the day I realized Frankie wasn’t just gone—she was missing—the woman who answered my call had assumed I’d been selected like everyone else.
Aubrey shrugs, then leans forward again and starts working on my eye makeup. “What I mean is that sometimes the things we’re drawn to tell us more about ourselves than we realize. There’s a reason you decided to get on the plane, Emma—”
“Emmy.”
“—and it’s not just the money. It’s never just the money for something like this.”
Her words sink into my brain, clear and heavy. Could that be true? Was Frankie here for something else? But what could she have been searching for? She’s never the one looking for answers; she’s the one people get answers from. Never a follower, always the leader.
“Then what?” I ask, my voice small, fearful of the response I might get. “What for, if not the money?”
Another shrug as she glances around, eyes flicking from one black wall to the next. “There’s something raw about the darkness here, don’t you think? Something honest. Real. In a place like this, you can’t help but let yourself go to your deepest secrets and desires. Your darkest corners.” Her fingers wrap around my chin as she tilts my head once more, this time so I’m staring straight into her sharp, green eyes. “And everyone has dark corners, Emma. Even the angel who never sins just wants to be set free.”
