“I’ll call her,” Adria said, grabbing her phone.
Elena put her hand out, stopping her. “We need to have this conversation in person.”
The woman’s eyes held murder in them. Adria shook her head. “Frances is not involved. She is a good girl. I trust her.”
But did she? What did Adria really know about Frances?
Elena gave her an oh-you-sweet-thing look before saying, “Fact, she was supposed to useyoursecurity team and Eric just found out she didn’t. Fact, she was supposed to call me the night of the auction, never did. Fact, my brother left your house in a car she arranged and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.”
Elena leveled a serious stare. “I am going to see her in person,” she said, pronouncing each syllable. “You can come with if you want, or you can stay here keeping your fingers crossed.”
Adria straightened. “I’m coming with you; I want to find them too.”
“Yeah, sure you do,” Elena said, leaving the room.
CHAPTER 7
NORTH CAROLINA
Despite Elena’s protests, Adria sent Frances a text in the car.
Adria: I need to talk, coming over.
…
The three dots appeared and fell several times before she received a response.
Frances: Of course. I’m not home right now. Tomorrow?
Adria knew that there was no changing Elena’s mind. If Frances wasn’t home, Adria would just have to convince one of the staff to let them look around. Technically speaking, the estate was hers as Loretta left her everything after her death. Adria just hadn’t decided what she wanted to do with the property.
Forty-five minutes later, the three of them pulled into Loretta’s drive.
Adria tensed. She hadn’t been there since Loretta’s funeral.
The home that used to make her feel so welcome and safe was a stranger to her now. She didn’t know it anymore.
She didn’t want to know it.
As far as Adria was concerned, with Loretta gone, the manor would only ever be a shell of its former self. There was no repairing that for her.
No cars were parked in the drive, and the home seemed dark.
“Frances says she is out for the day. Maybe we can come back tomorrow?” Adria said, hopeful.
Elena barely even acknowledged her as she barged out of the car, making her way to the front door.
“Or we can knock on the clearly empty house,” Adria said, exasperated.
Adria’s heels scraped against the stone walkway as she made her way to Elena. A feeling of unease crept along Adria’s neck. Something felt off.
Loretta trusted Frances, and Adria had no reason to doubt that, but standing on the dark doorstep, there were pieces that didn’t quite fit.
The trio stood wordlessly, while Elena pounded rhythmically on the door. Her tiny fist making a surprising amount of noise.
After a monumental effort in knocking, Elena said, “Forget this.”
Her hands balled into fists as she stomped down the steps, moving around the yard, swearing under her breath until she found something of interest on the ground.
