Despite it all, Luci has a good heart. Damaged and bruised, maybe, but in the process of healing. Through therapy, freedom, and Noah’s steady hand.
As it turns out, Luci didn’t know the family secret. To her, Dora was a loving grandmother and stern matriarch. Not a serial killer with a thirst for blood.
Still, she’d become suspicious, sensing something was wrong after Rose disappeared.
Dora sheltered her from most of the horror, and Luci’s ignorance is why she’s not being investigated. Vincent and Chantal are another matter. They’ve been charged with a slew of crimes, including the French equivalents of accessory to murder and obstruction of justice.
And Ric? A growing number of women have alleged sexual assault, so he struck a deal with the prosecutor. He’s spilling all he knows about the family murders, trying to reduce his time in prison. He admits he and Lyam both came into my apartment.
Lyam to stalk me.
But Ric for different reasons.
He’s the one who left theCarmillabook for me to find, just as he left Dora’s journal and the photos for Rose. He wanted someone to go to the police, to report Dora and Lyam.
His plan was to blow everything open. With Dora and Lyam out of the picture, he assumed he would be the next chosen heir.
But he never counted on Luci.
Lots of people didn’t count on Luci. But I did, and she saved my life.
“How’s André doing?” I ask, smiling as I think of the presumed playboy turned hero.
“He’s good. He’s good.” Noah lifts his brows. “He’s been spending a lot of time with Alice.”
I can’t stop myself from laughing. Even in our darkest hours, life can surprise us with a happy twist.
Dora wasn’t the only one brought up alive. When paramedics rushed a barely breathing Alice straight to the hospital, André went to sit with her. He didn’t want her to be alone when she woke up.
Her parents arrived later that night.
But André still stayed with her.
My laughter dies as I picture Alice, her body crumpled on the cold, hard ground. She knows too well what her sister suffered, and now so do her and Rose’s parents.
I don’t know the specifics of what Lyam did to the bodies, but eventually they became part of the ossuary in the catacombs. Bones of murdered women. Hidden in plain sight.
I was almost one of them.
But I made it out, and the Marteaus are the ones behind bars. Though they aren’t the only ones in trouble. The Prosecutor’s Office in Paris is pursuing charges against Chief Phillipe and Captain Armand, along with any other corrupt officers. Those bought and controlled by the Marteau fortune.
They all need to be held accountable.
“So.” Noah walks through his apartment and sits. I see the sofa in the background and long to be there with him. “When do you start shooting?”
“Three weeks.” I got the role of Claudia inThe Whisper Houseshortly after my return to the States, but I still get a warm thrill in my chest every time I talk about the movie.
If I’d been worried about being attached to scandal before Paris, the horrors of Maison Marteau amped up those concerns even more. But when I met Joyce Sandman, she looked me in the eye, said I was right for the part, and nothing else mattered.
I raise my brows at Noah. “You’re not going to believe who’s playing?—”
“Brooke Summers.” The woman in the pencil skirt leans out of the door and looks at me.
“Sorry,” I tell Noah. “I have to go in now.”
“Good luck,” he says, then, “oh, and give Clairee a rub on the belly for me.”
“I will.” The last time I saw my cat was this morning, splayed on the floor and soaking up the California sun. “She’s such a sweetie. Now Lin is saying she wants a cat.”
