CHAPTER 41
ZACH
Westwood Manor looked exactly the same as it had ten years ago. I hadn’t really thought about it until I walked through the place with Adeline back at my side. Now that I’d noticed it though, it was a little unsettling.
Theo and I had been living here alone for over a year, and even before that, Dad had mostly stuck to his study and his wing of the house. We’d had plenty of time and opportunities to do stuff. Renovate. Redecorate.
But it had never even crossed my mind.
“It’s incredible,” she murmured as we moved through the main hallway. “Nothing has changed.”
She skimmed her fingers lightly over the edge of an antique side table buried under framed photographs and piles of Dad’s unopened mail. I glanced around but I already knew that she was right.
The same paintings still hung in the same places. The same furniture sat in the same places. Even the air smelled the same, the scent of old wood, polish, and faint, stale cigar smoke still lingering in the air around Dad’s study.
It had never stood out to me before because I was so used to it, but seeing it through Adeline’s eyes made me realize thatmy parents had moved in here to raise their family between these walls. Then my mother had died, and after that, the place had slowly stopped being a home and started becoming a very expensive storage facility.
Although Theo and I still lived here, it was mostly a dumping ground for old art, gifts from clients, and other collectables no one was sure what to do with. “The only woman’s touch it ever had was Charlotte, and her room has since been turned into a pink-hued storage area.”
Adeline chuckled as we climbed the stairs to the attic. “You’re kidding. You mean to tell me that you and Theo haven’t been dying to redecorate?”
I knew she was joking, but I smothered a grin and arched an eyebrow at her. “If I’d let Theo loose in here, we would’ve had a nightclub in the living room, a motorcycle garage in the dining room, and sports memorabilia everywhere. Nobody wants that.”
She smiled, and warmth spread through my chest at how easy banter came with her, snapping into place like muscle memory. “Oh, I think you forgot about an escape room for Nate.”
I laughed. “He’d probably have a running track installed too.”
“What about Alex?” she teased. “A second office? Perhaps a library filled to the ceiling with books on strategy and business?”
“Definitely.” I led her up the narrow staircase toward the attic, flicking on the overhead lights as we stepped into the massive space. “Although Will would share that with him. You should see what he did to our mom’s townhouse. He’s basically got a library like that there already.”
Adeline stopped dead when she followed me in. “Oh my God.”
“What?” I twisted to face her. “The library? Yeah, I know. It’s ridiculous, but?—”
“No, Zach,” she breathed, sweeping a hand out to motion vaguely around the room. “This. This is…”
When she trailed off, I turned back to the attic, taking in the dusty sunlight streaming through the small circular windows along the roof, illuminating rows and rows of paintings, covered furniture, stacked frames, sculptures, and wooden crates.
She walked forward slowly, bending over to inspect some of the paintings stacked against a wall. A soft, breathless sound came out of her before she straightened up again. “There’s priceless art up here.”
“Probably,” I admitted.
“Probably?” She stared at me like I’d crash-landed from space and had a green head. “Zach, that looks like an original Monet and I’m pretty sure the one next to it is a Vermeer. Those pieces are extremely rare. There are only around thirty-four Vermeer’s acknowledged to exist.”
My eyebrows shot up, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. “Yeah, maybe. I honestly don’t know. Dad got into auctions for a minute after Mom died. I guess it was healthier than gambling.”
“And you guys just, what, let it all sit here?”
“Yes?” I crinkled my nose and let out a deep sigh. “Judging by your tone, I’m assuming that was a mistake, but to be honest, none of us ever really questioned it. As far as I know, no one ever researched the pieces either. I know for a fact I didn’t, but I doubt anyone would’ve. Except maybe Nate.”
“Could you ask him?” Adeline asked as she moved deeper into the attic, inspecting frames with growing disbelief while I watched. “This piece alone could purchase a small country.”
I snorted. “Are you sure? It’s not even very pretty. The colors are so faded.”
“Because the paint is that old,” she said. “Trust me, I’m right about this.”
I laughed under my breath and wandered toward the back wall where old storage boxes were stacked nearly to the ceiling. I spotted a familiar label.Z.W.
