“You can visit with Auntie Olivia later, okay?” He narrowed his gaze at the boys.
“Okay,” they all said in unison and released their hold on her, heading back into the kitchen.
The sound of forks hitting plates echoed as Mo faced her once more, satisfied they had a brief moment to themselves. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, hugging her with everything he had. She took a deep breath, struggling to keep it together. She didn’t know if she had any tears left to cry at this point.
“I wanted to stop by to see how you were holding up, but I couldn’t leave Kiera.”
“I got your message,” Olivia said. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you or Kiera back. It’s just been a bit crazy.”
“No need to apologize,” he offered, pulling back and holding her at arm’s length. “You have a lot on your plate. The last thing you need to worry about is calling me or Kiera. We’re okay. Everything here is okay.” He gave her a knowing look.
“Is that Libby I hear down there?” a familiar shrill voice boomed. Despite having to remain in her bed or on the couch, apart from showering, Kiera sounded like her normal self. “Get your a… I mean, butt up here.”
Olivia allowed herself a laugh. Kiera had been a mom for six years now and still had trouble watching her language around the kids. When she first got pregnant, they often joked that the baby’s first words wouldn’t be “mama” or “dada”. It would be “shit”. Luckily, that didn’t come true, although her oldest, Bryan, learned “goddammit” at one of the most inconvenient times…a funeral for one of Mo’s aunts. He walked up and down the aisles of the church saying it over and over again. Kiera was horrified. Mo, along with most everyone else, laughed it off, thankful for the levity.
Shrugging at Mo, Olivia headed down the hall and up the stairs toward the master bedroom. Entering, she smiled at her friend. Aside from being bedridden, she looked like her regular self. Her fair skin contrasted with the strawberry blond hue of her vibrant hair, her bold green eyes brimming with compassion.
“Oh, Libby,” Kiera exhaled, holding her arms out.
Olivia rushed to one of her closest friends and hugged her. They remained in each other’s embrace for several long moments, neither one wanting to say anything or break the connection. Nearly two decades ago, Olivia had met Kiera her first week of college and they had remained friends through all of life’s ups and downs.
“God, this whole thing just sucks,” Kiera said through her tears.
Olivia pulled back, biting her lower lip. “Don’t go getting upset,” she warned, eyeing her enormous stomach.
Kiera was tiny to begin with, only hitting five-two on a good day. Each pregnancy took a toll on her body, but she insisted she wouldn’t change a thing. She loved being a mom, and was about to become a mother again to either a beautiful girl or a handsome boy. They never wanted to know the gender and were happy as long as the baby was healthy. Still, Olivia held out hope that Kiera would finally get a girl.
“I don’t want you going into labor just yet.” Olivia winked.
“You and me both.” Kiera rubbed her stomach. “You’ve got to cook just a bit longer, little one.”
Olivia smiled at her, then caught the time on the clock. She didn’t want to be gone too long, and there was still something she needed to do.
Understanding fell over Kiera’s face and she nodded. “I know. Go ahead.”
Mo walked into the room, sitting on a chair in the corner.
“I’m sorry for putting both of you in this predicament. I promise it’ll just be maybe another day at most,” Olivia assured them. “Martin is working on that whenever he can. Obviously, his priority is helping Alexander, but he’s doing what he can to fix this situation without Alex finding out. Mischa would be so grateful for what you’re doing for her…for everyone.”
Kiera squeezed Olivia’s hand, telling her in that one gesture that she would gladly do everything she could to help.
“Do you think what happened to Mischa could be connected to…?” Mo trailed off, but Olivia knew what he was getting at.
“The thought has certainly crossed my mind,” she admitted, “but it doesn’t make sense. No one knew of my involvement, aside from Mischa and Martin, and now you two. I’ve kept this from everyone for months. Even Alex has never picked up on anything going on. If he never put the pieces together, I doubt anyone else would be able to. There’s no paper trail. There’s nothing. I honestly think these were two isolated events that just happened to occur in close proximity to each other.”
Mo nodded. “I hope you’re right.”
Olivia stood from the bed. “Me, too.” She gave Kiera a kiss on the forehead, then walked out of the room.
The floorboards creaked below her feet as she padded down the hallway toward a back staircase. The original house was built by a wealthy landowner in the 1700s. Over the years, it had deteriorated and was torn down to its foundation, then rebuilt in the early 1900s. Most of the original house had been lost…except for the underground walkway the original owner had constructed so his household staff could still get to the main house from the smaller servants’ quarters, which was now a guest house, even in the most brutal of snowstorms.
Grabbing her cell phone, Olivia illuminated the dark stairwell in front of her and climbed down the winding, narrow stairs. When she reached the bottom, a chill set in. Cobwebs hung from the corners of the old basement. She shined her twenty-first century flashlight around the room, searching for the wooden door. She didn’t know why the tunnel hadn’t been filled in over the years, but Olivia was thankful it hadn’t. If it had, she didn’t know what she would do. This was the only place she could think of on such short notice. If someone had figured out her involvement, nothing about visiting two good friends would raise any red flags.
The door hinges screamed through the silent house as she pulled it open and shined her light into the empty tunnel that probably hadn’t been used in ages…until recently. With each step she took, the more her stomach churned. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. She knew everything would be okay, but it didn’t help settle her unease. Nothing would until she saw with her own two eyes that Mischa’s legacy was still alive and well.
Reaching the end of the tunnel, a dim light illuminated a set of stairs. Olivia climbed them and opened a heavy door, emerging into the basement of the guest house. She found a staircase leading to the main floor and climbed it, stopping outside a closed door. Drawing in a long breath, she raised her hand and knocked on it in a specific pattern. Short. Short. Long. Long. Short.
When the door opened, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Chapter Twenty-Six
December 20
8:30 AM