The Women in the Walls by Amy Lukavics

Author:Amy Lukavics
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-10-18T04:00:00+00:00

THE NEXT MORNING at breakfast my father asks about the broken wineglass in his study. I tell him that I saw Gregory Shaw and Kent Dickens loitering around in the hallway and that Gregory had been drinking wine.

“That man is a detriment to the club,” he says angrily and sets his newspaper down on the table. “One bad apple will spoil the bunch here. I’m sure by now that he’s turned most of the other members against me. They won’t back me down. I can prove myself to them.”

“Why would you even want to?” I ask, hoping to get a little more information about what kind of pull certain club members may have. After my encounter with Gregory last night, I can’t imagine a thing in the world that would make me want to prove anything to him. If he had the power to get us out of the estate and take it himself, why wouldn’t he have done it by now? “What about this place is so worth fighting for?”

My father sets his coffee cup down, hard enough to cause the dark liquid inside to slosh over the edge. “We live in a historical landmark tied to the club and a name that is worth being proud of,” he snaps. “Do you think I took the act of changing my name lightly when I married your mother? That I just did it for the money, and not for Eva and what she wanted to contribute to this club? Because if so, then you’re just like them.”

“But she didn’t even want this life,” I burst, remembering what I heard last night. “It was Penelope that did.”

Let him know that I know. The secrets are too much to stay hidden by now, too relevant. They could even be dangerous.

“Who told you that?” my father asks, squinting as if I’ve said something profoundly stupid. “Your mother most certainly did take her reputation seriously. It wasn’t as glowing as Penelope’s, I’ll admit. They had two very different ways of looking at the potential of this place, but to say that she didn’t want this life... She wanted it all for you!”

My face flushes hot. “It’s something I heard Gregory say,” I admit. “Something is going on around here and I think that he might know what. I think you might know, too.” At the very least, he’s hiding information about whatever leverage the club has over our family.

Aside from that, there’s another thing that doesn’t add up to me—why everyone always talks about the potential of this place, as if it’s something more important than a place being used for parties. And they’re not even a real country club! At this point, only an idiot would try to pretend this is all normal. Yet, even now, my father still won’t admit the truth to himself: we should be running.

“Enough,” he finally says. “This is your legacy, Lucy. Embrace it and you’ll be set for life, as will your children, and theirs.”

“I have no interest in living here any second longer than I have to,” I say.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.