Page 60 of The Silence of Hell

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and snapped my head in the direction of Ravenberry. Towering trees hid my home from me, but I could just see the tip of the widow’s tower in the distance. What caught my attention was the hulking figure in the treeline watching me. Unsure what to do, I watched him. I couldn’t make out his features, but somehow, he didn’t mean harm.

I lifted my hand and waved at him, and he cocked his head. Before I could call out, he faded into the trees.

“Shit!” I muttered as I heard Rock and Chatter coming back. No doubt he’d spotted them and fled. Who the hell was he?

???

I was still puzzling the mystery when we arrived at the Manor. An expensive car was parked outside, and I frowned. I didn’t know anyone who owned a car like that. A second unfamiliar car was parked next to it, and I wondered who’d come to visit.

As Chatter and Rock stood talking by Rock’s Harley, I opened the door and snarled.

“Get the fuck out!” The loudness of my voice attracted attention, and the man in front of me spun around with a smarmy smile.

“How great to see you!” my cousin Rik said.

“Get. The. Fuck. Out. Rick!” I repeated.

“You are going to want to listen to me,” Rik warned.

“You have got nothing to say I want to hear. How dare you come here? And the sheer gall of you suing the estate for a cut! What makes you think you’re entitled to any of this? If Uncle Ronald had married another woman, you wouldn’t even know about this. This is my home and my legacy! You’ve no right to any of this just because Uncle Ronald married into it! Rik, you’re not a Bloodsworth, and I’ll fight you until my dying day!”

“Neither are you, Lavender,” Rik sneered, and I paused.

“What? Don’t be stupid,” I hissed as my anger began rising.

“You were adopted! You are not a Bloodsworth either!” Rik crowed triumphantly. “So, listen up, cousin, this is how it’s going to go.”

I reeled back, staring at Rik, horrified. “What?”

“Yeah, Lavender. Adopted. Now, before I take everything from you. I want half of the estate’s value. I know what the trust is worth, and I am being very generous leaving you half. At least I’m family. You, however, aren’t. Which means the law would side with me. Get onto your lawyer and inform them to give me half, and I’ll leave you alone with this… mausoleum. Refuse, and this certificate of adoption will be sent to the lawyers, and you’ll be cut off!” Rik sneered at me as he waved a piece of paper.

I was reeling with horror. Adopted? I couldn’t have been. The trust could only pass to someone with blood. I wrapped my arms around my body as coldness set in.

“If I’m adopted, then I shall ensure the trust finds a legitimate heir. I won’t sign a cent over to you, you lazy, greedy, worthless, entitled, self-important asshole. Rik, I will never allow you to destroy this estate and legacy with your greed and grasping mannerisms. Pass me that adoption certificate, I’ll have it investigated, and if you’re correct, then I’ll step aside for the legal heir!”

Rik drew the piece of paper back. “Give you this so you can destroy it? Not a chance in hell!”

“Unlike you, I have morals and ethics. If what you are saying is correct, then I need to find the true heir. Which still won’t be you!”

I rubbed my arm and froze. Slowly, I lifted my sleeve and looked down at a mark I’d been born with. A smile crossed my face.

“Call the police,” I said to those watching.

“On it,” Tatum replied.

“What are you doing?” Rik yelled, his face growing mottled in temper. “You’ll lose everything!”

“Except I won’t. Because I am a true Bloodsworth, and this was just another scheme of yours.”

“I have evidence—”

“You have shit. There is enough DNA lying around this place I can prove who I am. And, of course, my father is a Bloodsworth, so I can get DNA from him. And plus, there’s this,” I exclaimed, lifting up my arm.

Rik looked confused.

“It’s a birthmark. One all Ravenberry’s are born with. And so does she,” I said, pointing at a portrait that hung in the entrance hall. It was one of my ancestors, Richard’s youngest daughter, and her arms were bare, and one held a matching mark to mine.

“Sign half over!” Rik screamed. “That’s a tattoo!”

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