Chapter 5 - The Woman in the Pine Cabin
Julian stood frozen in the center of the living room, staring at Eleanor as if she had spoken to him in a foreign language. The remnants of Lily’s birthday party surrounded them: deflated pastel balloons, an uncut chocolate cake sitting beneath a glass dome, and the discarded gift wrap littering the plush rug.
""What did you just say?"" Julian asked, his voice barely audible.
Eleanor stepped forward, holding the photograph between two shaking fingers. ""Look at the woman holding the baby, Julian. Look at her ears, look at the cleft in her chin. That isn't Clara Sterling. Clara died in a car accident in ninety-eight, but this photo is dated nineteen ninety-nine. And look at the bracelet on her wrist.""
Julian snatched the warped paper from Eleanor's grip. His heart hammered against his ribs like a caged beast. Under the warm light of the floor lamp, the faded colors became agonizingly sharp. The woman was young—barely twenty—with tired, sunken eyes and dark hair pulled back in a hurried knot. On her left wrist was a thin silver band with a distinctive infinity loop charm.
Julian’s breath hitched in his throat. His hand moved unconsciously to the inner pocket of his briefcase, sitting by the hall table. Inside that briefcase was a velvet box containing his mother’s heirloom jewelry—the pieces he had kept after Clara’s estate had been settled. Among those pieces was the exact same silver infinity bracelet.
""Richard told me my mother gave this to him before she passed,"" Julian whispered, his fingers tracing the curve of the silver band in the picture.
""Mommy?""
Lily’s small, hoarse voice broke through the haze. She was sitting up on the sofa, the pink fleece blanket pulled up to her chin, her large hazel eyes puffy from crying. ""Are the bad people gone?""
Eleanor immediately rushed to the sofa, sitting beside her daughter and stroking the little girl’s tangled brown curls. ""Yes, my love. The bad people are gone. Daddy and I are right here.""
""Grandpa was mad at me because I broke the tin,"" Lily mumbled, burying her face into Eleanor’s waist. ""I was trying to get the shiny key out.""
Julian snapped his head up from the photo. ""What key, Lily?""
Lily pointed toward the dining table. ""It fell out when the picture dropped. Under the chair with the velvet cushion.""
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Julian dropped to his knees on the hardwood floor, crawling toward the heavy dining chair. He reached underneath the dark mahogany frame, his fingertips sweeping blindly across the dust until they brushed against cold, heavy metal. He pulled it out into the light.
It was an antique brass safe-deposit key, heavy and notched with intricate grooves. Attached to the ring was a small brass tag, tarnished with age and green corrosion. Engraved into the metal were three words: North Harbor Vaults.
