Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 478(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
“In that pivotal year, the pieces of my chessboard aligned.” Denver leans back on the couch and props a socked foot on his knee. “I located Kaya. My father, ever the architect of isolation, hid her outside a northern coastal village. Completely alone. Lost to the world. Much in the way he isolated me. Kaya gave birth in solitude, undocumented, and named the child after our beloved Kodiak Island. I would’ve left them there. But my brother ordered my death, and my father brought another brother into the world. So I intended to use Kaya and that child to hurt Montgomery. Killing Montgomery would’ve been a mercy. My long-term plan was to slowly strip away everyone from his life and banish them to the shadows that have become my realm. A balancing of scales. Unfortunately, Kaya didn’t last. She was too soft. Too weak. And Kodiak? I hated him for existing, for being my father’s son. Then I raised him. He became more important than vengeance. He became mine.”
The air feels colder, the devil’s presence emanating from the past. I shiver, reminding myself repeatedly that he’s no longer alive, that he can’t hurt us anymore.
Monty tightens his jaw, fighting his emotions through controlled, deliberate breaths. His eyes harden into chips of ice as he aims his frosty, seething anger at the screen, at Denver’s smug expression.
A shadow hovers over Kody’s features, and the muscles in Leo’s arms haven’t stopped flexing.
Denver’s smile flashes on the screen. “I monitored Montgomery’s endless parade of women, biding my time, waiting for fate to present herself. And then there was Gretchen. She let Monty believe the pregnancy was terminated, left the clinic with his child intact, and fled to Iowa to hide her deceit. It was I who orchestrated her return, guided Wolfson into the world, named him, and claimed him as my own creation.” The light catches in his eyes, a spark of mirth in the grim narrative. “Oh, the tales I could divulge. You must be frothing with questions. How did I locate Gretchen from my secluded cabin? Why did I allow her to fuck Leo? Why didn’t I interfere when eight-year-old Wolfson killed her? I’ll leave it for you to unravel. But I’ll confess this. When she died, we were all relieved. Gretchen was not the fate I had so patiently anticipated. Neither was Jasmine nor Alyssa. Devoid of ties to Montgomery, they were nonentities, mere pawns in a game my boys refused to play. Then, a few years ago, the stars finally aligned. The perfect pawn to play with my boys and the fate that would destroy Montgomery once and for all presented herself.” Leaning closer, he stares directly into the camera. “Frankie, my whole life has been pledged to this meeting with you.”
“Stop the video,” Monty’s command cuts through the chilling narrative, firm and resolute. He surges from the chair and positions himself between the screen and me, as if to shield me from the venom spilling from Denver’s lips.
The screen freezes.
My insides coil. Nausea rises. I’m on the brink, teetering between fleeing from this room and forcing myself to see it through to the bitter end.
The clip’s timeline looms at the bottom of the screen. We’re approaching the finale, and knowing Denver, he saved the worst for last.
Monty stares at his phone, typing something on the screen.
Kody’s hand finds mine, his grip reassuring, his voice guttural. “We’ve made it this far. We need to know the rest.”
Leo nods, his mismatched eyes stark. “It’s the only way to understand, to see the full scope of what he planned.”
Monty looks up from his phone, his eyes softening as they connect with mine. “If you need a moment, we can take a break. But I agree with Kody and Leo. We need to see this through.” He holds up his phone. “Denver used two quotes in this video. The first line when he opened and the last line we just paused on. I recognized them because they’re in a book I found hidden in the wall in my childhood home. A book of Pushkin’s poems. Sirena is getting the book analyzed. I don’t know what any of this means, but Denver put those quotes in the video on purpose.”
“To send us on another scavenger hunt.” Leo’s jaw clicks.
I draw a deep breath, bolstered by the arms around me and Monty’s penetrating gaze. “Let’s finish it.”
After a collective nod, Melanie resumes the video. We brace ourselves as the screen flickers back to life, and Denver’s madness unfurls.
“Ah, Frankie Trevis, my enchantingly vicious butterfly. Six weeks ago, I freed you from this island and introduced you to my boys.” Denver sweeps his arms through the air to embrace the expanse of Monty’s opulent living room. “Today, I returned to Sitka to check on my murderous brother, expecting to find him engaged in his usual whoring. He didn’t disappoint. Only one affair, modest by his standards. But one is sufficient to sway your affections toward my boys.” His voice drops to a chilling cadence. “I’m making this recording to serve two purposes. Firstly, I will eventually die, and should my boys rise to the occasion, proving themselves deserving, they shall inherit the riddle that leads them to this video and all the answers they seek. Secondly, consider this a warning. The legacy I leave is twined with peril as much as promise.”