There was no other way.
Chapter Seven
November 3rd, 2022
Hawthorne University, Mills Creek, Massachusetts
“It’s a cabin.” Sebastian’s voice was slightly muffled over the phone. She could hardly hear him as it was, and the bustling wind didn’t help with the noise either.
The phone was held between her shoulder and pressed into her cheek as she attempted to remove her textbook from her bag. “What?”
“The address is for a cabin in Cambridge,” Sebastian reiterated.
“Does it belong to her family?”
“The Montgomerys used to vacation over the summers in Maine, or at the lake house, sometimes New York in the winters for Christmas,” Augustus said over the line. “If they owned a cabin in Massachusetts, we would’ve known about it by now. Willow would’ve flaunted it, made a big deal about how many bedrooms it had and the endless mimosas.”
“Either that or it would’ve been in an article by now. Mrs. Montgomery loves to gush over the mayor’s many vacation homes and how much taking time away with family means to him. It’s all a load of nonsense.” Sarcasm dripped from Lilia’s lips.
“Montgomery practically has his reelection secured. Grieving father, honorable man who fixes his marriage.” Sebastian feigned a news broadcaster voice. “Thomas Montgomery has the best interest of Mills Creek in his sights.”
“Can we focus?” Augustus interrupted them. “How far is the cabin from here?”
“An hour,” Sebastian said.
“Guys, do you think we should’ve told the police about what happened the other day?” Lilia asked, changing the subject again.
“And explain to them how we broke into the lake house?” She could practically hear Sebastian’s brow raise over the line. “No thank you.”
“But someone was there, right? We all heard it.”
“It was the wind.” Augustus willed himself to believe it.
“The wind turned on a video recording?” Sebastian snorted. “Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night, Gus.”
“Can we please focus on the topic at hand?” Augustus sighed.
The wind picked up again, tugging at the hem of Lilia’s plaid skirt. She paused, her loafers clacking against the cobblestones as she took in the surrounding scene. Campus was quiet today, the usual hustle and bustle replaced with an eerie stillness that only seems to amplify the ancient architecture around her. The stone buildings loomed overhead, their ivy-covered facades seeming to whisper secrets as she walks past them.
The university, with its Gothic spires and timeworn archways, felt like a place out of time—a relic of a bygone era, steeped in history. Even now, she could feel the weight of thathistory pressing down on her, the centuries-old stones bearing witness to countless lives and stories, many of them forgotten. The shadows cast by the buildings seemed to stretch out, as if reaching for her, drawing her into their depths. Lilia quickened her pace, heading toward the campus coffee shop. It was a familiar place, a sanctuary of sorts where she could think clearly, away from the suffocating expectations of her mother and the ever-present tension within their group. But even here, amid the comforting aroma of coffee and the soft hum of conversation, she couldn’t escape the feeling that something is off—like the very air around her is thick with secrets. She attributed it to her paranoia from the past few months.
“Are we really going to do this?” Lilia asked, her voice low as she maneuvered around a group.
There was a pause on the other end of the line, and she could almost hear the gears turning in Sebastian’s mind. “We have to,” he finally said. “If we want to know what happened to Willow, we have to check it out.”
Lilia sighed, pushing open the door to the coffee shop. The familiar bell chimed, and she was greeted with the warmth of the interior—a stark contrast to the chill outside. She made her way to the counter, ordering her usual before finding a seat by the window. The world outside seemed distant, almost dreamlike, as she pulled her textbook from her bag, trying to focus on something—anything—other than Willow.
But even as she tried to lose herself in her studies, her mind kept drifting back to the address, to the cabin in Cambridge. What was Willow doing with that address? And why had she hidden it away in her book? Was it a secret?
Her thoughts were interrupted when she spotted a familiar face across the room—Amelia, sitting at one of the tables with a stack of books in front of her. Lilia hesitated for a moment, then made her way over.
“I’ll call you guys back,” she murmured, lowering her phone. “Hey,” she said, slipping into the chair opposite Amelia. “Mind if I join you?”
Amelia looked up, her expression a mixture of surprise and wariness. “Lilia, hi. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
She offered a small smile. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I just saw you over here and thought . . . well, we haven’t really talked much since . . . ”
“Since Willow,” Amelia finished for her. She lowers her gaze, fiddling with the edge of her book. “It’s okay. I’m glad you came over. I’ve been meaning to talk to you, actually.”
