The driver dropped me off back at my apartment and I decided that I was done pretending. I was going to drive my own car to The Manor and own up to all of it. I would tell Adam and Will who I was and what I was sent there to do. I would tell them what I knew about Stella Thompson, which wasn’t much, and find a way to uncover more. One thing I couldn’t do was continue to lose myself in someone else’s identity. Not when I was on the verge of losing my own.
That was what I thought I was going to do, but then the gates creaked open and I drove in, my tires bumping against the gravel, and I fell back into the trance. Eva Guerra didn’t belong here—at least as far as they knew. If I told them who I was, they’d kick me out. If they kicked me out, I may never find out the truth about Stella or what happened the night she disappeared, though the more I found out about her, the more I wondered if maybe Stella hadn’t gone missing at all. Maybe she just didn’t want to be found. Whatever the case, I needed to find her, not for Dr. Thompson, but for myself. I mulled over what I knew for certain happened these last few days: I’d ended up in The Institute, I’d ended up at the police station, I’d been told to pretend I was Stella, someone called the cops saying they were Stella and they were in trouble. It wasn’t much to go on, but I’d use it.
I drove beneath a sycamore tree and set my car in park, my gaze on the back of the house, on the endless land that led to an endless forest. I thought about the woman who invited me to the chapel out there in the mouth of the woods. Maybe that was where Stella was. Maybe they were holding her captive. Maybe she’d be next in the disgusting display the monks had planned. A shiver rolled through me as I got out of the car and walked toward the front of the manor, the key in my hand to unlock the door. When I reached it, I noticed it was slightly opened. I pushed it open a little more, peeking my head in without committing to walking inside.
The hall was darker today, only the light from the setting sun behind me illuminating the wood-paneled walls and creepy paintings on them. I stepped inside, shutting the door quietly behind me. Should I lock it? Should I leave it? It had been open, after all. I left it and kept walking. I was halfway down the hall when I heard the faint music of the piano and decided to head in that direction. When I reached the room, the doors were shut, but the music was vibrant behind it. I turned the knob and entered without knocking. Unlike the other doors I’d encountered in the house, this one didn’t creak when it opened. Behind the piano sat Adam, his back straight and his hands gliding along the keys in a fury.
Pressing my back against the door, I watched him. He seemed like he was in a trance, his expression serious, brows furrowed, jaw clenched. His hands seemed to carry the weight of whatever wrongdoings he was trying to exorcise, like he was at the mercy of the keys beneath his fingers as they jumped to punctuate each note of the hauntingly beautiful song. His hands stopped moving suddenly and he looked up to flip the page of the book in front of him, starting a new song. This one was upbeat and made me feel like I was in the ballet. His hands sped across the keys, his brows furrowing slightly as he continued to play. I was completely riveted by the performance. The piece seemed to go on forever and I found myself not wanting to move out of fear that he might ever stop playing. When it did come to an end, he hit the keys with a bang, bang, like it was a grand finale.
“I hope you enjoyed yourself.” He was still looking at the book in front of him.
“You knew I was here?” I peeled myself from the door and walked over, sitting on the armrest of the couch closest to him.
“Not much escapes me.”
“Interesting fact.” I licked my lips. “Your brother says you’re very—what you see is what you get.”
“My brother said that?”
“Yup. You guys are close.”
“We are.” He closed the keys and rested his elbows on it, watching me closely. “You have a brother. Are you close?”
“Not really.” I glanced away because Adam was looking at me like he was trying to read way into me and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.