Nina looked contemplative, a shell of sunlight flashing across her cheek. “I don’t regret any of it,” she said finally. “I feel open to whatever happens next. And I’m endlessly excited about spending an entire summer on Nantucket with my kids!”
Addison remembered meeting Nina and Charlotte last summer, how anxious and terrified she’d been. Nina’s kids had been at summer camp, nursing their wounds after Nina and their father’s divorce. But Nina explained that she never wanted to spend so much time away from them ever again.
From downstairs came calls of welcome. Curious, Nina and Addison hurried to find that Francesca and Allegra had come for lunch, Francesca moving slowly but regally, her brand-new wig shining. Allegra was planning to go back to Italy soon, and Lorelei had already left. But Francesca would remain. Nina still wasn’t sure who she planned to live with. Maybe Charlotte would move into that vacation home for the time being?
Oh, but if they were all going to stay on Nantucket, if they were all going to commit to this life, didn’t that mean that most of them needed to buy houses and actually settle down?
It was a lot to think about. Addison thanked her lucky stars that Jack had bought a house on Nantucket decades ago, when the market had been a bit better. She couldn’t fathom spending what houses required now.
But the joyousness that had come with Francesca’s arrival dried up in an instant when, with a shaking hand, Francesca pulled a letter from her purse and set it in front of Benjamin. “This was in the letter box of my house last night,” Francesca explained, raising her chin.
The letter was unmarked. Addison and the rest of the Whitmores watched anxiously as Benjamin removed the note from within and read it. His cheeks went pale. Without saying anything, Benjamin passed the notecard around to the rest of the Whitmores so they could understand what was happening. When it reached Addison, she readMark my words. If you continue returning the lodge to its former glory without offering me what you know I’m owed, my colleagues and I will see that it burns once more. Yours, A.
A sickly feeling overtook Addison. She thought of her father, back in Hawaii, nursing his wounds and sleeping in front of the television. She thought of the Golden Sunset Hotel, its refurbishment that had pushed it farther and farther from her family’s vision. She thought of Angelo Accetta, that arrogant and heinous Italian man, who’d torn not only the Whitmores apart, but also her mother and father. He wouldn’t hesitate to destroy everything.
“Is there any video footage?” Benjamin asked Francesca. “Any record of who dropped this off?”
Francesca shook her head and said she didn’t believe in video surveillance. Nobody was willing to say that video surveillance was maybe their only way to understand Angelo’s movements. Addison wasn’t even convinced that it was Angelo himself who’d delivered the letter. Her stomach roiling, she hurried outside tocalm herself, inhaling cold air. When Jack came to find her, he wrapped his arms around her and said, “It’s going to be okay.”
But how could Jack know if it was going to be okay?
Addison steeled herself before saying, “I want to track him down myself. I want revenge.”
Jack’s eyes were clear. Before he could convince her of any other tactic, Addison told him what she wanted to do. She wanted to return to Hawaii and follow the trail that had ended with the dissolution of her family’s life. “Maybe he doesn’t know that we’re back together,” she suggested. “Maybe he’s been lazy on my end of things. Maybe we can catch him.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was a week and a half after the letter’s arrival that Addison and Jack flew back to Hawaii to try to track down Angelo. Sitting in the middle seat of the airplane, her hand latched in Jack’s, Addison focused on her breathing, closing and opening her eyes, telling herself that everything would be all right. Kennedy, Penelope, and Gavin were safe and happy at school; Charlotte had agreed to stay with them till Jack and Addison returned from what they called “checking up on Addison’s parents and gathering up the rest of their things.” Addison hadn’t wanted to tell any of the other Whitmores about Angelo’s involvement in her father’s downfall. It felt private. More than that, she had no idea if she would manage to figure this out.
When the plane landed on Oahu late evening, the same day they’d left the East Coast, Addison and Jack performed the hilarious tasks of stripping out of their winter clothes and entering their Hawaii-sensibilities again. Jack popped on a pair of sunglasses and strung his backpack over his shoulders, looking every bit as young and alive and happy as he had that first day she’d met him at the Golden Sunset. Everything had changed, in some ways. But also nothing had.
Jack explained to her that he wanted to check on the car he’d parked not far from the airport all those months ago when he’d disappeared. Addison’s jaw dropped at the thought that his car could possibly remain there unnoticed for so long. But when she drove them in the car that she’d dropped off back in December, they laughed with shock and surprise, realizing that Jack’s car was exactly where he’d left it. It was dirty, covered in sand and palm fronds, and it needed a tune-up and some gas. But after they went to the nearest gas station, filled up a little can, and got the engine going, it ran just fine. Jack drove behind Addison all the way back to the house they’d purchased on the beach, the house where they’d brought their babies after their births. Addison knew that her parents were both home because there was nowhere else they needed to be.
Addison and Jack entered their house, calling out a hello. Just as she’d suspected, Hugh was in front of the television, cast in an eerie blue light. Her mother was upstairs, avoiding Hugh. Addison had the sense, via her mother’s texts and calls, that Beth and Hugh were barely speaking. She guessed that her father’s guilt was too enormous, that he didn’t know what to do with his awful feelings about what he’d done. It would split them in two, regardless.
“Seth,” Hugh said when he saw Jack, reaching to shake his son-in-law’s hand.
“Good to see you,” Jack said, although his tone was grim. “I understand things took a turn last year.”
Hugh collapsed back on the sofa and offered Addison a glance of rage. “I’m sure she didn’t keep anything from you.”
“She wants to help you,” Jack said. “We both do.”
“She wants to rub my face in it,” Hugh retorted.
Jack raised his eyebrows. Ringing with surprise, Addison leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.
“She doesn’t,” Jack said quietly. “She loves you. She hates that this happened, but she’ll never stop loving you.”
Addison interjected quietly. “It’s true, Dad.”
Hugh let his head drop. He looked down at his hands, as though he didn’t recognize them any longer. “You left, Seth. You’re the one who abandoned your family.”
“I’m awful for doing that,” Jack affirmed. “It’s something Addison and I are working through. It’s something we’ll probably have to work through for a long time.”
“I didn’t leave,” Hugh insisted. “I made it so I didn’t leave.”
Addison heard a soft creaking on the floorboards at the top of the stairs. She knew her mother was up there, listening to what they were talking about. There was still so much she didn’t know. Addison decided she was done with all the secrecy. She had to spill the beans.