One more swing.
The ax drives straight into the compromised spot, smashing through the wood. A fist-sized hole bursts open, and splinters fly across the floor. The door shudders on its hinges, groaning in defeat.
Ryker lowers the ax to the ground, reaches inside, and expertly unlocks the door.
The door swings outward, and Ryker flashes me a dark, sinister smile.
I match it.
The two of us step inside the minuscule space, and Ryker flicks on the light.
Everything in me goes cold.
“Jesus…” I whisper, unable to comprehend what I’m seeing.
Every inch of the back wall is covered. Newspaper clippings, photocopies, printed articles—Ellie’s parents’ accident plastered in overlapping layers like some twisted mosaic. Headlights jump out at me:
Tragic Crash Claims Local Couple. Cause Still Under Investigation.
Pictures of them—smiling, alive—are taped intermittently between the articles. Then there are photos of Ellie as a baby. Photos of a young, chubby-faced Fischer. Photos of Ellie’s parents with their arms wrapped around a younger Aria.
Ryker lets out a low whistle. “This is… This is beyond nuts. And I’ve seen my fair share of stalker boards over the years.”
I involuntarily snort. “Yeah. Yours.”
Ryker ignores my quip and leans forward to see the articles better.
I hover my fingers over a picture of Ellie, barely a toddler on her father’s shoulders, her mother laughing beside them. None of them had any idea what was coming.
“This is messed up,” I manage. “Why would she keep all of this? It’s almost like some fucked-up shrine.”
Ryker lowers himself to a crouch and begins to quickly sift through a stack of papers. More articles, as well as a police report of the accident.
Why was Aria so obsessed with an accident she caused?
“Holy fuck,” Ryker breathes, and I glance down to see him holding something in his hands.
“What?” I crouch to get a better look.
At first, I can’t process what I’m seeing. It appears to be…a birth certificate.
“I’m confused,” I confess, grabbing the paper out of Ryker’s hands. “Why am I looking at this?”
“Ellie’s mom was Fischer’s mom,” Ryker rasps out, and I stare at him like he’s lost his goddamn mind.
“Um…yeah. That usually happens with siblings.” I speak slowly, succinctly, wondering if his separation from Ellie has broken something inside of him. All of us have been teetering on the edge of sanity for years now. It wouldn’t surprise me if he has finally fallen over the edge.
Though I always thought Zane would go first…
“Remember what Raymond told us? That Aria was the birth mother to EllieandFischer?” Ryker points at the birth certificate in my hand. “But this says that Ellie’s adoptive mom was Fischer’s biological mother. And that his father isn’t even Ellie’s dad but some random man. Raymondlied.Or maybe it wasn’t a lie. Maybe Raymond doesn’t know the truth. Or, honestly, maybe Raymond just doesn’t care. He’s never given a shit about Fischer. Maybe it’s because Fischer isn’t biologically related to him. Then again, he doesn’t seem to care too much about Ellie, either.”
Now, I feel like the one who’s lost my mind.
I have no fucking idea what point Ryker is trying to make.
“I don’t get it,” I confess. “So what?”
“That’s why Aria needs Ellie,” Ryker stresses. “Fischer isn’t actually her biological son—he’s not a part of her bloodline. Aria never intended to have Fischer take over the Paragons of Prosperity for her. It has always been about Ellie. Always.”