For years, Shannon had been in love with Cole, and Russell had been in love with Mimi. Now, they were both reeling, wondering what the next phase of their lives would be. It was understandable that they’d accidentally fall for their best friend of the opposite sex.
Could she and Russell go back to pretending that nothing had happened between them? Maybe Shannon could stay on Nantucket for a few weeks, until the dust had settled and she and Russell could laugh about this. Or maybe in a week, she could call Russell and say something like, “That was weird, huh?” And they’d laugh and get over it.
That had to be possible. They had an entire year of grad school left together. Shannon couldn’t imagine not having Russell nearby to help her fight through it.
At the port, the ferry was a giant shadow over the glowing water, and the moon illuminated everything from the waiting car windows to the hats of the ferry dock workers. Shannon couldn’timagine why so many people were trying to get to Nantucket so late at night.
While the ferry surged over the Nantucket Sound, clouds shivered on the horizon and flashed with lightning. Shannon stood under the awning and watched as rain charged over the ocean, making it look like it was boiling. By the time the ferry reached Nantucket port, the waves were so volatile that many ferry riders had to sit.
Shannon drove from the harbor to the Nantucket house, wondering what she was walking into. Perhaps her mother had gone to bed after a night of crying. Maybe they could wake up early tomorrow and have some coffee and get through this heartbreak together.
But when Shannon parked out front and entered the house, she found her mother wide awake at the kitchen table, with a glass of wine in front of her. She gazed unseeing into the air before her. She looked as though she’d seen a ghost.
Beside the glass of wine was what looked like a letter. Shannon couldn’t quite read the words from where she was.
“Mom?” Shannon whispered.
Arietta nearly leaped from her skin. “Shannon!” she cried, reaching for the letter, as though eager to tuck it away. This quick movement told Shannon she needed to see the letter, if only to see what her mother was up against. Was it something from Shannon’s father from back in the day? Was it something from a lawyer?
“What is that?” Shannon asked, sitting beside her mother.
“What’s what?”
Shannon gave her mother a look that echoed Arietta’s own from back when she’d had to reprimand and parent her daughters. Arietta stalled, then set the letter back on the table. She looked as though she’d done something wrong.
At first, Shannon didn’t recognize what she was reading.
Dear Mrs. Peters,
It has come to our attention that the amount you sent us is not enough to cover the damages you’ve caused. Please send an additional fifty thousand dollars by the end of the week to protect your and your husband’s tremendously damaging secrets. You know exactly what will happen if you don’t.
Your Guardian Angels
Shannon gaped at the letter, then turned her attention to Arietta, who couldn’t stop crying. Her cheeks were inflamed.
“Fifty thousand dollars?” Shannon breathed. “Mom, what is this?”
Arietta shook her head.
“You already sent them something?” Shannon demanded.
Arietta closed her eyes, which felt like proof enough of what she’d done.
“How much?” Shannon whispered.
Arietta didn’t answer.
Shannon was on her feet, stewing with rage. “They can’t do this to you,” she shot. She couldn’t believe these cruel, manipulative people. These people who’d seen a grieving widow and decided to take her for all she was worth. She pulled her phone from her pocket and prepared to dial the police.
But before she could, Arietta gripped the phone, and she tugged it out of Shannon’s hand. “No police,” Arietta rasped. “Please, no.”
Slowly, Shannon let herself fall back into her chair. She looked at her mother, trying to understand. She listed the facts: her mother was being blackmailed. Arietta had already paid the blackmailer and was now expected to pay even more. It pointed to one thing and one thing only: her mother and father had done something wrong. But what?
Shannon wondered if she was too frightened or too childish to ask.
“Mom,” she finally rasped. “Mom, what did you do?”
Arietta turned to gaze into the dark hallway that led from the kitchen to Shannon’s father’s room. Her look was harrowing. At that moment, Shannon understood, or thought she did. Arietta didn’t know what she was trying to protect herself from. She didn’t know what the blackmailers knew. In fact, it was impossible to know, as Fred kept his secrets locked tight in his head. He would never speak his secrets aloud again.