The traffic was light, and I made it to the mansion in less than twenty minutes. I parked near the garage and hurried inside.Benson was waiting for me in the foyer.“Miss Woodward is waiting in the sitting room,” he told me. “I’ve brought her tea and cookies.”“Thank you, Benson,” I said. “Will you tell my father I’ll need to speak to him when I finish with Heather?”“Of course, Miss Wilson,” Benson replied. “Please let me know if you need anything else.”I gave him a smile and hurried into the sitting room.Heather jumped to her feet when she saw me. “How could you do it, Daisy?” Tears welled in her eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you anything.”I shook my head. “Heather, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”“Then how did they know I spoke to you?” she snapped. Her body trembled with anger while tears flowed down her cheeks.I sat on the sofa and urged her to sit next to me. “Please tell me what happened, Heather. Maybe I can help.”Heather remained standing and crossed her
I rechecked the results and came to the same conclusion. The language on the boxes was that of the people of a country near our world’s equator.It was a tropical paradise whose indigenous people preferred to be left alone by more civilized nations. Their chief exports were sugar and what the words on the box meant in their language.The strange words on the boxes meant fresh lemons.Why would there be boxes of lemons stored deep underground beneath the Association Complex, and who put them there?And what about the ancient gravestones set into the floor in the room where the lemons were stored?I hadn’t mentioned the boxes or the gravestones to Cassidy or Alex. I wanted to do this research first. Now, I wondered if it was a coincidence that they suddenly wanted to depart on a tropical vacation.Next, I put graves and the Association Complex into my computer’s search bar.A few dozen results came up. I clicked on the first one.It was similar to one of the articles Amy and I would hav
I learned a few things I didn’t know about ghosts and hauntings before my phone rang again.It was Heather. Her voice was filled with joy. “Daisy, I want to thank you. You’ve made our lives better than they were before.”“I’m glad,” I said. “I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to call you and tell you the good news.” I felt a little ashamed that I had forgotten about her.“Dad is excited to start his new job at Wilson, Inc. He’s going to love working there, and he’s never made that much money. And the new deed to our house just arrived. Our home is now safe from being taken from us.”“My friend Amy is starting a new homeless shelter and employment training center at the old Archer Manor,” I said. “She said she’d hire you to work there if you want.”“I’d love to work for Amy and help the homeless!” Heather enthused. “Thank you, Daisy.”“You are very welcome,” I said. “I’ll call you tomorrow with more details about the job. I’m meeting Amy soon and must get going.”“Okay. Thanks again.”As
Victor’s POVDaisy came into the apartment with a sweet smile and two bags of food from Gilded.I missed her today while I fought off small attacks on my leadership by the unknown faction members trying to take over the Association.Several times, I sensed she was near me, and I swore I could hear her crying for help. It made it harder for me to concentrate on my job, even though she eventually returned my texts and assured me she was okay.That must have been true because she was here, looking cheerful and as beautiful as ever.I followed her into the kitchen and poured us both a glass of white wine.“The food smells delicious, sweetness,” I said as I handed her a glass.“It’s steak tartare, lamb chops, asparagus, and potato puffs,” she said. “And I got a chocolate cake for dessert.”I put my arms around her and buried my face in her soft throat. She smelled as good as she looked. The scent of her perfume suited Daisy perfectly. It was both sexy and innocent.After helping her set th
I lay in bed thinking about the previous night long after Victor kissed me goodbye this morning and left for the Association.Even though Victor denied it, I knew he was upset about something. My guess is the faction was sabotaging his work again.What Cassidy said about there being better ways to spy on Victor was true. However, the grating to listen into his office was the only one that was wide open when I arrived at the spy's hallway.That meant someone had been listening in to what was being said in only his office before I did.I promised Alex that I wouldn’t say anything to Victor about the passages until he and Cassidy returned from their trip, but there were things I could do to help Victor before then.After giving it a lot of thought while Victor showered and got ready for his day, I decided what I could do to help him and still keep my word to Alex.I climbed from the bed and showered before dressing in jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers, grabbing a light jacket, and hurrying
“It started when Alex gave me permission to explore the passageways,” Cassidy said. “I’ve dedicated my life to our history. These tunnels beneath the oldest building in our world were irresistible to me.”“Alex loves history too,” I reminded her. “I’m surprised he’s not here with you.”“He has a touch of claustrophobia,” Cassidy explained. “He entered the passageway near the bathroom with me once and had to leave in just a few minutes.”I didn’t know Alex was claustrophobic. But a powerful man like him would hide anything he perceived as a weakness.“So why are you here in the passages every day?” I asked, eager to hear Cassidy’s secrets.“Originally, Alex gave me permission to attempt to find the undiscovered seventh set of Ivory Columns,” Cassidy explained.“The entrance to Lycaon’s Passage,” I said.Cassidy smiled and nodded. “You always were one of my best students.”“Thanks,” I said. “Did you find what you were looking for?” I wasn’t ready to admit that I was pretty sure I found
Even though I would rather deal with Amy’s haunted manor, I knew I had no choice. I had to help Cassidy because helping her would help Victor.“Okay, I’ll try,” I told her. “But I’m not sure I can find it again. All these passages look the same to me.”“The more you’re here, the better you can find your way around,” she assured me. “Lycaon’s Passage may not be the only one without electricity. Are you positive you found tombs embedded in the floor of a room?”I pulled out my phone and showed her a photo I took of the boxes. When I enlarged portions of the floor around them, you could see the chiseled stone grave markers.“Look,” I said and showed her the photo.Cassidy snatched my phone from my hand and studied the photo. “Oh, my Goddess. Daisy, you did find The Ancient Tombs. You must send me this photo and any others of this room.”“I will as soon as I’m outside and have cell service again,” I promised.“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.” Cassidy returned my phone. “Tell me where you
“Daisy, what are you doing here?” Victor asked as he got to his feet. He came from behind his desk and kissed my cheek.“I came back to admire some of the artwork again,” I slipped my hand into the crook of his arm. “It’s exquisite. While I was here, I thought I’d stop in and say hello.”“I’m glad you did,” Victor said. “You haven’t met my new executive assistant.”He turned to the woman in the skin-tight dress. “Daisy, this is Chloe. Chloe, this is my fiancée, Daisy Wilson.”Chloe gave me a tight smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Wilson. Victor, I need two more signatures, and I’ll leave you and your fiancée alone.”I hated the way she used Victor’s first name and the way I could see her belly button and other parts of her perfect body through the light, clingy material of her dress.Honestly, doesn’t The Association have a dress code? She looked ready to hit some clubs on a Saturday night instead of working for the leader of our government.She was prettier than me in a sophistica