A Family Secret

Present Day

If someone had asked Neri a week ago that she would be in North Rim City, STATE to clear an ancestral estate she inherited, she would have told them they were crazy. Yet here she is, riding in the back of a taxi cab with her best friend Iki on the way to the grand North Dale Estate, once home to the wealthiest family in all of North Rim in 1920. She had no idea she had any relation to the family under her grandfather, who she never met, passed away leaving the entire estate in her name. "I still feel as if I'm dreaming."

"Inheriting an estate out of nowhere will do that to a person," Iki says. She was the sort that prided herself on keeping a level head, though she was often accused of simply being apathetic. Regardless, when Neri got the news Iki had done everything in her power to help with the preparations. The North Dale Estate had apparently sat empty for some time, so Neri was expected to clean it up. Since she didn't have the funds to order a cleanup crew she and Iki intended to do it themselves.

"It's just insane. My parents never once said I had a grandfather that was alive. Let alone a Calloway. They go back like five generations and were super wealthy until their decline decades ago." Neri turns to her friend. "Why do you think they didn't mention him?"

"Maybe there was a scandal," Iki suggests. "I'd probably not boast about my connection to a family scandal."

"Maybe... but to let me think I had no living grandparents..." Neri looks out the window at the large city buildings. "I don't think I'm a city girl type."

"It feels a bit claustrophobic," Iki agrees mildly. She leans back in her seat. "At least the Estate not supposed to be too close to the city. Privacy and riches and all that."

"I guess it's true what they say. It pays to be rich." Neri lets out a soft breath. She turns to see a huge iron fence line that led to an even larger gate that had the name Calloway in large letters on the front. "Whoa." The gate opened upon their entrance.

Iki whistles. "I have to admit, this is grander than I expected." Three stories high and in impeccable shape, the North Dale Estate was a testament to the glitz and glamour of its construction. "I thought they said it was rundown?"

"I guess this rundown to the rich?" Neri gawks at the estate. The drive took them into a circle in front of the main steps. The house had grand pillars holding up a balcony with an iron railing. It looked empty but with a little polish this place would look stunning.

A man with dark hair and deep brown eyes opens their door. "You must be Neri NAME?" he asks, a hint of an accent escaping with his words.

"I'm Neri," she says, getting out. "This is my friend Iki. And you are?"

"Pascal Ellington. My grandfather was the groundskeeper for yours. I'm sorry for your loss. Please let me show you around," Pascal says, gesturing for them to follow up the steps while instructing the driver to get the bags.

"Pascal!" A lovely maid cries, racing out of the house. "Have they - oh!" She skips to a stop at the sight of the two women next to Pascal.

Iki lifts a hand in a casual wave.

"This is Nessie. She's been a maid here since I was barely toddling around and she has kept me in my place." Pascal gestures for Neri and Iki to follow. "To the right of the estate, you'll find the stables. To the left, you'll find the gardens. In the direct back, you'll see the pool." He opens the doors and with Nessie's help gets them aside. "Feel free to look around. It's your house after all. Let us know if you need anything." He glances at Iki with a smile before following the maid to the right.

"They seem nice," Iki says. "Though, is it just me or does Pascal seem older than Nessie? Weird." She shrugs. "Guess she has good genes."

"He said since he was toddling around so she has to be older." Neri shrugs. "Maybe she's just very well-aged." She goes up to the grand staircase and tilts her head to look up where she finds a crystal chandelier. "Where do we start?"

"Eh, guess I've lost my touch." Iki and Neri used to make a game of guessing people's ages they passed on the street. She used to be quite good at it. "Top floor?" Iki suggests.

"Race you?" Neri suggests as she books it up the stairs with a laugh. She takes the spiral all the way to the end of the steps, coming out onto the top floor. "This is insane..." She gawks at the large ballroom. The chandeliers were covered in cobwebs but the large windows reflected light against them. Tables were covered in dusty cloth. "I wonder why they'd put a ballroom way up here?"

Neri takes the side door and into a sunroom where she could see a whole wall of windows facing to the back. She could see the pool down below and make out the blooming flowers in the garden around a fountain. To the left, she could see the stables and at least four horses came into view. "You have to see this!"

"What?" Iki rushes over in time to see a white horse gallop away from the others. She gasps.  

Neri felt like she stepped into an alternate paradise. "We have got to out there and see them."

"Cleaning can wait," Iki agrees excitedly.

Neri felt like she was ten years old again running through the house and out into the backyard. They raced until they reached the fence line surrounding the pasture. "They are so stunning."

"I never get over how big they are up close," Iki agrees, marveling at the horses.

"I've always wanted a horse." Neri steps up onto the bottom post in the fence. "I wonder how many there are."

"Maybe Pascal or Nessie will know?" Iki suggests.

"Probably." Neri looks around until she sees Pascal making his way toward the stables. "We can ask. He's there anyway."

"Pascal!" Iki waves.

Pascal sees the two women approaching so he stops. "Everything okay?"

"We just wanted to know if it was okay if we saw the horses?" Neri asks. She was a little out of breath.

"They're yours now so it's perfectly fine. All are friendly. We have about ten of them. Three stallions, a colt, two fillies, five mares. Your grandfather had his eyes on a mustang that he put in a bid on, but I don't know if that went through. Just help yourself." Pascal leaves them to enter the stables, disappearing behind them.

"I can't decide if I should be impressed at how well he disappears or worry," Iki says. She shrugs it off. "I'm sure it's nothing. Let's check out the horses!"

"What is it with you and this guy? You act like he's some ghoul." Neri makes her way into the stables, disappointed that none of the horses were up but all the more glad to snoop around. "My grandfather really loved his horses."

"I don't know, I'm just curious I guess." Iki trails along after Neri. The stables are in perfect order, which is a huge relief considering they were living creatures. "Seems like a family trait," Iki teases.

Neri makes her way through the stables until she reached what she assumed was the office. The doorknob was covered with cobweb and the door looked like it hadn't been opened in years. "Weird..." She uses the rim of her shirt to open the door and coughs from the dust. "Why shut off an office?"

"Especially when everything else is so well-maintained."

"It must have been shut-off for a reason." She makes her way into the office and finds a painting hung on the wall. She reluctantly clears away the cobwebs with her hands to reveal a portrait of a brother and sister. The sister had blond curls in perfect 1920's style and wore a slinky silver gown, one arm on her brother's shoulder who had a scarf and a coat slung over his knee. 

"I wonder if these are your relatives," Iki says.

Neri searches the bottom of the painting for a name. "I don't even see the name of the painter..." She searches the desk which looked like it hadn't been cleaned off in years. "These reports are all from 1920... Why would these still be here?"

"This is all so strange..." Iki picks up a newspaper clipping. "Celebrity Drops Out Of Sight?"

"Let me see. Alyvia Calloway last seen in February." Neri smiles at her friend. "Let's see what we can gather and take it back inside with us?"

Iki cracks her knuckles. "Let's do it."

1920

Alyvia Calloway storms into her brother's office. "Why you need an office in the stables is beyond me." She brushes along the silk gown that fitted to her and cut low in a sweetheart neckline that gave an effect similar to a corset. She had a faux fur coat wrapped around her shoulders. The jewels on the front of her dress were silver and shimmered with her movements and matched the dangling earrings she wore. Her hair was perfectly styled with curls that hung above her shoulders. "Honestly brother. People talk."

"Let them," Alyn Calloway says. He still wore his scarf, though his coat was draped over his functional office chair. He was dressed in fine yet understated clothing as was proper for a man at work. The image was important to Alyn. "I prefer the horses to the people. Besides, they are an effective deterrent to unwanted guests."

Alyvia snorts. "You mean that Ellington girl? Petunia. How sickly sweet is that? But father seems to think she's quite charming." She rolls her eyes. "As if this is even his estate. And don't get me started on that Kensing wallflower."

"Kensing adores you," Alyn says mildly, trying to steer the conversation away from Petunia Ellington, the latest of his pursuers.

"She likes the glamour." Alyvia checks her reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall to her brother's desk. "Father seems to think we should open the estate to the public." The Calloway siblings were well aware that their popularity stemmed from their power. "Try to be quick, will you?" Alyvia scrunches up her nose. "This place smells like hay and manure." She turns toward the doorway just in time to hear the maid calling. "Whatever is that woman on about now?"

Present Day

Neri scattered the newspaper clippings in front of her. "This is crazy. They're all from 1920." She had taken residence with Iki in one of the only still furnished rooms in the estate: the parlor room. Black and white portraits of Alyvia Calloway lined the walls along with a few of her and her brother. The largest was of them with who Neri assumed was their father.

"They tell a pretty clear story," Iki says. "Rumors of an engagement prove false, the father is murdered, Alyn retreats from the limelight entirely..."

"Their father was murdered?" Neri takes the clipping. "Wow... there was a whole scandal with a scarlet named Petunia Ellington... Isn't that Pascal's name?"

"I think so," Iki says. "Would it be too much of a coincidence for him to be her descendant?"

"Not really, if the families knew each other..." She shifts through papers. "Look at this. Apparently, she was rumored to be after their father and the brother, Alyn. Alyvia is rumored with every man the reporters saw her smile at." Neri shakes her head. She looks around the room and could almost feel the siblings there. The couch was a bright red and gold which matched the chair that had a satin seating that was a dark wine red and golden legs. "Wait..." She shifts the papers around until she finds several pictures. "It's the same chair. Look." she shows Iki the photos of Alyvia.

"Oh, wow," Iki holds the picture up to compare it. "I can't believe we didn't notice this before now!"

Neri runs her hands over the seat of the chair. "They kept it this entire time." She runs her hands along the seams and frowns. "This is torn here." She has a wild notion so carefully reaches into the chair and pulls out a stack of letters tied together. "Look what I found." She pulls out two more stacks. "They're addressed to 'my dearest A'." She hands a stack to Iki. "From 'yours always, L.'"

"Oh my gosh!" Iki covers her mouth. "Love letters!"

"Steamy love letters..." Neri reads through one. "Like wow...." She grins at Iki. "Alyvia must have had a lover that the tabloids didn't know about."

"Go Alyvia!" Iki claps. "You get that love!"

1920

"I assure you if those vultures catch you here, they will surely be talking. My father just died a week ago," Alyvia says. She giggles in the arms of Layton Lancaster. She wore an elegant red robe that tied at her torso and was cut low and fitted to her.

"I had to see you." Layton trails a fingertip along the sharp v, the satin soft against his skin. "As you say, it has only been a week."

Alyvia laughs softly. "You missed me that much?"

"And I'm worried about you." He kisses her cheek. "I know things were strained between you, but he was your father."

Alyvia turns to face him. "Strained was an understatement." She kisses him softly, tilting back her head. "But I am glad to see you."

"You are very dear to me," Layton says. "You realize this?"

She wraps her arms around him and pressed against him. "Show me and I will."

"Your wish," he says, taking hold of the belt holding her robe closed. "Is my command." He draws the satin belt through his hands slowly, kissing her as he reaches the end. He then swiftly tugs the loose knot free and slides his hands across her bare hips.

Alyvia arches, keeping pressed close, and groans when she hears a frantic knock at her door. "Go away!" Her brother's voice catches her attention. "We'll need to continue this later." She ties her robe back and answers the door. "Alyn, whatever is the matter?"

"I need to speak with you." Alyn looks over her shoulder. "Privately."

"Would you like me to wait for you in your room?" Layton asks.

"Thank you, Layton." She waits for him to leave before looking at her brother. "I was occupied. What's with the frizzled frazzled panic thing you have going on?"

Alyn rubs his chin and is surprised to find stubble. "I need your help, Alyvia." He produces a packet of letters tied together with ribbon from first one pocket then another. "I have to hide these."

"Letters?" Alyvia takes them from him. "Al... are these from... Wait, why are you having to hide these?" Alyvia takes the question very seriously and goes to her hidey spot in her chair. She slips the packets into the chair seat. "Everything okay with Luz?"

"I don't know." Alyn crosses to the window after making sure the door was shut and locked. "He's been skittish lately. Nervous. I think someone is trying to blackmail him."

"About your relationship?" Alyvia asks, taking a seat in her chair. "Do you want me to do something about it?"

"You already are," Alyn says. "One bundle is my letters to him, and the other is his letters to me. They must remain hidden until the suspicions pass."

"Very well. But if you need me to do more, I can take care of a blackmailer in no time." Alyvia waves her hand. 

"I will." Alyn peeks through the curtains. From here he could see the stables. "Your support means the world to me, sister."

Present Day

Neri fans herself with a letter. "These are so amazing. So much love is here. I wonder if working out? Maybe we can find something current about her."

"It's about time we headed into the city," Iki says. "Want to take a break and go snooping around in a library for old periodicals?"

"I love that idea." She stuffs the papers and the letters into her bag. She didn't want to leave them out in the open. "Let's call a cab."

Moments later they were in the old library in downtown North Rim. "Let's see... Victor Calloway... murder... here's something... this was the first report and said he was stabbed. Found in his own bedroom. Stabbed in the back." Neri scooted over for Iki to see.

"Stabbing's personal, isn't it? You have to be right up on them while you kill them."

"Or behind him. But it was bedroom so he surely invited them in there." Neri scrolls until she finds another article. "This says that Petunia Ellington confessed to the murder and was arrested..."

"No way!" Iki gasps. She leans closer. "The details are pretty sparse, but she knew stuff the police thought she wouldn't unless she really did kill him."

"Or someone else did and had her cover." Neri scrolls and then her eyes widen. "Iki...look at this." She clicks on a news clipping with the heading: Famed Actress Missing. "This says that on February 21, 1020, just two weeks after Victor Calloway's murder, both Alyn and Alyvia Calloway went missing and the estate was left to Victor's nephew..."

"Oh my God." Iki scans the article then clicks ahead. She freezes. "I think we just figured out why the Estate's been abandoned." She taps the clipping. Above a black and white photo of a well-dressed man with his hand over his face is the headline: MURDER IN THE FAMILY! CALLOWAY FOUND GUILTY!