The Secret Between Us novel · Chapter 17 of 24
Chapter 17: Sea Chest
Cornelia stopped ten feet from the bucket and looked at her stepson.
She didn't look at the rest of us at all.
"You've had a long morning," she said. "You're not yourself."
"Cornelia," Norris whispered.
"Come home. Have some tea."
"I told them."
"You told them something you half remember, from a very bad week three years ago."
"A man who says anything the day he is about to lose his house is not a man a court will believe."
She held out her gloved hand.
Norris looked at it.
Pierce put a hand on his father's arm.
"Dad. You don't have to go."
"Where else would I go?"
"With me."
Norris looked at his son, and his face worked.
For one long second, I thought he'd stay.
Then he stood up and took Cornelia's hand, and the two of them walked back up the gravel road.
She never once glanced back.
By dark the cedar closet under the back stairs was empty.
Pierce told us on the phone, in a voice that cracked.
The green felt cover lay folded on the floor, and the Underwood was gone.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of The Secret Between Us are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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