Dominated by My Dad's Boss novel · Chapter 11 of 24

Chapter 11: The East Wing

Gus came back with the empty tray and a smile.

He insisted we stay the night.

"There's ice on the bluff road," he said. "I won't hear of you driving it. The guest room's made up."

Torin looked at me.

I gave him the smallest nod.

The guest room was at the far end of the west wing, with a four-poster bed and a window over the lake.

We lay on top of the quilt in our clothes, in the dark, and listened to the house.

At midnight the old pipes stopped knocking.

At twelve-thirty Torin sat up.

"He gave me a code years ago," he said. "For emergencies. In case his heart went and he couldn't reach the phone. It opens the keypad door to the east wing."

"Does he know you remember it?"

"He's never asked."

"Torin."

"I'm not asking you to stay behind." He took my hand. "I'm asking you to be quiet."

We went down the dark stairs in our socks.

The hall was long and cold, lit only by the lake through the windows.

At the far end stood a plain white door with a gray keypad beside it.

Torin pressed six numbers with one finger.

The lock clicked.

Behind the door was a short corridor and a second door, and behind that, a warm room.

It smelled of lavender and soap.

A lamp with a rose-colored shade burned low on the nightstand.

I stood in the doorway.

There was a single bed, neatly made, with the covers turned back.

A teacup sat on the nightstand, still steaming.

In the corner was a small writing desk with a hairbrush on it, and in the brush were long dark hairs streaked with silver.

I walked in on legs that didn't feel like mine.

"Mom?"

Nothing.

The window was shut and barred on the outside.

The carpet by the bed was worn into a pale oval.

At the center of the oval, set flush into the floor, was an iron ring.

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