The True Heiress

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

POV: Jameson Hawthorne

I duck through the fireplace and stop to look back at Avery. "He left you the fortune, Avery, and all he left us is you." And then I leave without another word.

Suddenly it hits me, it's just like Emily all over again, I saw how Grayson looked at her even though he won't ever admit it to himself. My heart aches as I remember what happened that night. The sound of her choking, the heavy breathing trying to get just a little air, and her struggling to crawl onto shore as I watched. I thought it was an act.

I was wrong.

My relationship with Grayson has never been so strained, after Emily, nothing is right. Grayson has always been the golden boy, groomed from the start to be the Hawthorne heir, but who am I? What am I for, I'm just the Hawthorne playboy who likes riddles and games. Maybe that's all I'll ever be.

But Avery, she's different, a complication, or maybe something more. I know there's something going on there, I've spent too much time with the old man to overlook these clues. But, despite what I told her, it's not all a game. She is breathtaking, unlike anyone I've ever seen before, even Emily. Now I realize that Emily was my distraction, and Grayson and I were hers. She did all these crazy things and kept Grayson and I on little strings like her puppets.

But I don't hate her.

I could never hate her.

My thoughts are interrupted as my eyes catch onto someone running down the hallway towards the wall. Their footsteps rhythmically pat on the stone flooring, their hair blowing behind them. I take a few long strides to where they are fumbling with the latch on the wall.

I'm met with Melody's worried eyes as she turns towards me. She masks up the fear quickly, and to my surprise, she doesn't look as afraid as I expected to be caught in this secret passage way. I'm able to hide my emotions just as well, but as I look at her with a challenging expression, I'm wondering how much of mine and Avery's conversation she heard.

She may be more of a threat than I first had thought.

"Ah, Melody is it? Mystery Girl Number two." I say with a small smirk. Inside, I have so many questions turning through my head. "I don't believe we've been properly acquainted. My name is Jameson Hawthorne. I see you've found our little secret passageway here."

She opens her mouth to say something, but I beat her to it.

"Dare I ask how?" I grin at her, but I make sure she can sense the threatening tone in my voice. She should know that she can't go snooping around through secret hallways and eavesdropping on conversations.

She pauses for a second, before her stance straightens and she meets me with a steady gaze. She can handle herself under pressure, that's for sure.

"I was going through my wardrobe when I found a lever. I pulled it, and this appeared. Decided to explore it a little, but I think I've seen enough," Melody says as I squint my eyes at her. There's far more behind this explanation, far more that she's keeping from me.

She continues to figure out the latch to go back into the room, but I stop her. I need to ask a few more questions before she steps back into the room. "Did you find anything interesting?"

She looks back up at me and I can tell she wants nothing more than to be rid of this situation she got stuck with here. "Nothing much, I don't think I will ever get the hang of this house completely, there are so many doors, passageways, stairs, and rooms." Ah, evasive I see, I'll have to get information another way. "Well," she turns to look the other way at her room. "I'll see you later."