Fractured (Broken Part 2)

Head Case

Malcolm and I didn't return to New York for closer to four weeks as opposed to the two we'd planned, partly because our new mansion wasn't yet completed but mostly because we couldn't get enough of each other.
A twenty foot tall decorative wall surrounded our entire three acre property with a black wrought-iron fence adorned at the top with 'Bright Manor' that opened to our long paved driveway. The driveway wound through a small pine tree forest then wrapped around a simple round three tiered marble fountain.
Our reinforced steel French doors carved and painted to look like wood at the end of a small stone walkway and directly in between two round white marble pillars. Our four car garage connected to the main house with a simple glass  hallway.
Our front door opened to a grand foyer with stair cases along both walls leading to an indoor balcony. A glass elevator hid in the corner underneath the right staircase. The door on the right lead to the elegant open living room with large picture windows making up the side wall one door at the back of the room lead to the guest bathroom and the other into our informal dining room where Malcolm and I could enjoy a meal together without the stress or separation of the formal dining room that sat off the ball room through the door to the left from our foyer. The door directly between the foyer staircases lead to the professional sized kitchen, large walk in pantry and conservatory that lead us to our fully furnished back patio. A long walkway lined with round bushes ran along side our Olympic sized swimming pool to the flower garden.
Our second floor consisted of a large library, a game room so Malcolm could practice his pool game and both Malcolm's and my studies or home offices.
The third floor held ten identical guest rooms with large bathrooms and walk in closets.
Our master bedroom made up nearly the entirety of the top floor with a large nursery through the door on the right, our master bathroom and walk in dressing room ran alongside of the hallway that lead to the stairs and elevator. The French doors lead out into our sun room that lead to our private deck.
Malcolm reluctantly agreed to a furnished basement that included an indoor pool, sauna, and gym, the laundry room and home theater.
I stood in the sun room overlooking our vast backyard a thick cashmere sweater wrapped around me.
"Lily." Malcolm called my name from inside the bedroom.
"Out here, love." I called back turning towards the door just as he appeared in the doorway.
"My father called. His messages said he needs to see us. All thirty of them." He said walking out to me.
"Can't we just have one more day?" I asked as he took me into his arms.
"We've been gone the entire month of January." He teased kissing the top of my head.
"It's been so good. You know Gil's thrilled that I pulled you away for so long." I teased right back.
"I thought it would be impossible to slow down but I could lay in the sun forever with you."
"Promise me we'll try to at least take a single day a week for just us." I insisted looking up at him.
"I promise you." He leaned down and kissed me.
"Alright. Let's go see what Martin wants." I sighed.
I dressed in my favorite pair of dark wash jeans and a pale pink V-Neck cotton tee and my black Chelsea boots.
I drove us out to Claremont for the first time since we'd returned from our honeymoon and began settling into Bright Manor.
Malcolm walked a half step ahead of me as we walked down the hallway to where Mr. David waited to open the door for us.
"How's it going, Mr. David?" Malcolm asked.
"Long time no see." He winked at me playfully.
"It's chimichanga day in the cafeteria." Mr. David answered Malcolm.
"Is that good or bad?" I asked with a small smile laying my hand on my stomach.
"Ask me tomorrow." He smirked.
When I walked through the door I noticed both Martin and Jessica sitting on chairs waiting for us.
"Nice ambush." I muttered shaking my head and taking my place leaning against the wall.
"We have a quorum. Please, Lily, my boy, make yourselves comfortable. Oh. Mr. David, we're gonna need... Okay." Martin almost rambled as Mr. David closed the cell door.
"We'll stand." I sighed moving to touch Malcolm's hand.
Now wasn't the time for I told you sos.
"We need to talk about Ainsley. Your father and I have discussed it, and we think it's time to tell her the truth about Nicholas Endicott." Jessica spoke directly to Malcolm.
"Specifically, that she killed him." Martin added glancing at me.
Malcolm looked at me, fear lying behind his eyes.
"That's a bad idea. She's suffering from PTSD. Learning the full story will only make it worse." Malcolm insisted.
"Not if we tell her as a family." Jessica finally looked at me almost pleading.
"That way, we control the narrative." Martin said.
"Of course. It's about control." I sighed almost angrily.
"Fine. Guide, steer, lightly zhuzh the narrative." Martin almost glared at me.
"Doesn't it worry you what will happen if she figures things out on her own?" Jessica asked us.
"Of course we're worried." Malcolm exclaimed.
"Discovering that you've been lied to about something as seismic as murder could lead to wild, erratic behavior." Martin sighed.
"Oh. You don't say." I shot back.
"You really think she wants to know that? I wish I didn't know. I wish I didn't know you were a killer." Malcolm glared at his father.
"Well, I wish you had just gone to the police in the first place instead of all this lying." Jessica sighed.
It had been my decision to call Martin and Aaron instead of 911.
"Yes. Historically, you love going to the cops at the first sign of mischief." Martin growled.
"She slit a man's throat in cold blood. I had to protect my sister." Malcolm reached over and grabbed my hand hard.
"Okay, okay, so you needed to lie a little. But why not say self-defense? Our lawyers could have run with that." Jessica pushed.
"You really want her up in the women's ward for the rest of her life? I saw her that night, Jess. She blacked out and they will lock her up in here for the rest of her life."
"Maybe you're right. Maybe I handled this all wrong from the start." Malcolm muttered beside me.
"Or... counterpoint, maybe you handled it wrong when you dropped a dime on dear old Dad." Martin looked at him.
"Oh, you shut the hell up." I growled touching my stomach again.
"I'm just saying, if he's fine with murder cover-ups, I could have done with a little of that energy back in '98." Martin looked at Jessica who glared at him.
"Enough, Martin." Jess sighed standing up.
"Thank you for protecting your sister. You were put in an impossible situation. But now, Ainsley deserves to know the truth." She pleaded with Malcolm then glancing at me.
Malcolm looked down at his vibrating phone then up at me.
"Gil has a case. We have to go." Malcolm said before slamming his hand against the door.
"Ooh, want to do some preemptive spitballing?" Martin asked as we walked out of the room.
"There was a murder at The Kenmare Hotel." Malcolm told me once we reached the car.
"Are you okay?" I asked gently looking at him.
"You were right. You always are." He sighed looking at me.
"It was only a matter of time before they'd want us to tell her. She has been starting to remember things. Better it comes from us."
"It was your idea to hide it from her in the first place."
"For one, it was a mutual decision. I wasn't in any condition to argue with you should you have decided against it. Secondly, I honestly didn't think she'd remember. It's not an exact science, Malcolm. You know that." I sighed.
I drove us out to The Kenmare Hotel.
"It's about time we get a murder in a haunted hotel." I muttered as I parked the car.
Malcolm smirked at me but his face fell almost instantly.
"Do you really think they're right? That we should tell her the truth?" He asked.
"I think we both know it's only a matter of time before she remembers everything and we probably should get ahead of it." I sighed.
"You're probably right." He frowned looking up at the hotel.
"We'll talk more about it later." I assured him reaching over and taking his hand.
"Come on. Let's go catch a killer."
Malcolm and I walked into the lobby where JT stood leaning against what had once been the front desk with his back to us.
"Where's the vic?" Malcolm asked walking up behind him.
"Damn, Bright." He sighed glaring at my husband as I chuckled a few feet away.
"Sorry. Rough morning. I need a murder to solve. How are you?" Malcolm asked as I looked around the lobby.
Anger bubbled in my chest. One visit to his father erased our month long honeymoon bliss.
"Rough month. And this place, spooky as hell. Dani says it's haunted." JT answered.
"The Kenmare Hotel. We know its reputation. I believe Duke Ellington used to stay here. It was once a shining example of art deco architecture." Malcolm grinned, clearly appreciative of the distraction.
"Turns out not everybody appreciates architecture as much as you do. Body's this way." JT said.
"How was it?" He asked me as Malcolm walked ahead of us to where the body lay in the atrium.
"Everything we needed it to be. Then we get back and his father ruins it." I sighed.
"Hey. Your marriage is between the two of you. The honeymoon is now a lasting memory between you and him and a private island off Cabo San Lucas." JT smiled at me.
"Thanks." I smiled back resting my hand on my stomach.
"So, bring us up to speed." I said examining the wounds on the body of an adult male.
"Lyle Reynolds, forty-three. Was working on a project to revitalize the building. Construction is set to start in a few weeks." Gil said smiling at me.
"Is the building abandoned?" Malcolm asked.
"Mostly. There are a few long-term tenants, but it hasn't been a functioning hotel since the fifties." Dani answered walking up to the group and wrapping an arm around me.
"How cheap does rent have to be to live in the Tower of Terror?" JT wondered aloud.
"Is this scratch antemortem?" I asked noting a small seemingly healing scratch on Lyle's face.
"That's right. The techs said it is unrelated to the cause of death. Which I'm assuming is the circle-drawy thing jammed into his eyes." Gil nodded.
"It's actually called a ball-bearing compass." JT said earning him a couple stares from Dani and Gil especially.
"What? I liked math class." He shrugged.
"Well, whatever the thing's called, it belonged to the victim. It's monogrammed." Dani observed.
"Hmm. The killer didn't bring their own weapon, which suggests this was impulsive. But the entry wounds are decisive. Once they made up their mind, they didn't hesitate. I didn't notice any fingerprints." Malcolm nodded thoughtfully.
"Good eye. It was wiped clean." Edrisa told him.
"So they didn't panic under pressure. It's one thing to kill a person, but it's another to stay cool and collected..." Malcolm trailed off.
I knew he was thinking about Ainsley and what we'd done.
"...afterward." He finished looking at me.
"Bright? You're doing that thing where you kind of trail off and make everyone uncomfortable." Dani told him.
I smirked and shook my head again.
"I think we are looking for a good old-fashioned psychopath."
"I suppose we should talk to the big shot owner, huh?" I muttered looking at Gil.
"Welcome home." He smirked at me.
"You and I need to talk later." Dani smiled at me before I walked with Gil and Malcolm to find the building's owner.
Outside, my sister-in-law stood among other reporters throwing questions at owner, Ramón Vieja.
"It's a horrible tragedy. Lyle was a brilliant architect, and a close personal friend." Ramón said, a typical line given by a rich man that couldn't care less about a worker's injury or death.
"And how will his death affect the timeline of the renovation? From what I understand, you've sunk quite a bit of money into this place." Ainsley asked pointedly.
"Well, the best way we can honor Lyle's vision is by pushing forward without delay." Ramón continued.
"Mr. Vieja, you've been accused of bribery, corruption, harassment..." Ainsley pushed.
"That's all for today. Thank you." Ramón cut her off and walked away from the group abruptly.
"Ramón Vieja?" Gil asked standing next to Malcolm as I hung back observing.
"Yeah." He nodded at them clearly uninterested.
"NYPD. We'd like a few minutes of your time." Gil introduced them.
"Oh, gentlemen, I am running late. You may contact my attorney, but in the meantime, I suggest you talk to those Bolsheviks on the eighth floor." Ramón walked away from them before his eyes fell on me.
"The rich ones never make it easy." Gil sighed as I walked up behind him.
"What was that about Bolsheviks?" Malcolm asked.
"There's some artist loft upstairs. Ramón's been trying to kick 'em out. Help with the canvas, will you?" Gil looked at Malcolm.
"Sure thing. Just give us a minute?" Malcolm looked over his shoulder at Ainsley.
"You're out for blood today." He said as we walked up to her.
"If he's gonna lie through his teeth, I'm gonna rip 'em out." She answered with a small shrug.
"Spoken like a true journalist." I smiled at her.
"Or KGB agent." Malcolm added.
"Did you come all the way over here to critique my interview style?" Ainsley asked harshly.
"We came over to check in. How are you?" Malcolm asked looking at me.
How does one tell their sister that she's a murderer?
"Busy. Aren't you?" She asked walking away from us.
"That was a disaster." Malcolm sighed.
"She does seem almost dismissive." I nodded.
"Come on. Time to canvas." I urged him forward after a moment.
"Aren't you a little above canvassing the neighborhood?" He teased.
"A true leader isn't above any task she'd assign her team." I smiled at him.
"What is this supposed to be?" JT asked a woman in her mid-thirties, if I had to guess, as we walked into the room up on the eighth floor.
"That is my vagina reimagined as a three-dimensional celebration of form and color." She said matter-of-factly.
I looked at the sculpture and as a woman with a vagina I absolutely didn't get it.
"Karina Petrovic." I asked.
"Let me guess, Ramón Vieja thinks we did it." She looked me up and down.
"How'd you know?" Dani asked.
"He hates our guts. He's been trying to evict the whole building for months. Threats, lawsuits. He even refused to fix the elevators when they broke down." She said looking at me again.
"I know you. You're Lilian Russell. New York's most powerful newlywed." She said.
"I guess you could say that. It's not Russell anymore. It's Bright." I answered.
"You're only here to protect Vieja." She accused.
"I'm here to help solve the murder of Lyle Reynolds, nothing more, nothing less." I said unfazed by her accusation.
"Ramón's got no sense of history. He wants to gut this place and rip out all its character." A man told my husband.
"I heard Duke Ellington used to stay here." Malcolm responded.
"You're getting a lot of mileage out of that tidbit." JT teased.
"That's the tip of the iceberg, my man. Dorothy Parker drank here with Eugene O'Neill. One of the Bowery Ripper's victims disappeared from a party down the hall." The man answered.
"The Bowery Ripper? Wow. That's a serial killer deep cut." I said walking over to them.
"I got a whole section on him." He looked at me.
"Wendell is our resident Tom Wolfe." Karina said.
"So it's fair to say that you weren't pleased with the renovation?" Dani asked her.
"Sure. But nobody would take it out on Lyle. He was a good person. He was a stooge for Ramón. But nobody deserves what he got." She answered.
"Did you know him well? I can see you've been crying." Malcolm observed.
"No. Only in passing. It's just really sad." She said defensively.
"Don't mind her. Karina's a big softie. She'll cry over anything." Wendell added.
"Thank you both for your time. We'll be in touch." I said nodding at them.
"Karina's hiding something." I said knowing full well that Malcolm already knew that.
"I agree. And Wendell's protecting her. There's tension there." Malcolm nodded.
"What I don't get is how that thing was supposed to be a vagina." JT mused causing us all to look at him.
The elevator arrived and the doors opened revealing an obviously old, graffiti covered elevator car.
"Oh, this does not inspire confidence. I'm taking the stairs." JT said walking away from us.
Dani, Malcolm, and I boarded the elevator and the doors closed taking us to the lobby.
"Heard you were at Claremont this morning. Everything all right?" Dani asked us.
"Family meeting... slash ambush." I sighed laying my hand on my stomach.
"I'm a grown man who catches killers for a living, yet suddenly it's like I'm six years old, getting scolded for playing squash in my mother's solarium." Malcolm added.
"I think we need to work on your relatable metaphors." Dani chuckled softly.
"What were they upset about?" She pushed.
"Family stuff. It's complicated. I wouldn't want to bore you." Malcolm said.
"Grandkids." I mouthed at Dani to quell her suspicions as the elevator doors opened and a young woman walked backwards into the car pulling an older man in a wheelchair with her.
"Are you detectives? 'Cause I got something to report. A lead." She said looking between the three of us.
"Why do you have to be such a gossip? Your mother was a gossip." The old man said from the wheelchair.
"We'd love to hear some gossip, Miss...?" Malcolm said.
"Swann. Greta Swann. This is my father Rupert. So we were eating breakfast... Oatmeal, because Dad can't have bacon anymore." Greta rambled.
"They don't need to know that." Rupert sighed.
"And all of a sudden we hear this horrible, screaming fight between that architect and his boss Ramón." Greta continued.
"It wasn't that loud." Rupert interrupted again.
"What were they fighting about?" I asked.
"Something about the elevator. You know, they were broken for three months. Dad's lived here his whole life. He couldn't even leave." She answered.
"Where do I need to go?" Rupert asked.
"What made Ramón finally change his mind?" Dani asked.
"He didn't. The architect fixed it himself. Felt bad or something. I think that's why Ramón was so mad." She told us.
"I hope that helps. Hey. I know you. You just got married." She looked at me.
"We did. Yes." I smiled at her touching Malcolm's arm.
"Congratulations. Oh. This is us." She smiled as the elevator stopped on the fourth floor.
"Thank you." I nodded.
"Did they show it on TV the entire month we were gone?" I asked once we were back on the ground floor.
"It definitely seemed like it. You are royalty after all." Dani teased.
"I want to see if Ainsley will give us the interview footage from earlier. Might give us a lead on Ramón Vieja." Malcolm said.
I drove Malcolm out to the Whitly house. There we found Ainsley in the basement in their father's old office.
"Hey. We tried calling. Can you send us your footage from earlier today? The Ramón Vieja interview." Malcolm asked from the doorway.
"I am on a tight deadline. Why do you even need it?" Ainsley said absently.
"He's a person of interest, but he's lawyering up hard. We need something to force his hand." Malcolm continued.
"The guy definitely seems like he kills people. If this leads to an arrest..." Ainsley mused looking up at us.
"You'll be the first to know." Malcolm nodded.
"Thanks. You're the best."
"Yeah." She muttered.
"Are you upset with me?" Malcolm asked walking over to sit down next to his sister.
"No." She laughed softly with a sigh.
"No, I just... I haven't been sleeping. Turns out, insomnia sucks." She admitted looking up at him.
He chuckled knowingly.
"Who knew? Anything you want to talk about?" He asked.
"Uh..." She looked up at me so I stepped forward and sat on the desk next to Malcolm, my hand resting on my stomach.
"I've been remembering more from that night. Tiny things. They don't make any sense, but I just... I don't understand why this is happening to me. Why can't I remember anything?" She looked between us.
"Because the truth is..." I started.
"...you watched me kill a man. And nobody should have to see that." Malcolm finished.
I glared at him as he pulled her over to hug her. It was time to tell her. We couldn't keep lying to her.
Malcolm exhaled sharply as something caught his eye on the monitor.
"What?" I asked.
"Ramón's missing a cuff link. And I think I know how he lost it." Malcolm shot up and ran out of the room.
"What... That's my scoop!" She called after him.
"I'll get it for you. I promise." I assured her before following him back to the car.
"Dani? We need to get back to the Kenmare. Meet me there." Malcolm said into his cellphone as I drove us back to the Kenmare.
Malcolm lead me to the elevator and up to the third floor.
"Malcolm? What are we doing?" I asked as he looked around the room.
"Look." He pointed to a small gold cufflink on the floor in the crevasse next to the elevator as he put on a glove.
I pulled out my cellphone and took a few pictures of the cufflink before he could move it to document where we'd found it.
His phone rang as we put the cufflink into an evidence bag I carried while on a case.
"Hey. I think we can prove Ramón hit Lyle. I found his cuff link on the third floor of the Kenmare. Lily's going to put it in the car and wait for you." He looked at me.
"No. Come with me." I urged.
I didn't want to leave him alone in that large, possibly haunted hotel.
"I'll be okay, baby. I need you to keep watch for Ramón while I look for more evidence." He explained gently.
I knew he was right. If I stayed in there with him we wouldn't know if Ramón arrived.
"Be careful." I kissed him gently.
He handed me the evidence bag.
"I love you." He told me.
"I love you."
I took one last look back at him before decending the stairs knowing that it would be both faster and safer than the elevator.
In the backseat of my car I had a small safe where I kept evidence until I could take it to the lab. That's where I put the evidence bag before sitting down in my driver's seat to wait for Dani and JT.
Every second, every minute that Malcolm was in that nearly abandoned, possibly haunted hotel felt like an eternity. My anxiety slowly rose in my chest as I absently ran my fingers over my stomach.
I reached my hand into my jacket pocket, my fingertips brushing against the cool soft fabric within. My heart jumped when Dani knocked on my window.
"Is he still in there?" She asked.
"You know he is." I chuckled nervously.
"I'm surprised you left him in there." JT teased lightly.
"I didn't want to but we both knew that someone needed to watch the front door." I sighed.
"Let's go see if he found anything else." Dani smiled at me.
"Malcolm!" I called his name as we walked through the lobby toward where the body was found to the elevators.
Malcolm stumbled into sight covered in dirt, a decent sized bump on his forehead.
"Malcolm, are you okay?" I asked rushing over to him.
"How long have you been outside?" He asked me.
"Twenty minutes ago, maybe. Malcolm, what happened?"
"Is that a human skull?" JT asked from behind me.
"I know who the killer is." Malcolm looked between us.
"How?" Dani asked.
"Long story. I promise I'll tell you everything, please, just trust me." He looked at me.
"Lead the way." I nodded.
Malcolm lead us up to the fourth floor and knocked on a door.
Greta Swann answered the door.
"Is your father home?" Malcolm asked.
"Yeah, we're about to have dinner. Is something the matter?" Greta asked as Malcolm stepped inside the apartment not waiting for permission.
"I believe this belongs to you." Malcolm set the skull on the table in front of Rupert Swann.
"Are you sure about this?" I heard JT ask Dani.
"I have no idea." She responded.
"What the hell is that?" Rupert scoffed.
"All these years. You thought they'd never catch the Bowery Ripper. Till Lyle fixed an elevator and found this little souvenir." Malcolm confronted him.
Suddenly it all made sense. I thought back to Wendell telling us that one of the Bowery Ripper's victims disappeared from a party in The Kenmare.
"Dad? Dad, what's he talking about?" Greta asked looking between us all.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Rupert said standing up out of the wheelchair.
I moved my hand to rest on the handle of the pistol on my hip, just in case.
"Dad? Dad, what's happening?" Greta exclaimed as Dani stepped forward.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to you. Do you understand your rights as I have read them to you?" Dani asked taking Rupert Swann into custody.
I looked over at Malcolm as the array of officers finally departed the lobby who looked back at me with an odd look on his face.
"What?" I asked as he walked up and took me into his arms.
He pressed his lips to mine.
"Can I ask you something?" He asked his arms still around me once we were alone.
"Of course you can." I nodded resting my hands on his chest.
"Are you pregnant?"
I paused looking at him, slightly taken aback.
"Why would you ask that?" I asked.
"We were solving the case in my head but then we went back to my parent's house and there was a baby. Our baby." Malcolm explained.
"It's stupid." He shrugged.
I reached into my jacket pocket to pull out the small bundle of fabric I'd kept there and handed it to him.
"Wait. Really?" He asked.
"Open it." I urged.
He opened the fabric first unveiling a small blue and white test with a digital screen.
PREGNANT It read plain as day.
"Keep going." I pushed.
He finished unwrapping the newborn onsie that read,
Hi daddy.
I can't wait to meet you.
2021.
In an elegant script.
"Malcolm?" I said his name as he stared at the onsie in his hands.
"This is good, right?"
"Of course it is, Lily. Oh my..." Malcolm exclaimed wrapping his arms around me finally and lifting me off the ground.
He kissed me again after setting me back on my feet.
"How far?" He asked as we walked back out to the car hand in hand, then onsie back in my pocket.
"Six weeks. I saw my doctor on Friday after we got back but I wanted to do something special since it's our first."
"How did you find your way back to me?" I asked after we left the emergency room where he'd been explaining his dream to me between his tests.
"I finally took the call from Claremont that I'd been ignoring and went out to see the patient. It was Gil. He explained that I had called the police when I was young but when he got there he drank the tea my father offered him. I had this flash of me finding Sophie in that box and panicked. My father strolled into the room and tried to convince me that Gil was lying, but that's when I knew that I was still in the elevator shaft. That I was dreaming. That none of it was real. At least not yet." Malcolm paused to look over at me.
"My father took me back to the Kenmare so I could walk through the evidence. That's when I realized that there were swans everywhere. A picture, the cufflink, the creepy statue of Karina's vagina. So I went up to the Swann's apartment to confront Greta because obviously Rupert is in a wheelchair. Then he stood up and held a knife to my father's throat. I shot him but I didn't wake up." Malcolm looked sad.
"You didn't wake up because you had to find the girl in the box." I reasoned.
"Right. He tried to convince me to stay by telling me that we didn't have a baby and that it wouldn't be the same. I knew I had to do the right thing. The same thing I did in the real world." He nodded.
"You did do the right thing at ten years old. You did the right thing protecting Ainsley but now we have to do the right thing and help her process what happened and what she's done." I looked up into his eyes.
He smiled sadly at me but nodded.
"Ains? Can you meet Lily and I at the Manor? There's something really important we need to tell you." Malcolm told his sister as I drove us home again.
"When are we going to announce the pregnancy?" He asked after hanging up.
"Soon. Being a cop is dangerous. Being a pregnant cop is worse. I'll have to step back from the more dangerous situations. Work more in the precinct or the FBI office. I think for now, crime scenes are okay but chasing suspects... probably best to be cautious." I explained.
"I hadn't even thought about that. You should wear a vest. All the time." He looked at me wide eyed.
"I'll look into it." I chuckled as we pulled up to our home.
Malcolm stared at Ainsley's car that sat beside the fountain as I parked in the garage.
I could almost see Malcolm's pulse racing as we walked into the house.
Ainsley sat on one of the couches in our living room with her back to us as we walked through the foyer.
"Lily. Malcolm. You're home." She mused barely glancing at us.
"Thanks for meeting us. I know it's late, but this is important." Malcolm began sitting down next to his sister.
I sat in the arm chair across from them.
"Earlier you asked me why your memories didn't make sense. We've been lying to you, Ains. For a while." He continued glancing at me and I nodded.
"Uh, Ainsley... I don't know how else to say this. You killed Nicholas Endicott. We told you it was me because we wanted to protect you, to help you... but we were wrong. You have a right to know. We're sorry we lied, but we're here for you, and everything's going to be all right." He appealed to her.
"No... it's not." She shook her head then opened her beige coat.
Her chest entirely covered in blood. Malcolm shot up staring at his sister.
"I don't know what happened. I blacked out again. I'm sorry. I didn't know where else to go." She looked between us.