Elite & Tawdry ✔ [COMPLETE]

Chapter 60

Later that night, Tawny had read the article about the Westinghouse tragedy.

Gloria Westinghouse, age 30, had her life uncharacteristically cut short while on holiday in Prague. She was visiting the Strahov Monastery Library with her young son Dylan in tow; a lifelong student of the arts, and holder of a doctorate of philosophy in Fine Arts from Oxford University, Gloria relished the library's architectural and historical prowess.

Unfortunately, at 12:01 PM on an overcast day in June, lone gunman Gregory Stanfield stormed the library, with Gloria as his main target. He caught her off-guard and shot her at point-blank range, murdering her in cold blood. Mercifully, he did not harm Gloria's son, who was three years old at the time. Before the authorities could apprehend him, Gregory took his own life.

It wasn't until much later when Gregory's home in the States was ransacked for any clues related to the attack. A suicide letter was found tucked between the pages of his well-worn journal. Gregory was married, it had turned out, but estranged from his pregnant wife. Consumed by jealousy, he assumed the baby was not his, but the child of another man, Bryce Westinghouse.

---

The next day, Tawny was summoned back to Westinghouse Manor.

It was Rebecca who drove Tawny yet again. Professor McCurdy was nowhere to be found; Rebecca explained it was due to it being Exam Season and being overwrought with tests and grading, but Tawny couldn't shake the feeling that he was avoiding her since their encounter in the dark a few days prior.

As Tawny ascended the steps for the umpteenth time to Westinghouse Manor, a sense of foreboding overtook her. She wasn't sure why, but she suspected that once she passed this threshold this final time, her very sense of the world was about to be uprooted.

At the top of the steps waited one of the suit-clad security men. Tawny froze, triggered by her unpleasant encounter with the last group of men who had held her hostage.

"Miss Matthews," the man said, opening the door for her. They walked the short distance through the lobby, and then stopped in front of the golden gilded elevator Tawny had seen in the past when she first met Prudence.

"Oh..." Tawny said. "Are we taking this up?"

"Of course," replied the security. "You are  our esteemed guest."

They entered the elevator. Once he closed the gate behind them, he pressed the highest button and the elevator slowly climbed to the very top level of Westinghouse Manor.

They were let off on a floor whose aesthetic was very much dark wood and the old rustic hunting lodge. As they walked down the corridor, she was reminded of the time that Dylan invited her into his parlour to negotiate a trade of partners for their English project.

What terrible offer does Dylan have for me this time, she thought bitterly.

They reached a large door at the opposite end of the corridor. The man in the suit opened it and gestured for her to enter.

Tawny obliged, preparing for her usual cat and mouse game with Dylan.

But when the door closed behind her, Tawny realized that the security did NOT follow her inside. She found herself in a room that actually WAS made to look like a hunting lodge. It was a trophy room, and around the perimeter were several heads of slain creatures from various hunting expeditions.

A large grizzly bearskin rug was splayed on the floor in the centre of the room.

A roaring fire blazed at the opposite end of the room. Right in front of the fireplace was a tall, ornate chair, whose back was facing Tawny. In fact, she could see that someone was sitting in the chair.