ONE MONTH WITH THE DEVIL

Chapter 18

Vanessa’s car disappeared into the storm, but I couldn’t forget her cold smile. She had been watching from the shadows, listening to everything and reporting it back like a traitor.

I held Dad’s old leather notebook tightly, pulled my collar against the heavy rain, and continued walking into the darkness. I wasn’t going home or looking for anyone who might stop me. I just kept moving forward into the night.

Midnight at the old mill. Come alone. No boys. No police.

The message came from an unknown number. But the next line frightened me even more.

Leave the Vance boy behind. He is the reason your mother is here.

The words kept repeating in my head. Was Victor responsible for everything happening to me? Or was Charles trying to turn me against the only person who had stood beside me when everyone else seemed to have abandoned me?

I didn’t know whom to trust anymore. I only knew that my mother was somewhere in danger, my father’s name had been ruined, and I was the only person left who could fight for them both.

An hour later, I entered an all-night diner at the edge of town. I shook the rain from my sleeves and sat in the farthest booth beneath a flickering light.

I took out Dad’s notebook and opened it again. His handwriting stopped suddenly where the rest of the page had been torn away.

The truth is buried where they think no one will look.

That was all I could read. But when I ran my thumb over the paper, I noticed faint words pressed into it from the other side.

…the old mill, beneath the floorboards, north room. Vance property. Always.

My breath caught. Dad had known the truth all along. He had left me a clue, but I had been too slow to notice it.

“Lara?”

I jumped, almost dropping the notebook.

Maya stood beside me, her hair stuck to her face and her coat soaked. Her eyes were full of worry.

“I’ve been searching for you for hours,” she said. “Victor and Xander are worried sick. Everyone is talking, and I’m so sorry about the cafeteria. I spoke without thinking and treated your pain like gossip. I didn’t understand how serious everything was.”

I nodded, struggling to speak.

“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have shouted. I just feel like everything is falling apart.”

“I know.” She gently squeezed my hand. “But you’re going to the mill, aren’t you?”

I hesitated before nodding.

“He told me to come alone. He said my mother would die if anyone followed me.”

“Lara, you can’t walk into a trap alone!” Maya said. “Victor figured out where you’re going from your dad’s note. He’s collecting files from his father’s study, including copies of everything Charles tried to destroy. Ethan is with him, and they’re coming through the back road.”

She paused.

“Victor knows his father might disown him for helping you. He could lose everything, but he’s still going.”

Leave the Vance boy behind.

The message returned to my mind, but Maya wouldn’t lie to me about something this important.

“Tell them to stay hidden,” I said, putting the notebook into my bag. “If Charles sees them, he might hurt my mother. I’ll enter first. If I wave from the doorway, they can come in. If I don’t, they must wait for the police. Promise me.”

“I promise.” She squeezed my hand. “Lara, trust yourself. Your instincts have been right all along.”

I stepped back into the storm and began walking toward the mill. The wind howled through the trees, and the broken building stood ahead like a frightening shadow. Its empty windows seemed to watch me approach.

I stopped at the edge of the trees and searched for Victor and Ethan. Nobody appeared. Nobody called my name. Only the wind answered.

I pushed open the heavy wooden door. It groaned loudly before shutting behind me.

The air smelled of damp earth, rotting wood, and something metallic. A single lantern burned in the corner, casting long shadows across the floor.

Then I saw her.

My mother was tied to a wooden chair. Her face was pale, and fear filled her eyes.

“Lara!” she cried, struggling against the ropes. “Get away! Run!”

“Good evening, Lara.”

Charles stepped out of the shadows, wearing a clean suit and a cold smile.

Adrian stood beside him, his head lowered and his jaw tight. He refused to meet my eyes.

Then Vanessa appeared from the darkness, folding her arms with a satisfied smile.

“Hand it over,” Charles ordered, holding out his hand. “The notebook and anything else the Vance boy gave you.”

“I have nothing else,” I replied, trying to sound brave. “Why should I give you the notebook? It proves what you did. You buried my father’s reports, threatened him, and hid the truth about the fire and the illness that followed.”

Charles laughed coldly.

“Your father threatened the company and could have cost us millions. Everything I did was to protect it. And now you think a girl with no influence can undo years of work?”

“Victor knows the truth,” I said. “He has your emails, the altered safety reports, and the other files. He won’t stay silent.”

“Oh, I know he’s coming,” Charles replied. “I’ve been expecting him.”

He nodded at Vanessa, who took out her phone and played a recording.

Victor’s voice filled the room.

“Once she hands over the notebook, keep her there. Richard will handle the rest. Make certain she never speaks to anyone.”

Everything around me seemed to tilt. Adrian looked shocked, while Mom made a broken sound.

“You see?” Charles said. “Never trust a Vance. They always protect their own. Victor didn’t come to save you. He came to make sure you disappear.”

“That isn’t him,” I whispered, though doubt began to grow inside me. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“Give me the book,” Charles demanded. “Perhaps I’ll let your mother live. Refuse, and you’ll disappear too, just as your father nearly did.”

I held the notebook behind my back, my mind racing.

Beneath the floorboards, north room.

I needed to distract Charles long enough to reach that spot.

“What are you afraid of?” I asked. “You have money and power. Why silence a dead man and a girl who only wants the truth?”

“I’m not afraid!” Charles snapped. “I’m tired of being careful. Richard will retire soon, and Victor is too weak to protect this family. He cares too much about you. He would let everything fall apart. I’m saving this family, and you’re in the way.”

“Victor isn’t weak!” I shouted. “He’s better than you. He’s choosing what’s right!”

“He does what he’s told!” Charles roared. “He always has!”

A loud crash came from outside, followed by hurried footsteps.

“Adrian, stop them!” Charles ordered.

Adrian looked at Mom, then at me, and shook his head.

“No,” he said quietly. “I’m done stopping things.”

Charles pulled a small black remote from his pocket.

“One more step, and this building goes up. I’ve rigged the gas lines. There’ll be no evidence left behind.”

The door flew open.

Victor stood there, breathing heavily, with Ethan behind him. His eyes went straight to me.

“Lara, don’t give him anything!” he shouted. “I’m here. You’re safe!”

Charles smiled coldly.

“Just in time to watch you fail.”

He raised the remote.

“Goodbye, Lara. Say hello to your father—”

“The recording is fake!” I screamed, pointing at Vanessa’s phone. “He edited it!”

Charles hesitated. Adrian used that moment to knock the remote from his hand.

“Run!” Adrian shouted.

Charles rushed after the remote, but Victor stopped him and slammed him against a wooden beam. Ethan grabbed Vanessa before she could escape.

I rushed to Mom and began untying her. My hands shook so badly that I struggled with the knots.

“Lara, look out!”

I turned. Charles had broken free and was holding a knife. He wasn't aiming at me. He was aiming at my mother.

Victor saw him and jumped between us.

The knife struck Victor in the side.

He gasped and collapsed.

“Victor!” I screamed, dropping beside him. I pressed my hands against his side, trying to stop the bleeding. “Please, stay with me!”

Charles stood over us, but bright lights suddenly filled the doorway. Sirens sounded outside, and police officers rushed into the mill.

Charles froze, lowered the knife, and raised his hands.

I ignored him and held Victor’s face as tears ran down mine.

“Why?” I sobbed. “Why did you do that?”

His face was pale, and his breathing was weak, but he kept looking at me.

“Because…” He managed a faint smile. “You saw me, Lara, when nobody else did. You looked beyond my anger and stayed. You were worth everything.”

He squeezed my hand weakly.

Then his eyes closed.

“Victor!” I cried. “Please open your eyes! Someone, help him!”

Paramedics rushed over and moved me aside. I stood trembling as they lifted him onto a stretcher.

Adrian helped Mom to her feet. Maya rushed into the mill moments later, her face pale with fear, and wrapped her arms around me.

As the paramedics wheeled Victor toward the ambulance, an officer stopped me.

“Lara Voss? Someone else needs to speak with you.”

Richard Vance stood in the doorway, looking more broken than I had ever seen him. He approached slowly, looking from Victor’s stretcher to my bloodstained hands and the folder I held against my chest. I had found it beneath Victor’s jacket, where he had hidden it.

“I’ve read everything,” he said, his voice rough. “I know the truth, and I’m deeply sorry.”

Then he pulled an old, faded photograph from his coat.

“But Charles didn’t act alone. Someone more powerful has been controlling everything from the beginning.”

I took the photograph with trembling hands.

My knees nearly gave way.

Standing beside Charles and a younger Richard, smiling at the camera, was my grandfather.