Chapter 13 - The Call to the Ghost
The next morning, while Leo took Ruth to the park to give Emma space, Emma made a phone call she had sworn she would never make. She dialed a number she had memorized a decade ago, a number belonging to a small, damp house in upstate New York.
The phone rang four times before a frail, bitter voice answered. "Hello?"
"Mother," Emma said.
A long silence followed. The sound of a heavy sigh came through the line, accompanied by the distinct clink of a teacup against a saucer. "Emma. I wondered when you’d call. I assume Julian Vance has paid you a visit."
Emma’s grip on the phone tightened. "You knew he was coming."
"Of course I knew," Eleanor Clark replied coldly. "Julian called me a month ago, asking for your coordinates. I didn't give them to him, but the Pavilion has resources. It was only a matter of time."
"Why didn't you warn me?" Emma demanded, the old anger rising in her throat like bile. "You let him come to my home. You let him threaten your granddaughter."
"Granddaughter," Eleanor repeated, her voice dripping with irony. "The child of the man who ruined our family's standing. Don't speak to me of threats, Emma. I live in a house that smells of mold and neglect because of your choices. If Julian has found a way to resolve the Pavilion's issues, you should do what he asks. It’s your duty to clear the Clark name."
"The Clark name is dead, Mother," Emma said, her voice shaking with controlled rage. "And I’m not going to prison for a lie. Did Father leave anything else? The real ledgers from the 2022 restructuring. I know you didn't burn everything. You’re too paranoid to destroy leverage."
Another long pause. The sound of a clock ticking filled the silence between Phoenix and New York.
"Your father was a fool, but he wasn't a complete idiot," Eleanor said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "He kept a safety deposit box at the Meridian Bank on 5th Avenue. The key is in the lining of my old jewelry box—the one you refused to take when you left. If you want it, you’ll have to come get it yourself. But be warned, Emma: Julian has eyes on this house. If you come here, you bring the storm directly to my doorstep."
May you like
"The storm is already here, Mother," Emma said, and hung up.
She stood in her bright, sunlit kitchen, looking out at the desert. She had to go back to New York. The realization felt like a physical blow to her stomach. She had to leave her sanctuary and walk back into the mouth of the beast.
