Excerpt of "Deadly Secrets" - Chapter Two, Part One

Chapter Two
HELENA TRIED TO BANISH Dimitris and his behavior from her mind,beginning to explore the home around her. Her aunt led her into a large living room with huge windows overlooking the sea. The windows were open, and she could smell the jasmine and the salt from the sea breeze in the air—just as she remembered it. She looked around, and everything started coming back to her. Yes, she remembered this lovely room. There were a few new pieces she didn’t recognize, but most of the furniture was still the same.
Her eyes rested on a painting of her father above the fireplace. Dressed in his white captain’s uniform and wearing his blue and white cap, he was standing on the bridge of a ship, resting one hand on the wooden railing, while holding his pipe to his mouth with the other. White, frothy waves and a snow-white seagull flying with his silver grey wings wide open could be seen in the background of the picture. Helena swallowed hard, as tears welled up in her eyes, looking at the face she adored.
Her aunt must have read her thoughts, because she came and stood next to her, putting a protective arm around her shoulders. Without thought, Helena burst into tears and cried her heart out. Her aunt just held her and let her release all the pain and sadness built up inside her for so long.
***
When Helena finally raised her head to glance at a carved mirror hanging on the wall, she saw red swollen eyes lingering in her pale face, with her makeup smeared all over it. She didn’t care, though. Actually, she felt much better.
Her aunt told her to go to the bathroomand wash up. In the meantime, she was going to ring the bell for some tea to be brought to them.
Helena obediently went to the bathroom down the hallway to wash off. She smiled, realizing she remembered where everything was in the house. It gave her a warm feeling of belonging. When she came back to the living room, their tea was already there, and so were the delicious little cupcakes she used to be so fond of.
Relieved—as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders—Helena sat there sipping her tea, eating her cupcakes, and talking about the past. It was so healing to be able to talk about her father and not feel guilty, like when she was with her mother.
Sophie must have loved her brother very much. The pain in her voice when she talked about him was heartbreaking.
Helena could tell she had so much in common with her aunt. It felt so good to have someone sharing her pain. She noticed, though, Sophie avoided talking about her father’s accident. When Helena brought it up, she shifted uncomfortably and changed the subject. Is it too painful to talk about, or did Sophie share her mother’s suspicions? Helena wondered.
She watched her aunt closely but decided not to press the matter for now. She was tired and too overwhelmed by emotions to be able to talk about something so painful for both of them.
They just sat there in silence, holding each other’s hand, lost in their thoughts.
***
Sophie was glad her niece had finally come home. She had missed her so much. She felt as if a part of her beloved brother had come back into her life. She loved Angelos so much and had been devastated by his loss. Sophie hadn’t been the same since then. The pain was unbearable and so were the regrets. Guilty feelings kept her up night after night. Oh, how she wished her mother was alive. She would know exactly what to do. She might even have prevented what happened…
Sophie looked at Helena, lost in her thoughts. Poor little thing, her life was shattered before it even had a chance to bloom… She sighed. Maybe I should have said something… But how could I, and to whom?
Sophie was only sixteen years old when Angelos died. Who would pay attention to a young girl’s suspicions? Besides, how could she make any accusations with no proof, based only on things she had heard eavesdropping on her mother’s conversations with Erin? If only I could find the diary. She was sure she would find some answers in there… maybe even evidence of who was really responsible for her brother’s death.
And what about Thomas? Sophie wondered. She was never close with her adopted brother, who was a lot older than Angelos and her. However,he was the only relativeshe’d had after Angelos died and Erin took Helena to England. She shuddered as gloomy memories came rushing back…
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