Milan silently told the house, "Soon they'll know the truth. They will know the truth and you will be even grander than you were then, old girl. Everything will change soon and they'll see. I promise I'll take care of everything."
Johanna watched his expression change as he looked up at the manor. She found him to be both beautiful and remarkably odd at the same time. The manner in which he spoke, frightened her a tad. He didn't sound like the men she'd come to know over the years. He walked with an air of formality, carrying a heavy burden on his back. She wondered how someone so intriguing could also be so badly damaged. She worried that by staying, she'd be inviting a dark energy into her life and that was exactly the kind of thing she'd spent her life trying to escape.
They paused when they reached the iron gate. He needed one more moment to say goodbye to the life he'd created for himself and embrace the past, even if the embrace was cold and distant. This was a start. He just hoped, that the path he was chosen to take was the right path. Accepting Johanna and welcoming her into his home would not be easy. He knew there would be push back. He hoped that he could go on without losing his mind.
Johanna wondered why the town hadn't proceeded with plans to bring the daunting structure down. Five years had passed since the last time he'd stepped foot on the grounds of his late grandparent's home, so why was it left standing? She thought to ask Milan, but although he still remained at her side, his mind was elsewhere.
She followed his gaze as he stared up at a window on the top floor. She didn't see anything, but he remained fixated as if he had seen someone. She wondered if the ghosts he thought he lived with in his house were ghosts he carried with him. She'd shed her demons recently and knew the look of someone who still grappled with theirs.
As she looked at the house, she found herself mesmerized by its old bones and stately features. She could see why this house was so beloved at one time, but through Milan's eyes, knew that as much as it was loved, it was loathed as well. She wondered if she accepted this job, it would lead her down an incredible dark road and that she'd never find her way out again. She had to question her judgment, because she'd failed to read warning signs on so many other occasions in her lifetime.
"Why are you telling me all this?" She asked, but Milan didn't seem to hear her. She looked around, nervously, waiting for him to remember that she was there with him.
Off in the distance, Sarah stood, still watching, but not moving, not offering any clues as to how to proceed.
Johanna wondered how deep their relationship had been. She already knew that Sarah was the family's maid, but what else had she been? Did she know more than she had told her and when would either of the two give her the information she required before moving forward?
Slightly fearful, yet intrigued by the mystery, Johanna waited patiently, taking in the prying eyes of curious neighbors and imagining what kind of stories they were spinning about her, since she'd arrived.
As a new resident in town, she'd already become familiar with how quickly rumors spread. She'd already heard a few about her. They pointed and gawked at her as if they'd seen a ghost and now, standing here with Milan in this house, she understood why they felt the way they did. She saw the paintings and photos. Johanna knew what startled Milan. While she had no say in the way that she looked, she did hope that it wouldn't get in the way of her being able to get and keep this job. She needed it more than it needed her, but hoped that, in the end, all would be better for having shared the experience - good or bad.
Milan's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of whispering. Taking a deep breath, he followed the sound, just as he had so many times before. Unlike so many times before though, he wasn't afraid of the tunnel that sat just outside the wrought iron gates. The tunnel and the creek that ran through it were a point of contention between family members. There may have been a sound argument for acquiring it along with the property, but the reason had long since been proven fruitless.
Graffiti covered the walls of the tunnel. Milan had read that it had become a place the local teens used to spend time – a dark lover's lane of sorts. That surprised him. He'd always found the tunnel to be an unforgiving structure. Now, he hated it more than ever. It wasn't the graffiti that bothered him. He glanced over at Sarah. She knew what it was. The vein that popped out on her forehead every time she worried had already made its presence known. They both knew why the tunnel bothered Milan so and they both separately agreed not to make mention of it now or ever.
Johanna followed, not frightened by it like many others. She'd grown up near a creek that she loved, but her father always found it to be a nuisance, at best.
This tunnel and creek served no purpose that she could see, other than to add to the local lore about Milan's family and their supposed circumstances. She could see Milan's shoulders tense at just the mention of the tunnel. When he spoke of it, his voice shook nervously. Looking at it now, everything about the way Milan stood, told her that this was not a place he wanted to be. Johanna made a mental note to find out why that was.
What happened in this tunnel, she wondered.
"There are secrets here." Johanna stated. "I can feel it."
No one, of course, truly knew what happened there long ago, long before Paulina's death. Fortunate for Milan, he was far too young to have any real memory of it. What he knew came from stories his late mother had told him. She too heard it second hand. He never dared to ask his grandmother what had actually happened. He's not convinced that she would have told him either. Their family rarely divulged secrets. It wasn't something that any of them would have been comfortable with at all.
Milan spoke as if he were speaking about another family, "The Merceds kept to themselves for the most part, only allowing outsiders in by invitation. In all of my forty years, I have no memory of visitors simply stopping by to chat. Every person I ever met while living in River's Bend had been because they'd been invited to a fundraiser or some other important occasion. Now, mind you, they were friendly and well liked, but reserved and distant all at the same time. It was a strange combination, but a necessary one."
Johanna studied his chiseled facial features. The look on his face spoke of intensity and passion. He had seen many things. She could tell. What she didn't understand was why this home - this property - haunted him so.
The whispers continued, upon closer inspection, the words were desperate, almost sinister.
“But, you said that the manor was welcoming?” Johanna was confused by the contradiction.
He looked at her, his eyes darkening as he recalled, “It was, but that was a long time ago.”
Milan's ears quirked up as he tried to decipher the words. Anger mounted as he caught wind of what was being said. He'd heard it before, but that didn't dispel the anger he suddenly felt.
“Stop,” he bellowed. “Stop this now!”
From inside the tunnel, the whispers hushed on command. Milan waited, prepared to confront the seemingly disembodied voices. Chills ran up his spine. This was not the same. The whispering was nothing new, but the feeling was vastly different from any feeling he allowed himself to truly feel before.
Fire burned in his belly. This was not going to happen again. He would not let this happen on his watch. This home, this tunnel was his for the time being. Nothing was going to stop him from completing his mission or he'd be trapped in this dark world forever.
Johanna reached into her purse to grab her cell phone, her hands shaking.
“What are you doing?” Milan asked.
“Calling the police. Someone is in there. Don't you want to find out who?”Johanna turned toward the road, the sound of sirens blaring in the distance. "Someone is in there. I heard them and I know you heard them too. Go in, Milan. Now, before they get here." She pointed to the emergency vehicles speeding down the road to them.
“Now, what?” Milan's heart pounded with a vengeance in his chest.
Sarah walked outside to see what happened. Milan's eyes were fixated
on the red and blue lights flashing as the sheriff and his deputies made their way toward his home. Neighbors rushed out of their homes, mouths gaping open.
Milan spoke lowly, “Go inside.”
“What? Why?” Johanna's eyebrows quirked up.
“Do it now.” Milan moved toward the street and watched as the sheriff's vehicles made their way to their destination – his property.
Sheriff Acker jumped out of his vehicle, hand on his gun, a hint of a satisfied smile on his face as he looked at Milan. “We got a tip from the Nashville PD about a young woman who went missing. Know anything about that?” Ned asked, looking around the yard behind Milan.
“No. Why would I?” Milan looked back at him, firing burning in his eyes.
“Well, it seems the young woman, Emily Kramer, was on her way down here to explore your tunnel. Have you seen her?” Ned asked, looking directly at Milan now.
“You know I haven't. I've only been here less than twenty-four hours. I haven't seen anyone.” Milan answered.
“Have you been in the tunnel?” Ned asked, nodding to the tunnel.
Milan swallowed hard. He hadn't been in the tunnel yet and he hoped that he wouldn't have to go in there for this, but if someone was accusing him of something, he would have to make an exception.
“Do you mind if we take a look?” Ned signaled for his deputies to look, after Milan nodded his approval.
“I don't know anything about the girl.” Milan closed his eyes. He knew what he said didn't matter to Ned or his men. They wanted something that they could pin on Milan and, since they couldn't find any evidence that he'd done anything to harm Paulina in any way, they were hoping this would be a convenient replacement.
“Sheriff, we have a body.” The sheriff's deputy called out on the police radio.
Sheriff Acker's eyes narrowed. His suspicions had just just been confirmed. Milan's head started spinning. This nightmare couldn't be happening again.
Sarah reached for Milan's arm as she walked out to join him. “What is going on?”
Milan held his chest. The pressure was more than he could stand. He braced himself up against the fence, his head hanging low. Every neighbor within a four block radius had gathered around, hungry for information and confirmation of their long-held suspicions.
Chapter 7
“SO, YOU’RE JUST going to give up and let these people think they won? I don't understand. When I was warned about you, the caseworker said you were strong and harsh, but you know what, she was wrong. You're strong, but you're not as mean as you pretend to be. A mean spirited person wouldn't give up and bow down to people and their rumors. A strong person would fight for the truth.”
“You don't know anything about this or about me.” Milan challenged her.
Johanna stood up, standing over him. "I know that you have been through something terrible and that people that you thought were your friends either turned their backs on you and blamed you." He inhaled quickly. "That's what it is, isn't it? They blame you for something?" She sat down next to him, surprised that she'd guessed correctly.
Milan held his head in his hands. "I don't have time for this. You are here to work for me, not to meddle in stuff that isn't any of your business."
"Yeah, I'm here working for you. I know my place, Mr. Merced." Johanna tried to hide the disappointment she felt at being told she was just an employee. “The fact remains, they found a body out there and because I'm your employee I'll be dragged into this too. So, you can sit there and pretend like you are the only one in the world with problems or you can open your eyes and fight for yourself and for others. There's a dead teenager out there – on your property. That's much bigger than anything else on your very full plate right now.”
"That's not what I meant." Milan threw his hands in the air in frustration. "This is my house. Mine. This is my issue. You are here to do a job. Don't ask questions. Don't challenge me and don't tell me what you think I should be doing. You haven't been here long enough to have an opinion. Is that understood? If not, see yourself out of my house now." He stormed out of the room, tired of River's Bend and all of the atrocities it had to offer.
Johanna felt like the world had just been swept out from under her feet. Now, she'd lost her job before she even had time to get started. Part of her wanted to run after Milan and beg him to forgive her, but another part told her to stand her ground. Someone had done that for her once and she was convinced that it saved her life. Milan needed help and, despite what others had warned her about, she wanted to help him.
"This house could be saved. He could be saved. He needs help. If he thinks that everyone is just going to give him a pass on whatever happened to that girl, he's wrong." Johanna whispered as she looked around the room.
Behind her, she heard the front door slam and someone walk in. Assuming it was Milan, she steadied herself, preparing to offer an apology.
"Why are you here?" Sarah asked.
"To help," Johanna answered. "Why do you think I'm here?"
"I'm beginning to think that I made a mistake. What we need here is someone to do as they are told, not someone who wants to challenge Milan at every turn. You know how stressful this must be for him. My God, there are police outside, behind the house right now, combing for clues about a murdered girl. Do you really think he needs you to make this day any harder for him? Is that why you're here? To make him pay for some past transgression?" Sarah hissed at her.
Johanna gasped, surprised by the accusation. "I promise you - I had no idea who Mr. Merced was. I swear, all I did was apply for a job and the caseworker sent me here. I don't know anything about what has happened in the past or anything about what is going on in that tunnel." Tears spilled from Johanna's eyes. She didn't accept this job posting to cause any trouble. This was supposed to be her ticket out of the troubled life she'd led.
Sarah sighed, feeling torn between the anger she felt over Milan's reaction to Johanna and the pain she felt over the fact that yet another person's life had ended in that tunnel. She knew that whatever was happening or did happen there couldn't have just been a coincidence. Someone was behind the horrific crime and she had no doubt in her mind that other things would occur so long as Milan was in town.
Agreeing to come back to work for him wasn't a difficult decision to make. She'd loved him like he was her own. Protecting him from others came naturally, but protecting him from himself would prove to be more difficult than she was prepared for. Milan was different. Life and loss had changed him. It was written all over him like a scarlet letter. He walked with sorrow on one shoulder and burning rage on the other. Navigating through life that way didn't afford him many breaks. He'd been forced to live with Paulina's horrific death and bore the brunt of all of the town's people's accusations, ideas, theories, and rumors for too long.
Sarah couldn't blame him for not trusting others, but at the same time, she couldn't cope with the thought that he no longer trusted her. She'd done everything for him and his family and never once faltered in her love or respect for each of them, in spite of their sometimes standoffish behavior and proclivities for remaining closed mouth about anything that others would find to be a normal part of life.
They were a proud people, who built their lives and reputations on hard work and the blood, sweat and tears of their ancestors. They never lost sight of how far they'd come and how much farther they still felt they needed to go.
After Milan's grandparents passed away, it left an enormous cavity in the family's core. They were temporarily lost and permanently altered. Milan's parents tried to continue as normally as possible, but Mrs. Merced - Diana - was never the same again. Although they were her in-laws, they treated her as one of their own children. They wrapped their loving arms around her and nurtured her just as they had their own.
At the tender age of eighteen, Diana married Milan's father. She practically grew up in this household. Their untimely deaths took a toll on her psyche and she clung to those who remained as if any slight
movement would cause them to wither away into nothingness.
Sarah was just glad she was there during those years. She was the only person trusted enough to be allowed to take Milan outside and enjoy what other children his age were enjoying. He was free with her. His mother was never cruel. She adored him, but she also counted on him just like she counted on the air that she breathed and the food that nourished her. Diana always felt that if she didn't pay heed to warnings from her husband that Milan would one day rebel and leave the manor and this town for good. Fortunately, that didn't happen for quite some time, but it wasn't because Milan hadn't considered it. It was because a loss no one saw coming occurred.
Life after Milan's father's death took a drastic turn for Diana. Knowing the outcome of that loss, Sarah now feared for Milan like she never had before. She prayed that he wouldn't suffer the same fate that his mother had. She hoped that her influence helped him to be strong of spirit and gave him the tools necessary to move past the dark clouds that covered his heart and soul over the last few years, otherwise she was sure she would lose him one day soon.
"If you're going to stay, you will have to have to be very mindful of how serious things are here. We have no time for games. We have to get this house in order and do so quickly, otherwise... " Her voice trailed off.
"Otherwise what?" Johanna asked.
Sarah didn't respond. Johanna could see that she was contemplating whether or not to tell her something.
"What aren't you telling me? I want to help, but I need to know what I'm up against here. Honestly, all I've seen is one very moody, troubled man and a sheriff that hates him. Tell me why. I deserve to know something. How will I know what's the right or wrong thing to do here if you don't fill me in on what happened here?" Johanna begged for the truth.
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