Chapter 8: The Garden Beneath the Snow
The sound came again.
A sharp crack.
Then another.
Dad grabbed a flashlight.
“Stay here.””
Grandma immediately stood.
“No.””
Dad looked at her.
“Mom.””
“You know me better than that.””
Even in the darkness, I almost smiled.
Grandma Pearl had never been someone who waited safely in a corner.
We walked outside together.
Snow covered the backyard.
The garden was frozen.
But near the old wooden fence, something moved.
A shadow.
“Who’s there?”” Dad shouted.
No answer.
Then the flashlight beam moved across the ground.
The broken glass wasn’t from the house.
It was from the greenhouse.
My mother’s greenhouse.
The one nobody had entered in years.
Dad ran toward it.
The door was open.
Inside, plants were destroyed.
Pots overturned.
Shelves broken.
My heart sank.
“She did this.””
Grandma didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
On the ground was a note.
Dad picked it up.
His face changed.
“What does it say?””
He handed it to Grandma.
She read it.
Then she gave it to me.
Three words.
Find the garden.
I looked around.
“We’re standing in it.””
Claire, who had followed us outside, shook her head.
“No.””
She pointed.
“Your mother’s garden wasn’t above ground.””
I stared.
“What?””
Claire walked toward the greenhouse.
“Sarah loved secrets.””
She touched an old stone wall.
“She believed some things were too valuable to leave where anyone could find them.””
She pressed a hidden brick.
A section of the wall moved.
Behind it was a small staircase.
Nobody spoke.
We walked down.
At the bottom was a hidden room.
Inside were shelves.
Boxes.
Photographs.
And one large wooden chest.
My hands trembled.
“Is this what Mom wanted us to find?””
Grandma nodded.
Claire stepped forward.
“She left this for Emma.””
Dad looked emotional.
“Why didn’t she tell me?””
Grandma answered softly.
“Because she knew you would have confronted Victoria.””
Dad looked down.
“And?””
“She was afraid of what would happen.””
We opened the chest.
Inside were journals.
Notebooks.
And a small recording device.
I picked it up.
There was a label.
For Emma.
My heart broke.
I pressed play.
My mother’s voice filled the room.
“Hi, my love.””
I covered my mouth.
After all these years.
Her voice.
Real.
Alive.
“I don’t know when you’ll hear this.””
A pause.
“But if you are hearing it, something happened that made me afraid.””
Everyone listened.
“I want you to know something first.””
Her voice became emotional.
“I loved your father.””
Dad closed his eyes.
“But I also loved you enough to protect you.””
The recording continued.
“Victoria is not the person she says she is.””
Claire looked down.
“She discovered things about our family that made her dangerous.””
My mother’s voice shook.
“I found evidence that she had been hiding.””
Then came the words that changed everything.
“Victoria was not trying to replace me.””
A pause.
“She was trying to inherit me.””
The room went silent.
Dad whispered:
“What?””
The recording continued.
“She wanted my belongings. My reputation. My place in this family.””
My fingers tightened around the device.
“And she believed if I disappeared, she could become the only woman my daughter remembered.””
Tears filled my eyes.
My mother knew.
She knew.
The recording ended with one final message.
“Emma, if you ever feel like someone erased me…”
A pause.
“Look around.””
“Everything I loved is still here.””
The device clicked.
Nobody moved.
Then we heard footsteps above us.
Someone was in the greenhouse.
Dad turned.
“Who’s there?””
A voice answered.
Victoria.
“I was wondering when you would find it.””
My blood went cold.
She stood at the top of the stairs.
Snow covered her coat.
Her face was emotionless.
“You really thought you could hide my past forever?””
Grandma stepped forward.
“You should have stayed away.””
Victoria smiled.
“No.””
She looked at me.
“I think it’s time Emma hears the rest.””
May you like
And then she held up another recording device.
“One that your mother never wanted you to hear.””
