Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(43)

“Have you compared them?”

“I haven’t had the chance,” Chloe insisted. “I’ve been too busy all morning.”

“You need to do that. Whatever the truth is, you need to know. Then we can talk about what you should do.”

“I know,” Chloe admitted in dread. “I’m just not sure which truth I’m hoping for.”

“Come on,” Allison said, motioning for Chloe to follow. “Let’s go to the office and look for this portal online.”

Seeing no choice, Chloe followed her aunt across the lobby to the office in the former parlor.

Aurora sat behind the desk that served as a check-in area for guests. She’d opened the windows along the curved wall, allowing the approaching storm to stir the gauzy curtains.

“Hey, guys.” Aurora glanced up with a smile. “What’s up?”

“Rory,” Allison said, “we need you to do an Internet search for a gaming company.” She turned to Chloe. “What’s it called?”

“Vortal,” Chloe said, taking a guess at the spelling.

“Okay.” Aurora keyed in the search term.

Allison moved behind her sister to watch the screen. Chloe couldn’t, though. She felt rooted in place. What if Luc had been telling the truth?

“Holy cow,” Aurora said, her eyes going wide. “That looks like the necklace Chloe found.”

Chloe’s heart clenched.

Allison lifted her eyes from the screen to look at her. “I think you need to see this.”

Chloe forced herself to walk around the desk and look. Filling the screen was an animated image of an ornate gold frame with sparkling gemstones embedded in the filigree vines and leaves. A colorful mist swirled within the frame, and beneath it in flowing script were the words, Enter the World of Vortal Gaming.

Other than the stones being multi-colored and the vines a bit more elaborate, it looked nearly identical to the pendant.

“No,” she moaned in denial. “It can’t be.”

“What’s going on?” Aurora asked, glancing between them.

“Chloe’s friend, Luc, claims the necklace she found on our beach actually belongs to his grandmother,” Allison told her.

“How can that be?” Aurora asked. When Allison explained, Aurora shrugged. “I’ve heard of stranger things.”

“That’s what I said,” Allison told her sister.

“No,” Chloe moaned. “The similarity is a coincidence. It has to be. My necklace was part of the shipwreck. It couldn’t have been in New Orleans when Katrina hit.”

Allison gave her a questioning look. “Why does it matter so much?”

“Because...” Chloe struggled for a way to explain. Frustrated, she moved to the window to look out toward the cove. Lightning flashed on the horizon while a cool breeze stirred the curtains.

“Chloe?” Allison said, coming up behind her.

“I thought it was a gift from Marguerite and Jack,” Chloe admitted, not turning to face her aunt. “But it wasn’t.”

“Why does that upset you?” Allison asked.

“I’m the only person who lives on this island who has never felt Marguerite and Jack. I thought it was because they didn’t want me here, but then I found the necklace. I was sure that meant they did accept me. Only I was wrong.”

“Of course they accept you.” Allison laid a hand on her shoulder. “If they didn’t, Jack would have been up to his tricks to push you away.”

“But why haven’t I ever felt them?” Chloe turned, pleading with her eyes.

“Actually, we have a theory about that,” Aurora said.

“You’ve discussed it?” Chloe asked, unnerved at the thought of them talking about her. “What?”

The sisters exchanged looks. Aurora gave a silent go-ahead signal, and Allison turned back to Chloe. “You don’t believe in them.”

“Of course I believe in them,” she protested. “I do.”

“You want to believe in them, but that’s not the same as actually believing. Until you believe in the kind of love that holds Marguerite and Jack on Pearl Island, you won’t truly believe in them.” When Chloe just frowned at her in confusion, Allison elaborated. “You don’t believe in love that’s strong enough for someone to sacrifice her own happiness for someone else. Marguerite made that sacrifice for her daughter while she was alive. Now, she seems to have transferred that protective instinct to all of us. Since she won’t leave, neither will Jack.”

Chloe bristled and wanted to deny it, but couldn’t. “Okay,” she said instead. “I admit, I find that hard to swallow. Yes, I know she supposedly stayed with Henri for her daughter’s sake, but honestly, how many women would sacrifice being with the man they desperately love because they think it’s best for their daughter?”

“I would,” Allison said.

“Me too,” Aurora added.

“Seriously?” Chloe looked at them in doubt. “Y’all would live in a horrible situation, apart from Scott and Chance, for the sake of your children?”

“I’m not saying I think Marguerite made the right choice,” Allison said. “I don’t think having her mother stay in an abusive relationship was best for Nicole. Marguerite should have taken her child and sailed off with Captain Kingsley, but I can understand how fear might have held her back. ”