Lilly and Rhys sit on the barstools, with Denielle on the other side of the kitchen island. She has a mug between her hands, holding it right under her chin and staring at nothing.
With everyone following the argument, I went unnoticed. I clear my throat.
Her head turns, and a soft smile graces her lips. Walking around, I stop beside her and pull her to me. She snuggles close, as if it's the most natural thing ever. In a way, it is.
"Hey." I peer down, and she rests her temple against my chest.
"Good morning."
Glancing over to Lilly and Rhys, who have equally grim expressions, I address Ethan and Jenn. "What's going on?"
Denielle places her coffee on the countertop and wraps both arms around my midsection. Her open affection surprises me, but no one else even blinks.
"We were discussing what to do about the package," Jenn explains.
The package. I forgot about the reason Denielle…
I dip my chin to see her face. She doesn't look at me, so I address the room. "Where is it?"
Ethan reaches behind him and reveals the object. It's a standard flat-rate box one can pick up at any post office. The flaps are cut open, and E pushes it over. Peering inside, some type of check-patterned material comes into view.
Jenn pulls it out, and I identify it as a scarf, or a small blanket, or something along those lines. Denielle buries her face into my chest, her spine stiffening. The hair on the back of my neck stands, and I tighten my hold.
While Jenn places the scarf-blanket on the counter, Ethan reaches in again. He pulls out a piece of paper.
My brows draw up. "What's that?"
Denielle's nails dig into my backside.
What the hell?
"This is the Burberry scarf Kelly, Charlie's mother, gave Denielle for Christmas during our junior year," Lilly elaborates, void of emotion.
Understanding sets in. "And this?" I tip my chin toward the rectangle Ethan now has face down on the countertop.
His gaze bores into Denielle's back.
"Show him." Her muffled permission doesn't sit right with me. What the hell is this?
Ethan and Jenn exchange a look before he flips the paper and holds it up for me to see. A photograph.
In my peripheral vision, Lilly turns into Rhys and hides her face in the crook of his neck.
I scan the picture, and my mouth runs dry. A pit opens in my stomach, and I no longer wonder what set Denielle off. It's an evidence photo. I don't have to ask who the person in the picture is. The resemblance is uncanny. Denielle's mother's lifeless form lies on some type of tiled ground. Her hair and clothes are wet. The exposed skin of her face and bare arms is pale, blending between blue and gray. But worst of all is her lifeless eyes. They're open, staring at nothing.
If I had seen Ken like this… "This is what was delivered?" My voice matches the ice in my veins.
Jenn glances around the room before looking straight at me. "Yes. I'm sorry, Marcus. I checked it for weapons and chemicals, but not…"
I shake my head. "You did nothing wrong."
"I took it last night," she amends. "I figured you two needed some time, and leaving it upstairs— I wanted to examine it more."
There's a sour taste against my tongue. "What did you find?"
She regards Ethan for a moment. "Not much. It was addressed to Denielle at La Déesse, no return address. The tracking showed it got dropped off at a post office here in LA. No traces of anything that I can find—with what I have available to check it out. The only prints on the photo were Denielle's."
I'm about to start a full-blown interrogation when Denielle shifts. She untangles herself and leans back, her brown eyes boring into mine. "I dropped it in Collin's car that day…" She trails off, and I scowl.