Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 102280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
After he left, Martha began clearing the dinner dishes with unusual precision. “Lily, I want you to consider something.”
“What?”
“Your father knows the lighthouse’s systems better than anyone. He’s worked on every piece of equipment, every structural modification, and every maintenance issue for twenty years. If he says the electrical work is routine, maybe trust his expertise.”
Lily carried plates to the sink, processing her mother’s words. “You’re asking me to abandon the investigation.”
“I’m asking you to proceed carefully. About what you’re seeking, and what you might discover.”
Something in her mother’s tone made Lily pause mid-step. “Mom, are you hiding something from me?”
Martha’s hands stopped in the soapy water. “Sometimes the truth is more complex than it appears. Sometimes, pursuing the truth puts you in danger.”
“What kind of danger?”
“The kind that comes from asking questions powerful people don’t want answered.”
The admission hung between them. Martha had confirmed Lily’s instincts—someone concealed the lighthouse’s recent history. But her mother’s visible terror suggested stakes beyond academic curiosity.
“The Aldrich family,” Lily whispered. “They’re connected to this.”
Martha’s silence confirmed it.
Later that evening, Lily hunched over her desk researching current Aldrich family members. Mayor Winston Aldrich, fifty-two years old, is married to Eleanor Aldrich, two adult children. His business interests included the maritime insurance company that had anchored the family for three generations, plus recent investments in waterfront development projects.
Gerald Aldrich, Winston’s father, served as the lighthouse’s official keeper—a position their family had controlled since the 1920s.
On paper, they projected exactly what they claimed: a respected family with legitimate business interests and community roots stretching back generations. Winston’s insurance company employed half the town. Gerald’s lighthouse tours had earned commendations from the state tourism board.
Yet something about the family’s financial timeline bothered her. The Aldrich Maritime Insurance Company had struggled through the 1980s, according to newspaper reports in the library’s archives. Then suddenly, in the early 1990s, the company had expanded rapidly, opening offices in Boston and New York.
What had funded that expansion?
Her research stopped with a knock on her bedroom door. “Come in.”
Sarah entered, shaking rain from her jacket. “Your mom said you might want company. Also, I bring news.”
“What kind of news?”
“The interesting kind. My mom finally talked to her friend at town hall about those building permits you wanted to see.” Sarah settled on the bed, her expression serious. “No permits exist for major electrical work at the lighthouse.”
Lily’s pulse accelerated. “None at all?”
“Nothing in the past fifteen years. Which means either the work happened without proper permits, or . . .”
“Or someone didn’t need permits.”
“Like who?”
Lily stared at her photographs, the pieces forming a disturbing pattern. “Someone with the authority to authorize their own work. Someone controlling the permitting process.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “The mayor’s office approves building permits.”
“And Winston Aldrich has held that office for twelve years.”
Silence settled between them as the implications became clear. If the Aldrich family conducted unauthorized lighthouse modifications, it suggested activities beyond historical preservation.
“Lily,” Sarah’s voice carried careful weight, “you need to use extreme caution with this information.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you’re right, then you’re investigating something that could destroy the most powerful family in town. People don’t let teenagers expose their secrets.”
Lily studied her friend’s expression, reading genuine terror there. “You think I should stop.”
“I think you should be smart about your next moves. Maybe approach someone in authority—”
“Like who? The police chief, who’s been Winston’s friend for thirty years? The town council, including two of his business partners?”
Sarah offered no answer.
Lily made her choice. “I’m going to document everything. Every modification, every inconsistency, every piece of evidence pointing to unofficial activities in that lighthouse.”
“And then what?”
“Then I’ll . . .” Lily quieted.
Sarah studied her friend’s determined expression. “You’re going to investigate the tunnels, aren’t you?”
“If that’s what answers demand.”
“Lily—”
“I know it’s dangerous, Sarah. But what if this connects to something larger? What if there’s a reason the Aldrich family has controlled that lighthouse for decades, and it’s not about maritime history?”
Sarah remained quiet for a long moment. “What if you’re right, and they killed people to protect their secrets?”
The question floated between them, unspoken fears finally given voice. Lily thought about her mother’s warnings, her father’s protective dismissal, Mrs. Pennington’s sudden evasiveness about lighthouse records.
“Then someone needs to expose the truth,” she said finally. “Before anyone else suffers.”
Outside, the storm intensified, rain striking windows with increasing fury. In the distance, barely visible through the darkness, the lighthouse beam swept across the harbor with an ancient rhythm, a beacon that had guided ships safely to shore for over a century.
But as Lily studied her photographs of unauthorized electrical work and recent construction, she wondered if the lighthouse’s true purpose had evolved into something far more sinister than maritime safety. Tomorrow, she would begin documenting evidence that would either prove her theories or place her in the kind of danger her mother had warned her about.