Olive shook her head. “No,” she said, her throat growing dry.

“Have you been getting messages, too?” Riley asked.

“From Mama?” Olive was confused.

“No! From Hattie. Your mother found the treasure because of Hattie. Hattie would send her messages. Sometimes in dreams. You said you’d been dreaming about Hattie. What has she shown you?”

“I don’t know. I—”

“Think!” Riley demanded.

Olive tried to squirm away, but Riley held her tight, pulling her closer, her arms now wrapped around Olive.

“Don’t you get it? How special you are?” Riley said, tightening her grip even more. “Your mother didn’t understand, either. Not at first. But she was chosen. Chosen by Hattie. Hattie gave her powers, gave her the ability to see things beyond what any normal person can see. I didn’t understand at first. I kept asking myself why. Why Lori of all people? She didn’t even want the gifts Hattie gave her. I thought it was so unfair, infuriating. But now I finally understand. It was right there under my nose the whole time, but I never put it together.”

“Put what together?”

“They’re related! Lori was Hattie’s great-granddaughter.”

“What?”

“It’s true. You and your mother have Hattie’s blood running in your veins. Do you understand how special that makes you? That’s why you’ve been dreaming about her—you’re connected by blood. Tell me what you’ve dreamed, Ollie.”

“I…I don’t remember,” Olive said.

“Think, dammit!”

And as Olive tried to squirm out of her aunt’s grasp, she did think.

She thought of how her mother had pulled away from Riley in the last days before she left, had refused to go out with her and how they’d fought.

She thought of her mother’s diary, of the final entry, how the writing was messier, more hurried. Was it possible that her mother hadn’t written it? That someone else had?

She thought of looking through her mother’s closet and how the only pair of shoes missing was the beaded ivory slippers. Of how that meant she’d been wearing them when she left the house for the final time.

“How did you get my mother’s shoes?” Olive asked.

Riley looked at her a second, her face tense. Then she smiled, but it was a sickening I’m about to tell you a big lie and you’d better believe it sort of smile. “She gave them to me.”

Olive kicked at her aunt, dug her fingernails into Riley’s arms.

“Help!” she screamed, thinking if she screamed loud enough, Helen and Nate would hear, would come running.

Riley pulled Olive closer, spinning her, wrapping one arm around her neck, holding her other hand over her mouth.

“Shh, Ollie. Calm down. You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”

But as she spoke, her arm tightened around Olive’s neck.