Cordelia watched as her father shifted the car into gear and pulled away from their house with his headlights off. He drove slowly out of the neighborhood, passing darkened houses and silent driveways, but once they reached one of the major streets, he turned the headlights on and picked up speed. Familiar streets fshed by, lit only by the muted yellow of aging streetlights. The highway loomed ahead, but surprisingly once there, her father took the on-ramp heading south, not north as Cordelia expected.

  They never went south. They had no family or friends in that direction. Her brow creased, trying to puzzle out what could be in the south that would account for the activities of the st hour, but nothing came to mind. The foreign ndscape of sloping hills and endless fields slipped by, more shadows than shape, and she wished for some clue about where they were going.

  In no time, they reached the outskirts of Cincinnati and exited the highway, choosing smaller back roads to continue the journey south. Cordelia turned to check on Kai; jealous that he slept through it all. So much different from the vigil that both she and her mother were keeping. They stared out at unfamiliar fields and the occasional bright streetlights of a town lost in sleep until they entered the mountain terrain covered with forests.

  Please - Just go to sleep! Maybe then she would discover this was a dream. But her curiosity and anxiety kept her from sleeping. Hours passed with no one saying anything; only soft cssical music could be heard from the radio. An orange glow signaled the arrival of dawn as it lit their trail, taking them deeper into areas unknown. Leaning her head on the pillow set against the window, she gazed out, trying to see the sunrise until her eyes finally closed in sleep.

  * * *

  “Big Mac. Medium-sized.”

  Cordelia startled. For the second time in only a few hours, it was her father who woke her. With his eyes crinkling in concentration, he listened to the garbled voice, leaning out of the car window. She pushed up from where her head had rested on her pillow, and her hair fell in front of her eyes. Impatiently she tucked it behind one ear as she looked around to see where they were. She recognized the drive-through of a McDonald’s and then a quick gnce at the dashboard showed the time to be just before noon.

  “You want something?” asked her father, looking back at her with exhausted eyes.

  “Sure - I’ll take two cheeseburgers, fries, and a Sprite.”

  Kai was awake beside her, but had his headphones on and was watching some movie on her mother’s phone. He smiled at her. Of course, he probably thought they were on some grand adventure rather than this mystery drive to a destination unknown. Little brothers can be annoying. She returned his smile, remembering that her dad had asked her and her mother to make things as normal as possible for Kai.

  Rubbing at her eyes to clear out the sleep, she turned to look out the rear window to see if she could find out what city they were in. All around the parking lot were South Carolina ptes. She fumbled for her phone, thinking she could use that to figure out the town. Pulling up the map, she watched as it churned to load until she remembered her father had told them to turn off the location services. She’d need a sign to figure it out.

  Her father paid for the food with cash and pulled forward to get the items. He handed the bag to her mother, who sorted out the food and passed it back. Napkins appeared in her view next, with some ketchup. Cordelia mumbled a thanks and started to eat her fries, looking around the area as her father pulled back onto the road. Soon they turned south onto a highway going to Columbia, South Carolina.

  As he made the turn, her mother gasped. Cordelia sensed her mother turn to her father before hearing her whisper, “Robert?”

  Her father grimaced, saying, “It is the only pce I can think of that you’ll be safe.”

  Cordelia tried to peer around the seat to look at her mother, hoping she might learn something from the expression on her mother’s face. However, all she saw was her mother wiping at her eyes and turning back to look out the window. Another secret. It must be a big one based on her mother’s reaction.

  The brief exchange between her parents answered one question - the reason for taking off in the middle of the night had nothing to do with an injury or illness in the family. Instead, it was about their safety. Why would a university professor and a stay at home mom be in danger? It made little sense. Looking at all the pieces, she realized she had learned next to nothing in the st twelve hours. As a result, her anxiety turned to anger.

  * * *

  The afternoon passed in a blur as they only stopped twice; once to go to the restroom and the other to get snacks. Cordelia watched the road, not seeing much, as her thoughts kept returning to the mystery of why her life was now upside down. Her normal, boring parents obviously had secrets, and they had no pns to let their children in on them. After all the years of her father telling her how important it was to tell the truth - be honest as lies will only lead to trouble was his lecture - she now wondered if that had just been talk. She had taken these lessons from her father to heart, making it the truth by which she lived. All along her parents had at least one great secret, and who knows how many others.

  They slowed as they entered Beaufort, South Carolina, taking a road that headed toward Hunting Isnd. She had deduced, roughly two hours ago, that Beaufort was the destination, but the reason was still unknown to her. They drove through roads surrounded by marshnd, and excitement rose within her as they approached the ocean. She loved the ocean: the sound of it, the waves rolling in, the sand in her toes, running along as the water washed over her feet. They had only gone a few times in her life, but each trip was a treasured memory.

  Finally, her father turned left onto Campground Road and pulled over to the side, putting the car into park. Was this their destination? She looked around, but couldn’t see much, only the two-ne winding road, swamp nd littered with trees, and ocean off on the horizon. After her father unclicked his seatbelt, he turned to look at her and Kai, leaving the car running. “Kai. Can you pause that?”

  Kai looked up when her dad stopped the car and nodded when he heard his dad’s request. Immediately, he pulled off his headphones, hitting the pause button as he did so. Cordelia exhaled slowly, releasing the pressure on her chest, ready for the expnation she had waited for all night.

  Her father sighed as he looked between them, exhaustion tightening his eyes and brow. The silence deepened, suggesting he was unsure what to say next. Cordelia fixed her eyes upon him, yet startled when he finally spoke. “There isn’t a great way to expin what I’m about to tell you, nor can I expin why we had to leave like we did. I can only say that something happened at work, so I wanted to get you all somewhere safe. And when I say safe, I mean somewhere that no one in our family or circle of friends knows about.”

  “Are you in trouble?” came the scared reply from her brother. Cordelia hadn’t thought of that.

  “No. No. Nothing like that,” her father reassured.

  “Then what?” Cordelia fired back.

  Their eyes met, and she could feel the tension rise. “Up ahead is a resort. I brought you here because I knew that they would take you in and protect you without asking too many questions.”

  “Last I checked, you didn’t have to provide expnations on why you are staying somewhere,” sarcasm dripping from each word she spoke.

  Frowning, her father retorted, “You do when you want family to protect something important.”

  “Family? You just said no one knows about this pce.”

  “No one you know does. This resort is owned and run by your mother’s parents.”

  Cordelia’s eyes grew wide at this news. Had she heard him correctly? Her father continued, “Your mother grew up here, so I hope that she’ll sense if something isn’t right. If not, then your grandfather will. He knows how to protect his property and the people on it.”

  “Mother’s parents? Like another set of grandparents?” Cordelia asked, confused. Her mother’s parents were dead; that is what she’d been told all of her life. She looked at her mom. Was this true?

  Silka’s eyes were swimming with tears, but a small smile graced her lips and a plead of understanding radiated from her. Cordelia waited for the words that would crify this revetion, and yet her mother sat in silence. All of this was hard to process.

  “Yes, both your grandmother and grandfather are alive, living here where I first met your mom. We’ve never told you about them to protect them and to protect you. It was best to have no connection between us.”

  “But wouldn’t your parents know about this pce since this is where you met Mom?” her eyebrows rose to emphasize the point.

  Robert chuckled, “Your other grandparents knew about this pce, but they thought it was sold when Silka’s parents were killed fifteen years ago. A story we made up. Thus, I can’t think of anyone who would guess that you were here.” Her father looked away from them and out the front window as silence fell again.

  Kai looked at her as if he thought she had more answers. Cordelia turned to her mother, hoping for the same, but her mother could only stare at both of them with that reassuring smile that seemed to say, sorry and isn’t this wonderful. If her mother wouldn’t say more, than her father needed to. “How can us not knowing about our own grandparents protect them? What do they need protected from?”

  Consequently, her father looked back at her with a slightly disapproving frown. Cordelia knew he didn’t like how she was speaking to him; however, she had the right to be angry. Shaken from sleep, rushed to the car and driven through the night, and then having the biggest secret of your life tossed on your p meant you were going to be a little angry.

  He lowered his head to look at his p as if to gather himself, then replied, “The why of keeping the existence of your grandparents a secret is for another time, and when they are ready for you to hear it. It isn’t my secret to tell. You need to trust that all of us kept quiet about this for a reason.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Cordelia!” her mother reprimanded, an angry red flushing her face. “I don’t care how angry you are at your father or even myself; however, you will speak to us with respect.”

  Now she could talk.

  “Silka. It is okay,” her father reached out, stroking her mother’s arm. His eyes then raised and met Cordelia’s. “I know you think that finding out I kept a secret from you suddenly means that everything I have taught you is out the window. It isn’t. In life, you try your best not to lie nor keep secrets. It is how I live each day. It is how I want you and your brother to live your lives. Lies harm not just others, but also somepce deep inside our souls. Easily, one lie leads to another.”

  Words rose to counter what he was telling her, yet she held them in when he put up his hand. “In time, you will learn there are situations where you need to keep a secret. Sometimes doing so isn’t a lie; it all depends on the circumstances. There’s a good reason for this secret.”

  Cordelia looked between her two parents, taking in what her father had said and wishing her mother would tell them anything. Of course she knew that occasionally you might have to keep a secret - like what your mother purchased for your brother for his birthday or that you stopped for ice cream after school. What you don’t do is keep life-changing secrets - like you have a boyfriend, or living grandparents, or you have hurt someone.

  “Cordelia - I can see by the look on your face that you don’t agree with what I am telling you. I can’t fix this right now. I have other things that I need to take care of, the first being dropping off the three of you. I have to get back to Cincinnati.”

  “You are leaving us?” her mother gasped.

  Robert reached out to stroke Silka’s cheek saying, “I’m sorry baby. I need you and the children safe so I can take care of this issue. I’ll be back as quickly as I can. I’ll expin everything then. Have faith in me.”

  Cordelia saw her mother hesitate, then give a nod of assent.

  “Cordelia. Kai. Can you just trust me for a week or two and I’ll expin further when I return?”

  “Sure, Dad,” Kai piped in.

  Cordelia looked solemnly at her father. She wasn’t sure she even knew the person in front of her. Would he really tell them the truth when he returned? Looking at him provided no reassurance that she’d eventually get the truth. But she had no choice. Giving a small nod, she turned to look back out the window at a world that would be forever changed.