Contents
Chapter Two
Overview
Holland receives a mysterious package and a visit from Manuel Vargas, who claims a fifteen-year-old safety deposit box tied to her past will soon be destroyed. His demand for secrecy deepens her suspicion, especially after last night’s myth-chasing. She withholds action, guarding her hidden identity as her meeting with Adam looms.
Summary
Holland wakes unsettled, piecing together the previous night with Jake and noting his uncharacteristic silence. She prepares for a 2:00 p.m. meeting with new folklore faculty member Adam Bishop, reflecting on her Coffee Lab film series and her lifelong love of movies tied to her father’s treasure hunts.
Missing her twin, Holland calls January, who sounds tired and uncharacteristically tender from Spain before the call abruptly ends as Holland’s doorbell rings. At the door, Holland finds a brown-paper package addressed to her—likely from the Professor—and a dapper stranger, Manuel Vargas, who claims to be a banker and inheritance specialist.
Vargas presents a business card for the First Bank of Centennial City and explains that a safety deposit box leased fifteen years ago—shortly before the owner’s death—is about to expire and be incinerated. He implies the box is connected to Holland and January, asks for secrecy, and suggests she make an appointment to claim it.
Alarmed and skeptical—especially after sharing her details the previous night in pursuit of the Watch Man—Holland suspects a scam. She recalls her concealed real surname and her parents’ sensational, long-ago deaths that prompted the name change to St. James. Tempted but wary of being drawn into a rabbit hole, she decides not to call the number and leaves the package unopened as her meeting time approaches.
Who Appears
- Holland St. JamesProtagonist; wakes uneasy, misses Jake’s text, calls her twin, receives a package, rebuffs a suspicious inheritance pitch tied to her hidden past.
- Manuel VargasPolite ‘inheritance specialist’ who claims a 15-year-old safety deposit box tied to Holland is about to be destroyed; demands secrecy.
- January St. JamesHolland’s twin in Spain; sounds uncharacteristically tender and tired before their call abruptly ends.
- JakeHolland’s date from the previous night; breaks routine by not texting, fueling her doubts.
- Adam BishopNew folklore faculty member who scheduled a 2 p.m. meeting with Holland for undisclosed reasons.
- The ProfessorHolland’s former mentor; likely sender of the mysterious brown-paper package related to Holland’s thesis.