Secret of the Lighthouse (Part 2: The Fatale Entanglement) | LMAC FreeStyle Collage No. 166

I wanted to share with you my freestyle collage and conclusion of the short story that accompanied it. I designed a different collage scene for the second part of the story that depicts the events that supposedly occurred in the story at the lighthouse that was kept secret.

My style of collage is a Freestyle. Although I wasn't required to utilize any contest photo in my design, I usually include it. However, if you'd like to join in any regular contest, visit the: Let's Make A Collage Community.

Part 2: Secret of the Lighthouse

What started out as a highly anticipated, get-acquainted weekend planned by Victoria's finance spent in the company of her future father-in-law, shipping magnet, Mathias Newberry, and other relatives was rapidly evolving into a nightmarish discovery of illegal if not immoral and unethical business practices.

And, as far as she could tell...all for a get-rich-quick scheme. At least rumored but never proven fifty years ago.

With a sweaty palm, Victoria gripped the mouse on her tablet; 'piracy' overshadowed accomplishments in news articles related to Newberry Shipping and Salvage. Quickly, she closed out the tabs and sat staring at the gold-plated key. The hand-drawn map she also confiscated from behind the drawing room picture frame detailed a cluster of rocks labeled 'The Fatale'.

Summarizing the various reports, she fingered the key and traced the map. Intrigued by both, she lay back on the bed staring at the ceiling, thinking.

Piecing together the mystery of The Fatale, the Lighthouse, and their connection to Mathias Newberry wouldn't be easy. What she'd learned so far was that Lighthouse at Fatale was the official name of the beacon when built by Agnes Montvale's father.

Agnes grew up on their estate nearby admiring the seamark as a family heritage wandering fearlessly among the jagged, fog-choked, treacherous coastal inlet known to boatmen as The Fatale. Destined to wed the most eligible rising businessman in the Pacific Northwest, Mathias Newberry, Agnes settled in. Peaceful, happy, absorbed in her horses, and grateful, she regaled her husband desired also to reside near The Fatale.

Not ten years later, a shroud descended upon the Newberry dynasty.

Yes, her husband built a successful shipping dynasty even though in the 1930s Pacific Northwest, the Great Depression blanketed the U.S. Mathias was celebrated as a captain of industry; providing employment, although wages were meager.

First came scrutiny over business tactics. How was Newberry Shipping and Salvage able to survive the cruel business environment during that depressed era when other, small rival competitors succumbed to the treacherous Fatale?

Two years later, Mathias learned that The Lighthouse Fatale was scheduled to be decommissioned.

Immediately, shipwrecks began occurring monthly at The Fatale.

Next came Agnes Newberry's untimely death ruled accidental; the victim of a fall from the rocks near the Lighthouse.

Victoria jerked her head around, startled at the knock on her door.

"Will you be joining us for lunch, miss?" one of the staff asked from the other side of the door.

"No. Thank you though. I'm just going to grab a snack and explore the west side of the Lighthouse." Victoria's voice lifted as though excited for the excursion to busy her day.

"Mind you, be careful of those rocks. The Fatale is no place for a young lass alone," was the reply.

"I certainly will. Thanks for your kind concern. I appreciate it," she rushed to say waiting until footsteps led away from the door.

Outside, Victoria shivered. The crisp wind cut across the Lighthouse grounds howling a peculiar cry. She dug deep inside her sweater pock and located the key and map.

Casting her gaze out over the murky bay, she recalled the mysterious shipwrecks. The Fatale's crescent-shaped cove bordered by black cliffs and volatile, unpredictable currents served as a natural graveyard for ships, she assumed.

But the Lighthouse would have helped those vessels navigate, she reasoned.

She turned away from the cove, then walked a few yards toward the Lighthouse. Tracing her fingers along the moist, salt-crusted stones of the bay-side structure, she imagined the inside, never having visited that type of historical landmark. To her surprise, the door was ajar.

She stepped inside and was transported back to a by-gone era.

Inside didn't reflect the external beauty. The spiral staircase had stood the testament of time. Shaky, she retreated and headed toward what resembled an equipment storage room.

But what did the key fit?

Victoria had assumed that the gold key would open the Lighthouse's external lock. No need. Perhaps a room she'd missed on the ground level. Pivoting, she noticed a heavy iron door. Despite its formidable presence, to her surprise, the door opened with ease as though regular traffic prevented it from rusting and sticking.

Inside, a hidden cellar-turned-study held more than memorabilia.

Combing through the meticulously kept ledgers, she discovered transactions spanning decades. Shouldn't those books be kept at a local accountant's office? she questioned.

The Newberry Shipping and Salvaging crest confirmed the books were for her fiance's family business. Ledgers spanning decades documented maritime information unfamiliar to Victoria.

However, from reading suspicions about the company, she'd gained enough knowledge to understand the dates, names of vessels, their routes, dates wrecks occurred, and salvage costs of those wrecked ships.

And the map pinpointed the exact locations of the wrecked vessels.

What was odd and disturbing at the same time was the dates storms occurred and times. Warning beacons were disabled at the Lighthouse immediately before the wrecks. Intentional grounding of ships.

Page after page notated in the columns was the name Newberry Salvage as the company who responded to the wrecks before the Lighthouse was decommissioned.

She slammed the books shut; then reopened them.

Every page was a damnation of an unscrupulous family empire built on the backs of suffering seamen and fishers along the breadth of the coast. Eliminating the competition. Numerous times, as reported in the articles Victoria read, loss of life resulted.

The operation was viewed as an unethical business practice known as Light-Extortion or Wracking as rumored in the articles.

Modern day piracy, pure and simple.

[to be continued]

In preparing my design for Part 2 of the story, I again utilized the lighthouse and female's image etched on it. My initial thought for this second collage in the series was to include strong surf waves and fishing boats that hopefully lent credibility to the story of capsized vessels near the lighthouse.

As the story unfolds the female explores her fiance's home and discovers a key and map of the treacherous cove.

I utilized Canva to blend the different type images. Below are my steps in which I began with a blank, white canvas, then added layers of elements, removing backgrounds, detaching elements from their backgrounds, resizing, duplicating, colorizing, and repositioning items as needed incorporating the tools at my disposal in my Annual Pro Membership Subscription.

Below are the images I included to complete my theme:

Item	Contributor	Source
Lighthouse	Contributed to #LIL by @redheadpei	Link
Rocks and water	Pixabay	Link
Female in black portrait	Pixabay	Link
Rusted ship	Pixabay	Link
Storm with shipwreck	Pixabay	Link
Rocks	Contributed to #LIL by @agmoore	Link
Pure Fractal titled "Blue Wave"	@justclickindiva	Link
Pure Fractal titled "Gray Wave5"	@justclickindiva	Link
White-crest blue waves	Pixabay	Link
Seagull	Contributed to #LIL by @redheadpei	Link

Below is my completed collage design:

Thanks for your visit. I appreciate it. I hope you like my freestyle collage theme.