Chapter 7 - The Night the Estate Burned
Evelyn called Rachel immediately.
“Vanessa is at the estate.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Dominic's security team is already there.”
Evelyn looked at the photograph again.
“What's in the briefcase?”
“We don't know.”
“Could it be the ledger?”
“Possibly.”
Evelyn grabbed her coat.
“I'm going there.”
Rachel objected.
“That's a terrible idea.”
“Then come with me.”
Twenty-five minutes later, they reached the Hawthorne estate.
The gates were open.
Security vehicles lined the driveway.
A strange silence hung over the property.
Evelyn stepped out of the car.
She had barely reached the entrance when she heard a scream.
A child's scream.
Sophie.
Evelyn ran.
Inside the mansion, smoke was beginning to drift through the eastern hallway.
A security guard was shouting into his radio.
“Get everyone out!”
Evelyn pushed past him.
“Where's Sophie?”
“Upstairs!”
She ran toward the staircase.
At the landing, she found the nanny standing outside a bedroom, coughing.
“She's inside!”
Evelyn rushed into the room.
Sophie was hiding beneath the bed.
Her face was streaked with tears.
“Evelyn?”
“Come here, sweetheart.”
The little girl crawled into her arms.
Evelyn wrapped her coat around her and hurried toward the stairs.
A loud crash came from below.
The lights flickered.
Then the smoke thickened.
She covered Sophie's face with her sleeve and kept moving.
At the bottom of the staircase, Dominic appeared.
His shirt was torn.
There was blood on his forehead.
When he saw them, his expression changed.
“Evelyn!”
He reached them and took Sophie into his arms.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“Daddy, I was scared.”
“I know, baby.”
He kissed her forehead.
Then he looked at Evelyn.
“Get outside.”
“What happened?”
“Vanessa.”
They reached the front lawn as firefighters arrived.
Dominic handed Sophie to the nanny and turned toward the building.
“Where are you going?” Evelyn demanded.
“I need to find something.”
“You're not going back inside.”
He looked at her.
For a moment, the old authority returned to his face.
“Don't tell me what to do.”
“Then don't expect me to stand here while you walk into a burning building.”
He stared at her.
Then he turned and went back inside.
Evelyn wanted to follow.
Rachel grabbed her arm.
“Don't.”
They waited.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Finally, Dominic emerged carrying a small metal case.
His face was blackened with soot.
He handed the case to one of his men.
“Take this somewhere safe.”
“What is it?” Evelyn asked.
“Something Vanessa came for.”
Before he could explain, a police officer approached.
“Mr. Mercer, we need to speak with you.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“About what?”
“An attempted arson investigation.”
Rachel stepped forward.
“We're not answering questions without counsel.”
The officer nodded.
Then another vehicle arrived.
Vanessa stepped out.
Her burgundy dress was gone.
She wore black trousers, a white blouse, and a dark coat.
She looked completely calm.
Evelyn stared at her.
“You set the fire?”
Vanessa smiled faintly.
“Hello, Evelyn.”
Dominic moved between them.
“Don't speak to her.”
Vanessa laughed.
“Still protecting your wife? How touching.”
“Where's the ledger?”
Vanessa tilted her head.
“Which one?”
Dominic grabbed her arm.
“Don't play games.”
She pulled free.
“You're asking the wrong person.”
Her eyes shifted toward Evelyn.
“You should ask your grandmother.”
Evelyn felt her stomach tighten.
“My grandmother has been dead for twelve years.”
“Exactly.”
Vanessa reached into her coat and removed a photograph.
She held it out.
Evelyn recognized the woman immediately.
Her grandmother, Eleanor.
But the photograph showed her standing beside a man Evelyn had never seen before.
The man was holding a baby.
A baby wrapped in a white blanket.
On the back of the photograph was a date.
And beneath it, a name.
EVELYN.
She looked up.
“What is this?”
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
“Your grandmother wasn't the woman who raised your mother.”
Evelyn stared at her.
“That's impossible.”
“Is it?”
Vanessa leaned closer.
“Ask Margaret why she never told you who your real grandfather was.”
Dominic turned sharply.
“Enough.”
Vanessa laughed.
“You still don't understand, do you? Richard doesn't want your money. He wants what your grandmother hid.”
A gunshot cracked through the night.
Everyone dropped.
One of Dominic's guards fell near the driveway.
Sophie screamed.
Dominic pulled Evelyn behind a stone pillar.
Rachel dragged the nanny toward the vehicles.
When the shooting stopped, Vanessa was gone.
So was the metal case.
Dominic looked at the empty driveway.
Then at Evelyn.
“Your family has been hiding something from you.”
May you like
Evelyn looked down at the photograph.
For the first time, she wondered whether her marriage had been only one part of a much older deception.
