Chapter 4 - THE FIANCÉE'S SECRET
Dominic reached the mansion in twelve minutes.
Two guards stood outside Elena's former bedroom. The hallway smelled faintly of bleach, and a red stain remained on the marble floor despite someone's hurried attempt to clean it.
Hannah waited near the staircase, pale and shaking.
“Where did you see the blood?”
“Outside the door. I called security before I went inside.”
“Good.”
He examined the lock.
No damage.
The door opened with a soft click.
Inside, everything appeared untouched. Elena's old curtains still framed the west-facing windows, and the furniture remained exactly where Dominic had left it four years earlier.
Except for one thing.
A small framed photograph had been removed from the nightstand.
It showed Elena and Margaret Vale sitting together in a garden.
“Who had access to this room?” Dominic asked.
“Your staff, the security team, and Miss Sterling,” Hannah answered.
“Vanessa.”
Hannah nodded.
“She came in yesterday afternoon. She said she wanted to check which items should be donated before the wedding.”
Dominic turned toward the doorway.
“Find her.”
A guard hurried away.
Hannah stepped closer to the nightstand.
“Sir, look.”
She pointed to a thin streak of blood beneath the bed.
Dominic crouched.
The stain was fresh.
Someone had been injured in the room, then dragged or helped toward the hallway. A torn piece of dark fabric clung to the bed frame.
Dominic placed it in a handkerchief.
“Bring the security footage from the west wing.”
The head of security, Marcus Reed, arrived five minutes later.
He was a broad-shouldered former Marine who had worked for Dominic's family for eleven years. Dominic had trusted him with the mansion's keys, the security system, and the names of people who were never supposed to enter the property.
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
“Sir, there's a problem with the cameras.”
“Let me guess. They weren't working.”
“Three cameras were disabled between 8:10 and 8:26 last night.”
“By whom?”
“The system shows an authorized override.”
“Whose authorization?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Miss Sterling's.”
Dominic's face hardened.
“Bring her to the library.”
***
Vanessa entered wearing a cream silk dress and a diamond necklace Dominic had given her the previous Christmas.
She looked immaculate.
Only her eyes betrayed her.
“What is this about?” she asked. “I have a fitting in an hour.”
Dominic stood behind his desk.
“Someone entered Elena's room last night.”
“That's impossible. It's been locked for years.”
“Someone opened it.”
She glanced at Marcus.
“Then perhaps your security team should do its job.”
“The cameras were disabled using your authorization.”
Vanessa's expression barely changed.
“I asked Marcus to turn them off because I was arranging the flowers for the wedding. The florist needed privacy while he worked.”
“At eight at night?”
“He had a scheduling conflict.”
Dominic placed the photograph of Elena and Margaret on the desk.
“Where is this?”
Vanessa looked at it.
For an instant, her composure broke.
“I've never seen it.”
“That's strange. It was missing from Elena's bedroom.”
“Then someone stole it.”
“Who?”
“How should I know?”
Dominic leaned forward.
“Why did you tell me to destroy the mirror?”
“Because I didn't want you obsessing over your dead wife days before our wedding.”
“That's not an answer.”
Her eyes flashed.
“You want the truth? I'm tired, Dominic. I'm tired of competing with a woman who has been dead for four years. Every room in this house belongs to her. Every decision you make is somehow about her. I thought we could start a life together, but apparently I was wrong.”
For a moment, the anger in her voice sounded real.
Dominic knew Vanessa had endured the burden of being compared to Elena. He had watched her try to create a place for herself in a house that treated his first marriage like a sacred monument.
But resentment did not explain the blood.
“Who is Margaret Vale?” he asked.
Vanessa went silent.
“Answer me.”
“I don't know her.”
“Hannah says she was Elena's nurse.”
“Hannah knows nothing about this family.”
“She knows enough to recognize your fear.”
Vanessa's mouth tightened.
“You're allowing a maid to manipulate you.”
“She's the only person who has given me a reason to trust her.”
The words struck Vanessa harder than he intended.
She looked away.
“Your brother warned me this would happen.”
Dominic froze.
“What did Adrian warn you about?”
She realized her mistake.
“Nothing.”
“Vanessa.”
She picked up her purse.
“I'm not doing this.”
Dominic moved toward the door.
“You're not leaving until you answer me.”
Her expression changed from wounded to furious.
“You cannot imprison me in your house.”
“No. But I can ask you why my wife's financial records were found in a company controlled by your father.”
Vanessa stared at him.
Then she whispered, “You don't understand what Richard was doing.”
“Then explain it.”
“He was protecting me.”
“From what?”
Her lips trembled.
“From Adrian.”
The library seemed to shrink around them.
Dominic lowered his voice.
“What did Adrian do?”
Vanessa glanced at Marcus, who stood by the door.
“Please. Let us speak alone.”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“Your brother came to me three weeks before Elena died. He said Elena had discovered something that could destroy the Moretti family. He told me she was going to take the evidence to the federal authorities.”
“Why would he tell you?”
“Because he wanted me to convince you to stop her.”
“And did you?”
“I tried.”
Dominic stared at her.
“Did you know Elena was going to die?”
“No!”
The answer came too quickly.
He waited.
Vanessa's shoulders slumped.
“I knew they were planning to scare her. I thought they would take the documents and frighten her into silence. I didn't know anyone intended to hurt her.”
“Who is they?”
She closed her eyes.
“My father. Adrian. And someone else.”
“Who?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I never saw his face. My father called him the Chairman.”
Dominic felt the hair rise along his arms.
The Chairman was a name from the old days, a shadowy figure who had allegedly coordinated business deals between several powerful criminal families. Dominic had always assumed it was a title used to frighten rivals.
“Where can I find him?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why are you protecting him?”
“Because my father said if I ever revealed his identity, everyone I loved would die.”
Dominic stepped back.
“You expect me to believe this?”
“I expect you to understand that I didn't kill Elena.”
“Did you help someone cover up her death?”
Vanessa began to cry.
“Yes.”
The confession hung between them.
“I deleted messages. I told the police Elena had been unstable. I gave my father access to the foundation's records. But I didn't push her down those stairs.”
Dominic watched her carefully.
“Who did?”
Vanessa looked toward the door.
Then she whispered, “Ask Adrian what happened to the baby.”
Before Dominic could respond, a crash sounded from upstairs.
A guard shouted.
Marcus reached for his weapon.
Dominic ran into the hallway.
At the top of the stairs, Hannah stood frozen beside the open door to the attic.
A man in a dark coat lay unconscious on the floor.
Blood covered his sleeve.
And in his hand was a photograph of Hannah as a child.
May you like
On the back, someone had written:
MARGARET VALE WILL BE DEAD BY MIDNIGHT.
