Chapter 4 - THE FIRST ATTEMPT TO LEAVE
Audrey replaced the files and closed the hidden panel.
She could hear Julian speaking to someone downstairs.
Arthur.
They had returned together.
She slipped out of the winter room, but before she reached the side corridor, Arthur appeared at the opposite end.
He stopped when he saw her.
Neither of them spoke.
Then Arthur looked toward the winter room door.
“What were you doing?”
“Collecting my belongings.”
“Your bedroom is upstairs.”
“I took the wrong corridor.”
Arthur smiled without warmth.
“In the house where you have lived for four years?”
Julian came up behind him.
His eyes moved to Audrey’s handbag.
“You came back.”
“To leave properly.”
“You embarrassed my mother.”
“Your mother suspended me to hide fraud.”
Arthur’s smile disappeared.
“Lower your voice.”
“No.”
Julian approached.
“Give me the bag.”
Audrey stepped backward.
“You are not taking anything from me.”
“You have confidential foundation records.”
“I have my personal belongings.”
“Then you won’t mind showing us.”
Audrey glanced toward the side exit.
Arthur noticed.
“Security has been instructed not to let you remove company property.”
“My passport is not company property.”
Julian reached for the handbag.
Audrey pulled it away.
The movement caused the strap to catch on a decorative metal corner. The leather tore, and the contents fell across the floor.
Her wallet.
Keys.
Passport.
A lipstick.
Her mother’s bracelet.
The black emergency phone remained hidden inside the torn lining.
Julian crouched and picked up Audrey’s regular phone.
“Give that back.”
He stood and held it out of reach.
“Unlock it.”
“No.”
Arthur collected the passport.
Audrey moved toward him.
“That belongs to me.”
“You are behaving irrationally,” Arthur said.
“I am leaving.”
“No one is stopping you,” Julian replied.
Audrey looked at the locked side door.
“Open it.”
“Use the front.”
She walked toward the foyer.
The front doors opened before she reached them.
Miriam entered.
She took in the scattered belongings and the torn handbag.
“What happened?”
“She was in the winter room,” Arthur said.
Miriam looked at Audrey.
“You found the panel.”
It was not a question.
Julian turned to his mother.
“What panel?”
Arthur’s expression hardened.
“Miriam.”
But Audrey had already heard enough.
Julian had not known about the hidden files.
Perhaps he knew about the fraud but not the evidence his parents kept.
For a brief moment, the Whitmores were no longer united.
Audrey used it.
She ran toward the open front doors.
Julian caught her wrist before she reached them.
“Stop.”
“Let go of me.”
Rosa and two other members of staff stood near the dining room entrance. Several guests from Arthur’s business dinner were entering behind Miriam.
Everyone saw Julian holding Audrey.
His grip loosened.
Audrey pulled free and stepped outside.
Julian followed her onto the driveway.
“You are making a scene.”
“I’m leaving.”
“You can’t take confidential documents.”
“I don’t have them.”
“You photographed them.”
Audrey kept walking.
Her car was parked near the garden wall.
Julian followed several steps behind, keeping his voice low.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“You think your father can protect you?”
She stopped.
“Do not bring him into this.”
“He is already involved. You always run to him whenever you need someone to tell you you’re right.”
Audrey reached her car.
The tires were flat.
All four of them.
She stared at the vehicle.
Julian stopped behind her.
“It’s not safe to drive.”
“You did this.”
“It was security. There was concern the car had been tampered with.”
She turned toward him.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to come inside and calm down.”
Audrey looked toward the mansion gates.
They were nearly half a mile away.
She could walk.
She began moving toward them.
A black security vehicle rolled across the driveway and stopped in her path.
The driver did not get out.
Julian’s voice came from behind her.
“You are tired. You are emotional. And tomorrow, after you have rested, we will discuss your concerns.”
“You said no one was stopping me.”
“No one is.”
The security vehicle remained in front of her.
Audrey saw the trap clearly.
Every action had been designed to remain just below the level of visible force.
A locked door explained as protection.
A disabled car explained as safety.
A blocked road explained as coincidence.
If she shouted, they would call her unstable.
If she fought, they would call her dangerous.
If she stayed, they would control the story.
Audrey reached into the torn handbag and felt the emergency phone inside the lining.
She pressed the button.
The device vibrated once.
A call opened silently.
Thomas answered.
“Audrey?”
She could not raise the phone without Julian seeing it.
She continued walking toward the garden as though she had changed her mind.
“I think I found Mom’s blue coat,” she said.
Julian frowned.
“What?”
On the hidden call, Thomas went silent.
Audrey repeated the sentence.
“Her blue coat. I thought it was gone.”
Julian stepped closer.
“What are you talking about?”
Audrey felt her heartbeat in her throat.
Then Arthur’s voice came from the mansion entrance.
“Julian, bring her inside.”
Julian looked toward his father.
Audrey moved suddenly around the security vehicle.
She ran.
Not toward the gates.
Toward the greenhouse, where an older service entrance opened onto a narrow road.
She had nearly reached it when the heel of her shoe broke.
Audrey fell against the stone path.
Julian caught up.
He did not strike her.
He did something more calculated.
He stood between her and the door while a female security employee approached.
“Mrs. Whitmore is having a medical episode,” Julian said loudly.
“I am not,” Audrey replied.
The employee looked uncertain.
“She needs to rest,” Julian continued.
Audrey reached for the hidden phone.
Julian saw the movement.
May you like
He pulled the torn handbag from her shoulder.
The call disconnected.
