Chapter 7 - the card they could not destroy
After the ballroom lights returned, Daniel Crowe sealed Ashford House.
No guest was allowed to leave.
The decision caused immediate outrage. Politicians, executives, judges, and members of several royal charities demanded explanations. Daniel ignored them and positioned guards at every exit.
Julian carried Mary Jane into the library.
A doctor among the guests examined her and confirmed that she was frightened but physically stable. The marks on her face were mild and required no emergency treatment.
Victoria remained in the ballroom under observation.
She insisted that Mary Jane had locked herself inside the storage area.
Elias Mercer could not be found.
Julian placed the black memory card into a laptop that had been disconnected from the estate network.
Mary Jane sat beside him beneath a blanket.
Daniel stood at the door.
The first recordings contained long periods of silence, distant footsteps, and fragments of conversation. Then Victoria’s voice filled the library.
“The signature page will be switched after the public reading.”
Elias answered.
“And if Julian requests the full filed version?”
“By the time he understands, A.V. Holdings will control every Ashford voting share.”
Another recording began.
Victoria spoke again.
“Once the guardianship transfer is accepted, Mary Jane will be moved.”
A man replied, his voice distorted but clear enough to chill the room.
“The child is not to leave the estate until we find the ledger.”
Julian leaned closer to the laptop.
“Who is that?”
Mary Jane shook her head.
The man continued.
“Eleanor made copies. Thomas helped her. If the original trust is discovered, everything we have done for twenty years becomes evidence.”
Victoria asked, “And after we find it?”
“Then the girl and the estate become mine.”
A door closed on the recording.
Daniel looked at Julian.
“Do you recognize the voice?”
“No.”
But Julian was not certain.
There was something familiar in the rhythm. A habit of pausing before important words. He had heard it in boardrooms and dining rooms, perhaps throughout his childhood.
The next file contained Victoria threatening Mary Jane.
The recording did not capture physical aggression, but it preserved every word.
No one will believe you.
Julian stopped the playback.
Mary Jane stared at the screen.
“Keep going.”
“You do not have to hear it again.”
“My mother said people erase what hurts them. Then they pretend it never happened.”
Julian’s expression tightened.
He played the final file.
Elias was speaking.
“The original codicil gives Mary Jane control of the founder’s trust when she turns eighteen. Until then, Julian is the sole protector.”
Victoria answered.
“So his signature removes him.”
“Yes.”
“And appoints me.”
“Temporarily.”
“Long enough.”
The file ended.
Julian stood.
“Daniel, find the second signature packet.”
Daniel searched the office Elias had used.
The locked case was empty.
They checked the ballroom, the study, the guest suites, and every room near the service corridors.
Nothing.
At two in the morning, Daniel found a guard unconscious but unharmed beside the northern gate. His uniform and key card were missing.
Security footage showed a man wearing the uniform leaving the estate during the blackout.
His face was hidden.
He carried Elias’s document case.
Victoria was brought into the library.
Julian played the recording.
She listened without reacting.
When it ended, she looked at Mary Jane.
“You recorded a privileged legal conversation.”
“You locked her beneath the ballroom,” Julian said.
“I moved her away from the guests because she was having a breakdown.”
“She opened the door with a key.”
“A key she stole.”
Mary Jane reached for Julian’s hand.
Victoria noticed.
Her composure cracked.
“You have known this child for six months, Julian. You have known me for six years.”
“I did not know you at all.”
Victoria stepped closer.
“You think this is about money? Your father built this estate on stolen lives. Eleanor discovered the truth and tried to sell it.”
“My mother never sold anything,” Mary Jane said.
Victoria looked at her.
“You do not know who your mother was.”
“And you do?”
“Yes.”
The single word silenced the room.
Julian moved in front of Mary Jane.
“What was Eleanor investigating?”
Victoria smiled without warmth.
“The same thing Thomas died trying to hide.”
Before Julian could question her further, Daniel’s phone rang.
He listened for several seconds.
Then his face changed.
“The police found Elias’s car.”
“Where?” Julian asked.
“At the bottom of the quarry road.”
Mary Jane gripped Julian’s hand.
May you like
Daniel continued.
“The car is empty. There is blood on the driver’s seat.”
