Chapter 8 - THE BEDROOM RECORDING
Emily escaped through the service hatch and returned to the mansion as the banquet began.
Her mind felt fractured.
Thomas was not her biological father.
Daniel had known about the trust for six months.
Laura’s death involved Charles Blackwood.
Richard planned to steal Emily’s inheritance.
And somewhere inside the mansion, a false affair was being constructed.
Emily entered through the rear corridor and locked herself in the small laundry office.
She inserted Nathan’s memory card into an old staff computer.
The footage was dated twelve nights earlier.
Daniel had been in Germany.
At 1:13 a.m., Ashley entered Emily and Daniel’s bedroom using Emily’s access code.
She wore a dark coat and gloves.
A man followed her.
His face remained hidden beneath a cap.
They changed the time on the room’s digital system, placed a wineglass near the bed, and opened Daniel’s wardrobe.
Ashley removed one of Daniel’s shirts and laid it across the chair.
Then she took several photographs.
The man adjusted the angle, ensuring the images appeared intimate.
At 1:29 a.m., Ashley removed her coat.
Underneath, she wore a silk nightdress.
She sat on the bed while the man photographed her.
Emily felt sick.
At 1:36 a.m., Ashley looked toward the hidden camera.
“You are certain the original feed will be erased?”
The man answered.
“Richard controls the main server.”
Emily recognized the voice.
Martin Vale.
The chief of security.
Ashley opened a velvet jewelry box.
Inside were the emerald earrings.
“Daniel bought these for Emily,” she said.
Martin replied, “Not anymore.”
Emily paused the recording.
The earrings had been intended for her.
Ashley had stolen them to create evidence of an affair.
Emily continued.
At 1:43 a.m., Martin placed a sealed envelope inside Daniel’s drawer.
The handwritten note.
For everything we never had the courage to say.
“Will she recognize the handwriting?” Ashley asked.
“The copy is exact.”
“And the messages?”
“Scheduled to appear on Daniel’s private account once the banquet begins.”
Emily checked the time.
The banquet had begun twenty minutes earlier.
She pulled out her phone.
Dozens of notifications appeared.
Among them was a message from Daniel’s private account.
I wish I had chosen you years ago.
Another message followed.
Tonight, everything changes.
The messages were addressed to Ashley.
Emily understood the plan.
During the banquet, the forged correspondence would become public. Emily would be humiliated. Ashley would appear to be Daniel’s secret lover. Richard would pressure Emily to sign the transfer documents before leaving.
The final minutes of the footage showed Ashley replacing the camera cover.
But before she left, Martin remained behind.
He approached Emily’s bedside table and removed a framed photograph of Emily and Daniel.
For several seconds, he stared at it.
Then he whispered:
“I’m sorry, Laura.”
Emily replayed the words.
Martin had not said Emily’s name.
He had said Laura.
A knock struck the office door.
Emily removed the memory card.
“Who is it?”
“Mrs. Blackwood,” a catering employee said, “Mr. Richard requests your presence in the banquet hall.”
Emily hid the card inside her shoe.
When she entered the hall, conversations softened.
Guests looked at her with poorly concealed curiosity.
Ashley stood beside Richard beneath a massive portrait of Edmund Blackwood.
She wore the emerald earrings and Laura’s copied silver locket.
Several guests held phones.
The forged messages had already begun circulating.
Richard approached Emily with practiced concern.
“There has been an unfortunate development.”
Emily looked toward Ashley.
She seemed close to tears.
A performance.
“What happened?” Emily asked.
Ashley’s voice trembled convincingly.
“I never wanted you to find out this way.”
A journalist stepped closer.
“Mrs. Blackwood, do you have a response to the messages between your husband and Miss Laurent?”
Emily heard whispers spread.
She saw pity, excitement, and judgment.
Richard placed the restructuring agreement on a nearby table.
“You should sign this now,” he said quietly. “Then leave before the situation becomes more painful.”
Emily stared at the signature line.
The trap was complete.
Then the back doors opened.
May you like
Daniel entered the mansion.
He carried a small velvet jewelry box.
