Chapter 10 - The House Surrounded by Secrets
Rose turned off the lights.
“Back door. Now.”
Lucas looked outside.
Four men in dark suits spread across the property.
“They already covered it.”
Elena clutched Nathan’s letter.
“Margaret would not attack us openly.”
Rose gave her a grim look.
“You don’t know Margaret.”
A knock sounded at the front door.
“Elena,” Margaret called. “I know you are inside.”
Lucas pulled out his phone.
No signal.
Rose opened a cabinet and removed an old radio.
“Storm damaged the antenna last week.”
Another knock.
“I only want to talk,” Margaret said.
Rose raised the shotgun.
“That woman has never wanted only to talk.”
Elena moved toward the door.
Lucas grabbed her arm.
“What are you doing?”
“Daniel is in jail. Running will not help him.”
“Opening that door won’t help either.”
“I need to know what she wants.”
Margaret called again.
“Your husband’s bail hearing begins in one hour. I can make sure he comes home.”
Elena stopped.
Lucas whispered,
“She’s lying.”
Margaret continued.
“But only if you give me the Ashcroft letters and sign away your claim to the trust.”
Elena looked at Rose.
“How does she know about the letters?”
Rose’s eyes moved to Lucas.
Elena followed her gaze.
Lucas stepped back.
“I didn’t tell her.”
“Then how did she find us?” Rose asked.
Lucas checked his jacket.
His face changed.
He pulled a small silver button from the lining.
A tracking device blinked inside it.
“Mother gave me this jacket.”
Margaret’s voice came through the door.
“You have ten minutes.”
Elena walked to the window.
Margaret stood alone near the porch.
The men remained by the vehicles.
“Show me proof Daniel will be released,” Elena said.
Margaret held up her phone.
A live video showed Daniel sitting in a courthouse room beside Richard.
A prosecutor entered carrying the Bellford file.
Margaret smiled.
“The original report can disappear again.”
“So you admit you planted it.”
“I admit nothing.”
“What happens if I refuse?”
“The prosecutor receives additional evidence proving Daniel ordered the unsafe work to continue.”
Lucas shouted,
“He didn’t.”
Margaret ignored him.
Elena pressed a hand against her stomach.
The baby moved sharply.
Rose touched her shoulder.
“Your mother once sacrificed everything to protect you. That does not mean you must make the same mistake.”
Elena stared at Nathan’s letter.
If she surrendered the trust, Margaret might free Daniel.
Or she might destroy them both.
Daniel had told her she would never kneel again.
Signing would be another form of kneeling.
Elena opened the door.
Lucas cursed.
Margaret smiled.
“You finally understand.”
Elena stepped onto the porch.
“I will sign one document.”
Margaret took an agreement from her bag.
“You will renounce all ownership claims connected to Nathan Ashcroft.”
“No.”
Margaret’s smile disappeared.
“I will sign a statement saying I knew nothing about the trust before today.”
“That is not enough.”
“It is enough to prove I did not marry Daniel for money.”
“The board does not care.”
“But the public will.”
Elena held up her phone.
The screen displayed a recording timer.
Margaret looked toward the men behind her.
Elena continued.
“You just admitted you can make evidence disappear. You also admitted you are using my husband’s freedom to force me to surrender property.”
Margaret lunged for the phone.
Rose raised the shotgun.
The men reached beneath their jackets.
Lucas stepped between Elena and his mother.
“Stop.”
Margaret stared at him.
“Move.”
“No.”
“You are choosing her?”
Lucas looked at Elena.
“No. I am choosing the truth.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
Then another.
Richard had sent the authorities after tracing Margaret’s vehicle.
The men retreated toward the cars.
Margaret grabbed Elena’s wrist.
“You have no idea what you have done.”
Elena pulled free.
“I stopped obeying you.”
Margaret’s expression became strangely calm.
“You think Nathan’s trust makes you powerful.”
She leaned closer.
“But the trust was emptied this morning.”
Elena froze.
May you like
Margaret smiled.
“And the person who authorized the final transfer was Daniel.”
