Chapter 11 - THE REVIEW
Arthur released Vanessa from the hidden room.
She looked at the blood on his shirt.
“Are you injured?”
“Not badly.”
“What happened at the cottage?”
“Daniel struck me after you left. I allowed him to believe I was unconscious.”
“You allowed him?”
“I needed him to lead me to whoever had been helping him alter the recordings.”
“Did he?”
Arthur looked toward Daniel’s motionless body.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Detective Graham.”
Emily stared at him.
“The detective?”
“He has been protecting Daniel for years. He was the first officer assigned to Laura’s disappearance.”
“Then we cannot call the police.”
“Not the local department.”
Arthur checked his watch.
“The trust review occurs through a secured video conference. Margaret, Daniel, Vanessa, and the administrator were supposed to attend.”
“Margaret is in the hospital,” Emily said.
“And Daniel is unconscious.”
Vanessa looked toward the projector.
“I can attend.”
“You are not recognized as a Mercer heir if Thomas’s recording is authenticated,” Arthur said.
“That makes no sense. If I am the rightful owner, why would that remove me?”
“Because the Mercer trust cannot award Mercer property to someone who proves it was never Mercer property.”
Emily understood.
“The review would collapse.”
“Yes.”
“And Bellweather House would be returned to Vanessa?”
“Possibly.”
Vanessa’s expression remained guarded.
“What does possibly mean?”
“It means Thomas’s recording establishes a claim, not final ownership. We still need Eleanor Vale’s bloodline documents.”
“Where are they?”
Arthur looked at the brass key.
“The room contains a second compartment.”
They returned to the hidden archive.
Behind the projector, Emily found a keyhole set into the floor. The brass key opened a steel box beneath the boards.
Inside were birth certificates, adoption records, letters, and a silver necklace bearing the bell-and-thorns symbol.
Vanessa picked it up.
“I had one like this when I was a child.”
“What happened to it?” Emily asked.
“My father took it away.”
Arthur examined the documents.
“This is enough.”
A bell sounded throughout the house.
The monitors downstairs activated automatically.
A woman’s voice announced, “The Bellweather household review will begin in three minutes.”
They carried the documents to Daniel’s office.
A large screen displayed four empty frames.
One was labeled Daniel Mercer.
One Margaret Mercer.
One Household Witness.
One Administrator.
Emily looked at Arthur.
“Am I the household witness?”
“You are now.”
Vanessa placed the original deed on the desk.
“What do we do with Daniel?”
Arthur tied his hands and locked him inside the nursery.
The review began.
Margaret’s frame remained empty.
Daniel’s camera displayed only an error message.
Emily sat before the Household Witness camera.
Vanessa stood beside her.
The Administrator’s frame stayed black.
A distorted voice spoke.
“Daniel Mercer is absent.”
Emily answered.
“He is unable to attend.”
“State your identity.”
“Emily Warren Mercer.”
“Do you confirm Bellweather House as the lawful property of the Mercer family trust?”
“No.”
The room became silent.
The administrator asked, “On what basis do you challenge the claim?”
Emily held up the original deed.
“Bellweather House was stolen from Eleanor Vale. The transfer record was forged. My father, Thomas Warren, preserved the original evidence.”
“Thomas Warren is deceased.”
“He left a recorded statement.”
“Recordings may be fabricated.”
“We also have birth records establishing the surviving bloodline.”
Vanessa stepped into view.
“My name is Vanessa Mercer. I am Eleanor Vale’s great-granddaughter.”
The screen flickered.
For the first time, the administrator’s silhouette appeared.
“Vanessa Mercer has no recognized standing in this review.”
“Then recognize me,” Vanessa said.
“That is not your decision.”
Arthur moved closer.
“Administrator, activate restitution procedure seven.”
The distorted voice became colder.
“Arthur Hale, you were removed as guardian.”
“I resigned. I was not removed.”
“You violated trust confidentiality.”
“To prevent murder.”
Emily watched the shadowed figure.
“Who are you?”
The administrator ignored her.
“Without Daniel Mercer or Margaret Mercer present, the review is suspended.”
A second voice suddenly entered the call.
Margaret appeared on the screen from a hospital bed.
Her injured shoulder was bandaged.
“I am present,” she said.
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Mother.”
Margaret looked at the deed.
“So Thomas succeeded.”
“You knew I wasn’t your daughter,” Vanessa said.
“You are my daughter.”
“Biologically.”
“No.”
“Who were my parents?”
Margaret’s face tightened.
“Your mother was Eleanor Vale’s granddaughter. Your father was Thomas Warren.”
Emily stared at the screen.
Vanessa stepped backward.
“That would make…”
“My sister,” Emily whispered.
Margaret nodded.
“Half-sisters.”
No one spoke.
Emily looked at Vanessa differently.
Every secret in the house had led to another beneath it.
Margaret continued.
“Thomas believed separating you was the only way to keep you both alive. Rose took Emily. I raised Vanessa under the Mercer name.”
Vanessa’s voice shook.
“Did Richard know?”
“He knew you were not his child. He did not know Thomas was your father.”
The office door slammed open.
Daniel stood there with blood running from his forehead.
He had freed himself.
In one hand, he held a knife.
May you like
In the other, he held a small remote control.
“End the review,” he said, “or I erase every record in this house.”
