Chapter 3 - the guard who locked the doors
Alexander looked across the ballroom.
Twelve Vale security guards stood at the exits.
The man seen inside the west wing was among them.
Or someone wearing his face was.
“Daniel,” Alexander said quietly, “how many copies of the east entrance roster exist?”
“Three.”
“Verify every guard.”
Daniel lifted his radio.
Before he could speak, the ballroom lights went out.
Screams erupted.
The chandeliers died at once, leaving only the storm flashing beyond the windows.
Alexander pulled Seraphina against him.
“Stay behind me.”
A woman shouted near the staircase.
Glass shattered.
Someone ran through the crowd.
Daniel activated the flashlight on his tablet.
“Everyone remain where you are.”
The emergency lights flickered on, painting the ballroom in a dim red glow.
One of the side doors stood open.
The guard who had been stationed there was gone.
So was Beatrice.
Victoria remained beside the staircase, frozen and alone.
Alexander turned on her.
“Where did she go?”
“I don’t know.”
“You were speaking to her.”
“She told me to remain here.”
“Why?”
Victoria shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Seraphina studied her face.
The arrogance was gone. What remained was terror.
“Victoria,” Seraphina said, “what was inside the document you took from Alexander’s study?”
Victoria touched her purse.
“I didn’t take anything.”
“I saw it.”
“You misunderstood.”
“Show us.”
Victoria backed away.
Alexander held out his hand.
“Give me the document.”
“No.”
“Then Daniel will search your purse.”
Daniel approached.
Victoria clutched the purse against her chest.
“You have no right.”
“This is private property,” Alexander said. “You assaulted my wife, admitted receiving instructions, and may be holding stolen evidence.”
Victoria glanced at the open door.
“She said it was only a list.”
“What kind of list?”
“I don’t know.”
“Give it to me.”
Victoria hesitated before opening the purse. She removed a folded page and placed it in Alexander’s hand.
The paper was old and brittle.
At the top were the words Wren Beneficiary Register.
Beneath them was a list of names.
Some had been crossed out in red ink.
Seraphina leaned closer.
Her mother’s name appeared near the bottom.
Elena Hale.
Beside it was a number: eighteen percent.
Seraphina’s breathing slowed.
“What does that mean?”
Alexander scanned the document.
“These percentages total one hundred.”
“Shares?”
“Possibly.”
Victoria pointed toward Beatrice’s empty place.
“She said the list proved you were stealing from the company. She told me to take it before you destroyed it.”
“Where did you find it?”
“In your desk.”
“My desk was locked.”
“She gave me the key.”
Seraphina looked toward the west corridor.
“The stolen brass key appeared in Alexander’s desk months ago.”
Victoria frowned.
“What brass key?”
“The key engraved with the same symbol printed on this document.”
Alexander turned the paper over.
A message had been written on the back in faded blue ink.
The holder of the final key shall open the founder’s room at midnight.
The grandfather clock at the far end of the ballroom began to strike.
Once.
Twice.
Midnight.
A metallic mechanism clicked somewhere behind the west-wing doors.
Seraphina’s brass key became warm inside her hand.
The heavy doors moved apart by several inches.
Smoke rolled into the corridor.
Alexander took one step forward.
Daniel blocked him.
“We do not know who is inside.”
“We know evidence is being destroyed.”
“We also know someone replaced a guard and disabled the power.”
The remaining guards began verifying one another’s identities.
At the north entrance, a young officer removed his helmet. Daniel compared his face to the roster.
The officer was not listed.
“Hands where we can see them,” Daniel ordered.
The unknown man raised his hands.
“I’m not armed.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Noah Reed.”
“Why are you wearing a Vale security uniform?”
“Because Mrs. Vale hired me.”
“Beatrice?”
Noah looked toward the open west-wing doors.
“She told me I was protecting the family.”
“By burning records?”
“I never entered that wing.”
Daniel showed him the camera image.
Noah stared.
“That isn’t me.”
“It is your face.”
“That recording is false.”
Alexander stepped closer.
“Where is Beatrice?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where did she order you to stand when the lights failed?”
Noah swallowed.
“At the side exit.”
“And what were you supposed to do?”
“Let someone leave.”
“Who?”
“She never gave me a name.”
Daniel seized Noah’s radio.
A small earbud was hidden beneath his collar.
A woman’s voice crackled through it.
“Noah, report.”
Everyone near the tablet recognized Beatrice.
Daniel pressed the transmit button.
“This is Cross. Your operative has been detained.”
Silence followed.
Then Beatrice laughed.
“You always were efficient, Daniel.”
“Where are you?”
“Protecting what remains of this family.”
“You are destroying evidence.”
“I am destroying lies.”
Alexander took the radio.
“Come back to the ballroom.”
“Why? So your little wife can wave a dead woman’s key and claim our fortune?”
Seraphina looked at the beneficiary list.
“You knew who my mother was.”
“I knew what she tried to steal.”
“What did eighteen percent mean?”
Beatrice paused.
“You should ask Alexander’s father.”
“My father is dead,” Alexander said.
“So everyone keeps saying.”
The transmission ended.
At that moment, the fire alarm began ringing.
Guards rushed toward the west wing.
Alexander moved with them, but Seraphina caught his hand.
“Your father died twelve years ago.”
“I attended the funeral.”
“Did you see him?”
Alexander did not answer.
May you like
She understood.
The casket had been closed.
