Chapter 8 - THE GALA OF A HUNDRED LIES
By the night of the gala, every person inside Valecrest had become both a suspect and a target.
Evelyn considered canceling the event.
Jonah advised against it.
“If the original will is inside the staircase camera, the person behind this may try to remove it during the gala,” he said. “A cancellation gives them privacy.”
“So we use the crowd as protection?” Adrian asked.
“We use the crowd as witnesses.”
Julian agreed to attend publicly for the first time in three years. Celeste insisted on remaining beside Helena, claiming it was the only way to observe her without raising suspicion.
Adrian hated the plan.
“You don’t know which side Celeste is on.”
“Neither does Helena,” Evelyn said. “That makes her useful.”
Before the guests arrived, Jonah installed a duplicate security network independent of Valecrest’s main system. Four hidden cameras covered the staircase. Two guards monitored the west tower. Another team watched every exit.
Yet the original staircase camera remained untouched.
If Charles had hidden the will inside it, they could not risk alerting whoever monitored the system.
Evelyn dressed in the lavender gown from the anonymous photograph.
Adrian stared when she entered the private salon.
“Wear something else.”
“The photograph showed this dress because they expect me to wear it.”
“That is a reason not to.”
“It is a reason to make them believe their plan is working.”
He crossed the room and adjusted the silver clasp at her shoulder.
“If anything feels wrong, you leave.”
“I won’t stand beneath the west chandelier.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
He looked into her eyes.
“I failed your father once.”
“You were a student.”
“I had evidence that could have protected him.”
“You had evidence powerful people were willing to kill for.”
“That does not make my silence noble.”
“No. But what you do tonight may make it useful.”
The ballroom filled after seven.
Trustees, diplomats, donors, judges, and journalists moved beneath the chandeliers. Laughter covered suspicion. Champagne concealed nerves.
Helena descended the staircase at eight wearing a silver gown.
She greeted Evelyn with a kiss beside the cheek.
“You look like your mother.”
“I hope so.”
Helena’s smile remained perfect.
“Katherine never understood the cost of protecting this family.”
“Neither did Father.”
“Your father understood too late.”
Before Evelyn could respond, Celeste appeared in a red dress.
The color matched the warning in Anna’s note.
Do not let the woman in red reach the staircase first.
Celeste touched Evelyn’s arm.
“We need to talk.”
“Not here.”
“It has to be now.”
She guided Evelyn toward the conservatory, where music from the ballroom became a distant vibration.
Celeste closed the glass door.
“Helena received a package this afternoon.”
“What was inside?”
“A copy of the original will.”
“A copy?”
“The first page was missing. The signature page was real.”
“Who sent it?”
“No return address.”
“What did Helena do?”
“She burned it.”
“Then why are you telling me?”
“Because she cried.”
Evelyn frowned.
“I have worked for Helena for twelve years. I have seen her angry, frightened, and cruel. I have never seen her cry.”
“Perhaps she knows she has lost.”
“No. She kept saying, ‘He promised it was gone.’”
“Who promised?”
“She would not say.”
The conservatory lights flickered.
Celeste stepped closer.
“There is something else. Helena has been receiving instructions during the gala.”
“How?”
Celeste showed her a ring with a small vibrating receiver concealed beneath the stone.
“She was wearing this. I exchanged it before dinner.”
“Who is transmitting?”
“I don’t know. But the signals are coming from inside Valecrest.”
A vibration moved through the ring in Celeste’s palm.
Two short pulses.
One long.
Celeste looked toward the staircase through the glass wall.
“That is the pattern Helena told me to wait for.”
“Wait for what?”
Celeste’s face lost its color.
“For you to stand on the upper landing.”
Evelyn stepped back.
“You were ordered to push me.”
“I was ordered to make you fall in front of the trustees.”
“Why?”
“To prove you were unstable. Helena planned to claim you had been drinking and threatened to jump.”
“You agreed?”
“No.”
“Then why are you wearing red?”
“Because Helena said the signal would be given only to the woman in red.”
A shadow passed behind the conservatory door.
Celeste gripped Evelyn’s wrist.
“She doesn’t know I exchanged the ring.”
The door opened.
Helena stood outside.
“Evelyn,” she said gently. “The trustees are waiting for your speech.”
Her eyes moved to the ring in Celeste’s hand.
The warmth disappeared from her face.
“Is something wrong?”
Celeste closed her fingers around the ring.
“No.”
May you like
Helena smiled.
“Then let us give the guests something they will never forget.”
