Chapter 13
Daniel stood by the heavy security doors, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He looked entirely broken.
As the detective read Margaret her rights regarding the formal detention, Daniel did not move to help his mother. He just watched, his expression hollow, as the police escorted her out of the vault.
Once the room cleared, leaving only Emily, Evelyn, Arthur, and Daniel, the young man finally broke his silence.
“I need to go back to the house,” Daniel said, his voice trembling.
Emily looked at him.
“Why?”
“The office,” Daniel said, rubbing his temples furiously. “Eleanor’s private office. It’s been locked for twenty years. Margaret kept the only key. She said it was a shrine. A way to honor her memory.”
“It wasn't a shrine,” Evelyn said gently. “It was a crime scene.”
“If I go back in there,” Daniel pleaded, his eyes begging Emily to understand. “If I stand in that doorway where the picture was taken... I might remember. I need to know what I saw. I need to know why I let her do this to you. To your mother.”
Emily considered him. She owed him nothing. He had stood by while Vanessa slapped her. He had lived in luxury while her mother languished in a psychiatric ward under a false name.
But she saw the genuine agony in his eyes. He was another victim of Margaret’s systemic manipulation, trapped in a gilded cage with a poisoned mind.
“Arthur,” Emily said without looking away from Daniel. “Does the foundation own the primary estate?”
“Yes,” Arthur nodded. “The mansion was deeded to the foundation upon Eleanor’s death. Margaret was only permitted to live there as the acting chairwoman.”
“And I am the acting protector,” Emily said.
“Correct. You legally control access to the property.”
Emily turned to her mother.
“Are you ready to go back to the house?”
Evelyn took a deep breath, her shoulders squaring. She had entered that house as a terrified maid. She had left it in an ambulance, drugged and erased.
“I am,” Evelyn said.
Emily looked back at Daniel.
“We go together. But you don't go into that office alone. I am not letting any more secrets get buried in that house.”
May you like
Daniel nodded eagerly.
“Whatever you want. Just help me remember.”
