Chapter 2 - Shadows in the East Wing
The estate went silent after 8:00 PM.
After putting Eli and Sophia to bed in the staff wing nursery—making sure the double locks on the doors were engaged—I walked down the long, dim corridor toward Nathaniel’s private library. My hands were still shaking.
I was just a woman trying to build a quiet life. Two years ago, after my husband walked out on us leaving behind a mountain of gambling debt, I took the housekeeping position at the Reed estate through a private placement agency. It offered safety, a good salary, and a place to raise Sophia away from the chaos of the city.
Now, I was standing in the eye of a corporate and personal hurricane.
When I entered the library, Nathaniel was not alone.
Sitting in one of the dark leather wingback chairs near the fireplace was Julian Vance, Nathaniel’s long-time legal counsel and the executive vice president of Reed Logistics. Standing by the window, swirling a glass of amber scotch, was Victoria Reed—Nathaniel’s elder sister, a sharp-featured woman who managed the family’s charitable foundation and had never spoken a kind word to me since the day I was hired.
"This is absurd, Nathaniel!" Victoria’s voice cut through the quiet room as I stepped inside. "You are taking the word of a toddler and a housemaid over the official medical examiner's report from two years ago?!"
"The medical examiner was paid three hundred thousand dollars through a shell account in Nassau two weeks after Evelyn’s funeral, Victoria," Nathaniel replied coldly from behind his desk. He held up a freshly printed paper. "Julian tracked the wire transfer an hour ago."
Julian Vance cleared his throat, adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses. "It’s true, Victoria. The offshore wire was routed through a subsidiary of Vanguard Holdings—the primary rival firm trying to execute a hostile takeover of Reed Logistics last year."
Victoria turned her sharp gaze onto me, her eyes narrowing with cold disdain. "And how do we know this girl didn't plant that drive? She’s lived in this house for seven months. She has access to every room, every closet, every key."
"Sophia found the drive in an unlabeled box in the media closet four months ago, Ms. Reed," I said, keeping my head high and my voice level. "I didn't even know what was on it until tonight."
"And why didn't you report an unlabeled drive immediately, Clara?" Victoria stepped toward me, her heels clicking sharply against the hardwood floor. "That is a direct violation of your employment contract."
"Because I was clearing three hundred boxes of old electronics that you personally ordered me to purge before the estate audit!" I countered, refusing to back down. "I followed protocol."
"Enough," Nathaniel commanded, his voice cutting through the argument like a steel blade. He stood up, looking at his sister. "Victoria, I invited you here because you were with Evelyn the weekend she died. You were at the Hamptons house."
Victoria’s expression tightened, a micro-flash of defensive anger crossing her pale face before she smoothed it over. "I was at the charity luncheon until 4:00 PM, Nathaniel. When I got to the house, Evelyn was already unconscious on the terrace. I called 911 myself. You know this."
"Evelyn mentioned three digital keys in the video," Nathaniel said, walking around his desk. "Julian, where is the music box from the nursery?"
"It’s in the primary suite storage," Julian answered, standing up. "Evelyn’s personal effects were cataloged and packed after the police cleared the estate."
"Get it," Nathaniel ordered. "Clara, come with me."
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Victoria took a step forward. "Nathaniel, this is insane. You are letting paranoid grief ruin the company's merger announcement tomorrow morning!"
"If my wife was murdered to force that merger, Victoria," Nathaniel said, turning at the door with a glare that chilled the room, "then the merger will burn to the ground. And anyone who helped light the fire will burn with it."
