Chapter 8 - THE PHOTOGRAPH FROM MY MOTHER'S HOSPITAL ROOM
I stared at the photograph for nearly a minute.
My mother was sitting in a hospital bed, her face pale, her hands folded over a white blanket.
Victoria Caldwell stood beside her.
She was wearing a black dress and holding a leather folder.
The date printed beneath the photograph was March 14.
My mother died on March 17.
For seven years, I had believed Victoria had never visited her.
I had believed my mother spent her final days surrounded only by me, my father, and a few nurses.
Apparently, I had been wrong.
"Who sent this?" Daniel asked.
"I don't know."
"Did you respond?"
"No."
He examined the image on his computer.
"The photograph appears authentic. But we need the original."
I enlarged Victoria's face.
She wasn't smiling.
She was leaning toward my mother, speaking into her ear.
My mother's expression was difficult to interpret.
But something about her hands bothered me.
She was holding a small piece of paper.
I zoomed in.
There was a handwritten symbol on it.
A tiny flower.
An orchid.
My mother used that symbol on important documents. It was her private signature, something she had developed long before Maison Hayes existed.
I remembered seeing it on the letter inside my wedding dress.
"Daniel, look."
He leaned closer.
"That's her mark."
"Yes."
"Do you know what it means?"
I shook my head.
"Not yet."
At eleven that night, I received another message.
You have until midnight. Come alone if you want the truth.
Daniel immediately objected.
"Absolutely not."
"I need to know what happened."
"You can know without walking into a trap."
I considered the photograph again.
"Then we won't walk into it unprepared."
We contacted Thomas Reed, who agreed to help us access the estate's security system.
At 11:55 p.m., I arrived at Bellamere.
I wore a dark coat and carried no handbag.
Daniel waited in a vehicle across the street.
Thomas had arranged for the east entrance to remain unlocked.
Inside, the mansion was silent.
I followed the corridor toward the old ballroom.
A single lamp illuminated the center of the room.
And beneath it stood my father.
Richard Hayes.
He looked at me with exhausted eyes.
"You came."
"You sent the photograph?"
He shook his head.
"Victoria did."
"Why?"
"Because she knows you're close to discovering everything."
I folded my arms.
"What happened in that hospital room?"
My father looked toward the windows.
"Your mother was afraid."
"Of Victoria?"
"Of all of us."
I felt my chest tighten.
"Explain."
He removed a document from his jacket.
It was a medical authorization form.
My mother's signature appeared at the bottom.
But something was wrong.
The signature looked uneven.
"Victoria brought this to the hospital," he said. "She wanted your mother to sign away the Bellamere collection."
"Did she?"
"No."
"Then why is her signature on it?"
"Because Victoria had already obtained a document from me."
I stared at him.
"What document?"
"The power of attorney."
My blood ran cold.
"Why did you give her that?"
"I thought I was protecting the family."
"By giving a stranger control over my dying mother's finances?"
Richard lowered his head.
"Victoria said the company would collapse if Eleanor's assets weren't transferred."
"She lied."
"I know that now."
I stepped closer.
"Did Mother know you had signed it?"
He nodded.
"She found out two days before she died."
I felt tears burning behind my eyes.
"And what did she say?"
My father finally looked at me.
"She said she knew I had chosen money over her."
The words hung between us.
Then he reached into his pocket and produced a small brass key.
"Your mother gave me this."
I recognized it immediately.
It was identical to the key I had found in her sewing box.
Except this one had a different number.
B-09.
"What's it for?"
"The private vault beneath the old chapel."
I frowned.
"There's a vault?"
He nodded.
"Your mother placed something there before she died. Something Victoria has never been able to find."
"What?"
Richard looked directly into my eyes.
"The original ownership certificate."
Before I could ask another question, the ballroom doors opened.
Victoria entered.
Behind her stood Nathan.
And Brittany.
Victoria looked at the key in my hand.
Then she smiled.
"Well, Richard. I see you've finally decided to be useful."
My father stepped backward.
I turned toward him.
"Did you arrange this?"
He shook his head.
"No, Madison. I swear."
Victoria extended her hand.
"Give me the key."
I tightened my fingers around it.
"No."
Her expression changed.
"Then tomorrow morning will be very unpleasant for you."
I looked at Nathan.
He wasn't looking at me.
May you like
He was looking at the floor.
And that was when I realized he had known about the hospital visit all along.
