Chapter 5 - The Locked Ward
I stared at the emerald necklace, the green stone catching the harsh fluorescent light of Elaine’s office.
My mother hadn’t lost it. She had surrendered her most prized possession to Arthur Ashford because he demanded collateral for my father’s surgery—surgery for injuries his own daughter had caused.
“They bankrupted us,” I whispered, gripping the edge of the desk. “They killed my father, forced my mother to pay for the cover-up, and then stole the land he owned.”
“And Vivienne has spent the last three years watching you scrub her floors, knowing exactly who you were,” Elaine said quietly. “She blocked your hiring here because she was terrified you would somehow access these old medical records once you were on staff.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text from an unknown number.
If you want to know what else your mother signed away that night, meet me at the Ashford estate at midnight. Come alone, or the hospital board revokes Elaine’s pension tomorrow.
It was Vivienne.
“Don’t go,” Elaine warned, seeing the color drain from my face. “Claire, these people operate above the law. Let Marco handle this.”
“Marco is a mafia boss,” I reminded her. “He operates outside the law too. But this is my family’s blood. I’m not letting Vivienne torture my mother anymore.”
At 11:45 PM, I walked up the winding gravel driveway of the Ashford estate. The mansion was dark, silhouetted against the night sky like a jagged tooth.
The massive front doors were unlocked. I pushed them open, stepping into the grand foyer where I had served champagne just twenty-four hours earlier.
“Punctual, just like a good servant,” a voice echoed from the top of the sweeping staircase.
Vivienne stood there, wearing a silk robe, holding a manila envelope. Her usual polished mask was gone, replaced by something desperate and manic.
“What do you want, Vivienne?” I demanded, standing my ground.
She descended the stairs slowly. “I want you to take this severance check and move out of the state. If you do, your mother’s little secret stays buried, and Elaine gets her pension.”
“I know you hit him,” I said loudly. “I know you were in the car that night. You aren’t hiding my mother’s secret, you’re hiding yours.”
Vivienne laughed, a sharp, ugly sound. “I was eighteen and drunk. My father handled it. But did Marco tell you how my father handled it?”
She tossed the envelope to the marble floor. It slid and stopped at my feet.
“Open it,” she sneered.
I picked it up. Inside was a legal contract signed by my mother.
But it wasn’t a land transfer. It was a non-disclosure agreement.
In exchange for a payment of $50,000, Mary Bennett agrees to release Arthur Ashford from all liability regarding the traffic incident...
My heart stopped. My mother had taken hush money?
“She sold him out, Claire,” Vivienne taunted. “She took the cash and kept quiet while we built an empire on your father’s grave. You think you’re fighting for honor? Your family has a price, just like everyone else.”
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the drawing room slammed open.
Marco stepped into the foyer. He wasn’t alone. Two large men in dark suits flanked him.
But Marco wasn’t looking at Vivienne. He was looking at me.
“Marco,” Vivienne gasped in relief, running toward him. “Thank god. She broke in. She’s trying to extort us—”
Marco held up a hand, stopping her dead in her tracks. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, metallic object.
May you like
It was a digital audio recorder.
“I didn’t come here for you, Vivienne,” Marco said, his voice like ice. “I came to make sure you confessed to the hit-and-run on tape.”
