Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Nobody moved.
Then a voice came through the door.
“Mrs. Eleanor?”
I recognized it.
It was Victoria’s attorney.
And beside him stood two men I had never seen before.
The attorney smiled through the glass.
“We need to talk about your son’s estate.”
Brandon looked at me.
I looked back at him.
Neither of us believed for one second that they had come for paperwork.
They had come to finish the job.
PART 4
The knock came again.
Three times.
Slow.
Patient.
Almost polite.
That was what frightened me most.
A desperate man bangs on a door.
An angry man kicks it.
But a man who knows he has all night simply knocks.
Brandon stood behind the kitchen wall, one hand pressed against his injured ribs. His breathing was shallow, but his eyes were clear.
Frank whispered, “Don’t open it.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
The attorney outside knocked again.
“Mrs. Eleanor, I understand this is difficult. We’re here to make sure everything concerning Brandon’s estate is handled properly.”
I looked at the gray folder sitting on the table.
Then at my son.
Then at the front door.
“They think I’m alone,” I whispered.
Brandon nodded.
“Let them.”
Frank moved toward the hallway.
“I’ll check the back.”
“No,” Brandon said. “Stay here.”
Frank frowned.
“Boss—”
“If they came expecting me to be dead, they’re going to make mistakes when they think they’re dealing with my mother.”
I stared at my son.
The little boy who used to hide behind my skirt whenever thunder shook the windows was gone.
In his place stood a wounded man who had finally realized that the people closest to him had been planning his funeral while he was still alive.
I took a deep breath.
Then I walked toward the front door.
“Mom,” Brandon whispered.
I turned.
“What?”
“Whatever happens, don’t give them anything.”
I smiled.
“Brandon.”
“Yes?”
“You’ve forgotten who raised you.”
For the first time that night, he smiled.
I opened the door’s inner latch but left the security chain in place.
The attorney stood on the porch.
His name was Daniel Cross.
I had met him twice before.
Both times, he had been charming.
Both times, Victoria had been beside him.
Now he stood alone.
Behind him were the two strangers.
“Mrs. Eleanor,” Daniel said warmly. “I’m terribly sorry to disturb you.”
“You already did.”
His smile tightened.
“I understand.”
“What do you want?”
“Some documents.”
“It’s late.”
“I know.”
“You can come back tomorrow.”
“I’d rather not.”
He looked past me.
His eyes moved toward the kitchen.
I immediately stepped farther into the doorway, blocking his view.
“Do you have a warrant?”
He blinked.
“No.”
“Then you can’t search my home.”
“I’m not here to search.”
“Good.”
I began closing the door.
His hand stopped it.
“Mrs. Eleanor.”
My heart jumped.
His voice had changed.
“I strongly recommend that you cooperate.”
I stared at his hand.
Then at his face.
“You’re threatening me?”
“Absolutely not.”
He smiled.
“I’m warning you.”
“About what?”
“Your son.”
My stomach tightened.
“He’s dead.”
The attorney stared at me.
For half a second, neither of us moved.
Then he smiled.
“Yes.”
The way he said it made my blood run cold.
“Yes,” he repeated.
“Which is why you should stop making this difficult.”
I slowly removed my hand from the door.
Daniel looked relieved.
He thought I had surrendered.
I stepped backward.
“Come in.”
He entered.
The two men followed.
The door closed behind them.
And that’s when Brandon stepped into the hallway.
Daniel stopped breathing.
One of the strangers reached inside his jacket.
Frank moved faster.
He grabbed the man’s wrist and slammed it against the wall.
The weapon dropped.
Daniel stumbled backward.
His face went completely white.
Brandon looked at him.
“Hello, Daniel.”
The attorney stared as though he were looking at a ghost.
Then he whispered the words that confirmed everything.
“No.”
Brandon took another step.
“Yes.”
Daniel backed toward the door.
“But… Victoria said—”
He stopped.
Brandon’s eyes narrowed.
“Victoria said what?”
Daniel said nothing.
“Finish the sentence.”
Daniel swallowed.
“She said you were dead.”
Brandon smiled without humor.
“She lied.”
The two men exchanged a glance.
Frank kicked the dropped weapon away.
“Who are you?”
Neither answered.
I picked up the phone.
“I’m calling the police.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“Wait.”
“No.”
“Mrs. Eleanor, please.”
I laughed.
“Please?”
He suddenly looked terrified.
“You don’t understand what you’re involved in.”
“My son was poisoned.”
Daniel froze.
“He was beaten.”
Silence.
“And someone tried to manufacture a death certificate in his name.”
Daniel stared at Brandon.
Brandon’s voice was quiet.
“Did Victoria tell you what happened to Marcus?”
Daniel looked down.
That was enough.
I knew.
He knew.
Everyone knew.
Except the police.
Frank pulled out his phone.
“I’m recording this.”
Daniel immediately stepped forward.
“You can’t—”
“I already am.”
Daniel stopped.
Brandon looked at him.
“Tell me where my wife is.”
Daniel hesitated.
“She’s at the penthouse.”
“No.”
Brandon stepped closer.
“She isn’t.”
Daniel’s eyes shifted.
Brandon saw it.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
I looked at my son.
“How do you know?”
“Because Victoria doesn’t stay anywhere predictable when she’s scared.”
He turned toward the laptop.
“She’ll go to the one place nobody would think to look.”
I remembered the video.
Victoria.
Her brother.
The secret conversations.
The documents.
The insurance.
Something clicked.
“Her father’s house.”
Brandon shook his head.
“Too obvious.”
“Then where?”
He stared at the table.
At the gray folder.
Then his eyes widened.
“The company warehouse.”
Frank frowned.
“Why?”
“Because that’s where the original corporate records are.”
Daniel’s face changed again.
Brandon saw it.
“You know.”
Daniel said nothing.
“You know exactly what she’s doing.”
“I don’t.”
“You’re going to tell me.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Brandon grabbed his collar.
Frank stepped forward.
“Boss.”
Brandon released him.
He was breathing hard.
Then I placed my hand on his shoulder.
“Let him talk.”
Daniel looked at me.
“You think this ends with Victoria going to prison?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
He looked toward the floor.
“Victoria isn’t acting alone.”
The room became silent.
Brandon’s face hardened.
“Who?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
“Who?”
“I can’t.”
“You can.”
“I’ll be killed.”
I looked at him.
“So will my son.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
Then whispered:
“Your husband’s name.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Arthur.”
I stepped backward.
“My husband?”
Daniel nodded.
“Victoria didn’t discover the company structure.”
Brandon stared at him.
“Who did?”
“Arthur.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“But Arthur died three years ago.”
Daniel’s voice became quieter.
“He wasn’t supposed to.”
Nobody spoke.
Frank stared at him.
Brandon looked as if someone had struck him.
“What are you saying?”
Daniel reached into his coat.
Slowly.
He pulled out a photograph.
He placed it on the table.
I looked down.
It showed Arthur.
My husband.
Standing beside Victoria.
But the photograph was dated only six months ago.
My fingers began trembling.
“That isn’t possible.”
Daniel said nothing.
Brandon picked up the photograph.
“Where was this taken?”
“Chicago.”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
Brandon stared at his father’s face.
Then he noticed something.
A scar above Arthur’s eyebrow.
The scar was real.
I remembered it.
Arthur had gotten it when Brandon was seven.
There was no doubt.
It was him.
Alive.
My husband was alive.
And suddenly, everything I thought I knew about the past three years collapsed.
The heart attack.
The hospital.
The funeral.
The ashes I had held in my hands.
The tears.
The empty bedroom.
All of it.
A lie.
I looked at Daniel.
“Where is my husband?”
Daniel hesitated.
Then he said something that made my entire body go cold.
“He’s the one who ordered Victoria to kill Brandon.”
Brandon stared at him.
