Chapter 5 - THE MATRIARCH'S SECRET
Margaret stood on the other side of the iron bars, her face half in shadow.
She looked at the bottle in her hand, then at me.
“Serena said you got locked down here by accident,” Margaret said, her voice completely devoid of emotion.
“She locked me in!” I grabbed the bars. “Margaret, you have to let me out. I know everything. I found the marriage certificate. Elias. I found Vance’s ledger.”
Margaret didn't flinch. She just stared at me.
“You found the locket,” she said softly.
“Yes. But that doesn't matter right now. Vance is the killer. He poisoned your husband. He’s been using the wine to murder people for nine years. That bottle in your hand—look at the crest on the wax!”
Margaret slowly lifted the bottle. She ran her thumb over the wax seal.
“I know,” she said.
My stomach plummeted.
“You know?” I whispered.
“Of course I know. I gave him the crest.”
Margaret reached into her blazer pocket. She pulled out a small, silver stamp. The exact match to Vance’s cufflink. The exact match to the wax seal.
“Vance didn’t kill my husband, Clara. He just poured the drinks.”
I stepped back, away from the bars, the cold suddenly feeling infinitely worse.
“You,” I gasped. “You had your own husband murdered?”
“He wasn't a good man,” Margaret said, her tone icy. “He took everything from me. When I was young, I loved Elias. We were married in secret. But my family had debts. They forced me to annul it and marry Vale. My husband knew about Elias. He kept him on as groundskeeper just to torture me. To make me watch the man I loved age and break his back for us, while I sat in a gilded cage.”
She looked at the bottle of Margaux.
“When my husband found out I was planning to leave him and take Adrian, he threatened to kill Elias. I couldn't let that happen.”
“So you had Vance poison him,” I said, piecing it together. “And Vance used it to blackmail you.”
“Vance is a parasite. He thought he could control me. He thought he could use the poisoned bottles to eliminate our rivals, like the Judge. He thought he was building an empire for us to share.”
Margaret stepped closer to the cage.
“But I don't share.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a heavy iron key.
For a second, I thought she was going to let me out.
Instead, she slid the key through the bars, letting it drop onto the stone floor at my feet.
“Adrian is looking for you,” Margaret said quietly. “He’ll find you down here eventually. When he does, you will tell him that Vance confessed to everything. You will tell him Vance locked you in here.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because if you don't, I will ensure Adrian drinks the final bottle of Margaux. Bottle number six.”
My breath caught in my throat. “You would murder your own son?”
“To protect the empire? To protect Elias? I will do whatever is necessary. Adrian has become too soft. He’s asking too many questions.”
Margaret turned and began walking away.
“Wait!” I shouted.
She paused at the stairs.
“Serena knows,” I yelled. “Her father knows. They heard the recording. They’ll tell the police!”
Margaret smiled in the dark.
“Serena and Richard are currently in my office, drinking a toast to the merger. From a very special bottle I brought up just for them.”
She walked up the stairs, the heavy door slamming shut behind her.
I fell to my knees, scrambling in the dark until my fingers brushed the cold iron key.
May you like
I had to get out.
I had to stop the toast.
