Chapter 4 - THE INTRUDER
I froze on the basement stairs.
Nico didn't hesitate. He pulled a compact, black handgun from the holster at his ankle and pushed past me, taking the stairs two at a time.
“Stay down here. Lock the door,” he ordered, his voice suddenly sharp with the absolute authority of a cartel boss.
He sprinted down the hallway toward the staff quarters. I didn't lock the door. I grabbed Lily, picking her up and holding her tight against my chest, waiting in the shadows of the stairwell.
A loud crash echoed from my bedroom. Then, a heavy thud, followed by the sound of breaking glass.
I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing Lily’s head into my shoulder.
A moment later, Nico’s voice called out, calm but strained. “Kate. It’s clear. Come here.”
I carried Lily down the hall. The door to my bedroom was wide open. The window was shattered, cold night air blowing the curtains inward.
On the floor, kneeling with his hands zip-tied behind his back, was Marco. His lip was bleeding, and Nico stood over him, the gun pointed squarely at the back of Marco’s head.
“Marco,” Nico said softly. “You want to tell me why you’re breaking into my maid’s room at one in the morning?”
Marco spat blood onto the carpet. He looked up at me, then at the photograph Lily was still clutching.
“Vivienne sent me,” Marco rasped. “She said the deal was off. She said we had to clean up loose ends before you figured it out.”
“Figured what out?” Nico demanded, pressing the barrel of the gun against Marco’s skull. “That you helped her kill Elena? That you brought her back to steal my money?”
“I didn't kill Elena!” Marco shouted, panic bleeding into his voice. “I swear to God, Nico! I didn't know it was her! Vivienne blackmailed me. She had footage of me skimming from the dock shipments. She said if I didn't introduce her to you as a socialite, she’d send the tapes to the council.”
“And the nurse? Valerie?”
“I didn't know they were the same person until she was already living in this house!” Marco pleaded. “She’s had extensive plastic surgery. She played me too.”
Nico lowered the gun slightly, his jaw clenched. “Then why are you in Kate’s room?”
Marco looked at the photograph in Lily’s hands.
“Because Vivienne didn't just want your money, Nico,” Marco said. “She wanted the ledger. The master ledger of all the offshore accounts. The one Elena hid before she died.”
Nico froze. “Elena hid the ledger?”
“Yes. And Vivienne thinks the maid knows where it is.”
“I don’t know anything about a ledger,” I stepped forward, my voice trembling. “I’ve only worked here for eight months.”
“Vivienne knows that,” Marco sneered. “But your sister worked here five years ago. Didn't she, Kate?”
My blood ran cold. The room started to spin.
Sarah. My beautiful, brave older sister who had taken a job as a private maid for a wealthy family to pay for my college tuition. She had disappeared one night, and the police told me she simply ran away.
“Sarah was Elena’s maid,” Nico realized, looking at me with shock. “You’re Sarah’s sister? Why didn't you tell me?”
“I used my mother’s maiden name when I applied,” I whispered, tears spilling hot down my cheeks. “The police wouldn't help me. I came here to find out what happened to her.”
“Your sister found out what Vivienne was doing to Elena,” Marco said quietly. “Elena gave Sarah the ledger to hide. Vivienne found out. That’s why Sarah had to go.”
I felt my knees buckle. Lily held onto me tightly.
“Where is my sister?” I demanded, stepping toward Marco.
Before Marco could answer, my cell phone, resting on the bedside table, buzzed loudly.
The caller ID was a blocked number.
I picked it up on speakerphone.
May you like
“Hello, Kate,” Vivienne’s voice purred through the speaker. “I hear you have something of mine. A silver key. Tell Nico that if he wants to see his money—and if you want to see your sister alive—he needs to bring the ledger to the old boathouse by 3 AM.”
Then, the line went dead.
