Chapter 4 - THE LOCKET’S WARNING
I snatched the locket from the bed.
My fingers fumbled with the tiny silver clasp. When it popped open, the small folded paper fell into my palm.
It wasn't a note. It was a printed itinerary.
Lily’s exact school schedule. Bus routes. Recess times.
“He was tracking her,” I whispered, nausea rising in my throat.
Mason snatched the paper. His face morphed from shock into pure, unadulterated rage.
“Where is he, Brooke?” Mason’s voice was dangerously low.
“He said he was going to the airport,” Brooke sobbed, sinking into the guest chair. “He said the family was about to collapse and we needed to be in Geneva. But I didn't know he did this. I swear, Mason, I just thought Emily was being dramatic. I didn’t know he planned the fall!”
“You shattered the bottle!” Mason yelled.
“He told me to!” Brooke screamed back. “He said if I humiliated her, she would leave the party, and we’d have time to sneak the forged bank documents into Arthur’s safe!”
Everything clicked into place.
Richard didn't want me dead. He wanted a distraction. A medical emergency was the perfect smoke screen to break into the estate's safe and plant the evidence framing me for the embezzlement.
“The note under the wheelchair,” I realized aloud. “He wanted Brooke to find it, to make me look like a cheater. He wanted you to divorce me, Mason. If I’m gone, the money goes to Richard and Brooke by default.”
Mason grabbed his coat. “I’m calling security at the estate. And then I’m going to the airport.”
“No,” I grabbed his hand. “You can’t leave me here. What if he didn't go to the airport? What if he’s coming here to finish it?”
A sharp pain suddenly ripped through my abdomen.
Not a cramp. A real, tearing contraction.
I gasped, clutching my stomach.
“Emily!” Mason caught my shoulders.
The monitors beside my bed started flashing red. The baby’s heart rate was spiking.
“Get the doctor!” Brooke yelled, running into the hallway.
Mason gripped my hand, but as he looked toward the door, a shadow fell over the frosted glass.
May you like
Someone was standing outside my room.
And they were holding a heavy, silver cane. A cane that belonged to Arthur.
