THE TEN SLAPS AND THE SILVER LOCKET

Julian stepped fully into the nursery, pulling the door shut behind him with a soft click.

He looked exactly as he had five years ago, save for a pale, jagged scar running along his jawline.

“Back away from the girl, Kieran,” Julian ordered, gesturing with the pistol.

Kieran didn't move. He stood firmly between Julian and the bed where Flora was sleeping.

“You’re supposed to be at the bottom of the Atlantic,” Kieran said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.

“A convenient fiction,” Julian smirked. “It cost a fortune to fake, but it was necessary. The authorities were getting too close to my private… enterprises.”

“You mean blackmail,” Annie spat, stepping up beside Kieran.

Julian chuckled. “Ah, the groundskeeper’s daughter. I should have finished you off three years ago when I had the chance. But you were just a scared little mouse. I didn't think you had the nerve to come back here.”

Kieran’s mind raced. Marcus was outside dealing with the police and Miranda. It would be minutes before anyone realized Julian was inside the house.

He needed to buy time.

“Why are you here, Julian?” Kieran asked. “Miranda is arrested. Your plan is over.”

“Miranda was a clumsy idiot,” Julian sighed, rolling his eyes. “I hired her to get inside this house, marry you, and find what my dear sister hid before she died. But instead, she got distracted by your brat and the maid.”

Julian leveled the gun at Kieran’s face.

“I’m here for the pocket watch, Kieran. Hand it over, and I might let the kid sleep through this.”

Kieran frowned. “What pocket watch?”

“Don’t play dumb!” Julian snapped, his calm facade cracking. “The vintage silver watch. My father’s watch. My sister stole it the night she died. She hid it somewhere in this house.”

Kieran truly had no idea what Julian was talking about.

But Annie did.

She reached out and touched Kieran’s arm.

“The desk, Mr. Ashbourne,” Annie whispered. “The brass key.”

Kieran looked down at the brass key still in his hand.

“Open the desk, Kieran,” Julian commanded. “Now. Walk slowly to the dressing room.”

Kieran weighed his options. A bullet would wake Flora, and Julian was clearly unhinged enough to shoot them both.

He nodded slowly.

With Annie close beside him, Kieran walked out of the nursery and down the hall into the master suite’s massive dressing room.

In the corner sat an elegant, antique writing desk. Kieran had never been able to open it after his wife’s death; he couldn't bear to break the lock.

He inserted the brass key.

It turned with a heavy click.

Kieran pulled the drawer open.

Inside sat a beautiful vintage silver pocket watch.

But sitting right next to it was a stack of letters, tied with a blue ribbon.

Julian’s eyes lit up with greedy triumph. “Bring the watch to me. Slowly.”

Kieran picked up the watch. It was heavy.

But as he lifted it, the top letter in the stack caught his eye.

It was written in his wife’s handwriting.

And it was addressed to Kieran.

Without thinking, Kieran grabbed the letter and ripped it open.

“Drop the letter!” Julian barked, stepping forward.

But Kieran was already reading.

My dearest Kieran,

If you are reading this, I am dead. Julian has been blackmailing powerful families for years. He uses the Sterling estate as a front. But his biggest secret isn't his crimes.

It’s Miranda.

Kieran stopped reading. He looked up at Julian.

“Miranda isn't just your hired help,” Kieran whispered.

Julian’s face went pale.

“Give me the letter!” Julian screamed, raising the gun.

But Annie was faster.

She reached into her apron, pulled out a heavy can of aerosol hairspray she had confiscated from Flora’s room earlier, and sprayed it directly into Julian’s eyes.

Julian screamed, firing blindly.