Chapter 20 - The Woman at the Gate|
Six weeks after Ethan's birthday, the mansion looked beautiful again.
The shattered porcelain was gone.
The security systems had been replaced.
The employees who had betrayed the household were gone, and the investigations into Saint Agnes continued.
Ethan returned to school with a security detail.
Rosa returned to the kitchen.
Mrs. Hargrove resigned while cooperating with the authorities, and arrangements were made for Caroline to receive independent legal help.
Simon Voss remained in custody.
Celeste was facing serious charges.
Owen Mercer had identified several people involved in the conspiracy.
But some questions remained unanswered.
Especially the question of Elena Moretti.
The recording from the north wing appeared authentic, but experts had not yet established when every part of it was made.
The photograph from the clinic remained unexplained.
And no one could say with certainty who had given Simon his most dangerous orders.
Jonah had begun supervised visits with Lily.
She didn't understand why Daddy had been gone for so long.
I hadn't tried to explain everything.
How could I?
She was only three.
For now, he was simply a man who read her picture books and cried whenever she hugged him.
As for Dominic, something had changed.
He still controlled a vast business empire.
He still had enemies.
And men still grew quiet when he entered a room.
But he no longer treated his home like an extension of his office.
He ate breakfast with Ethan.
He attended school meetings.
Sometimes he even let Lily climb onto his lap while he reviewed business documents.
One evening, I found him sitting on the terrace with both children.
Ethan was building a tower with wooden blocks.
Lily was enthusiastically destroying it.
“Lily!” Ethan protested.
She giggled.
Dominic laughed.
A real laugh.
Not the controlled smile he gave business partners.
Not the cold amusement he showed rivals.
Something warm and unguarded.
He looked up when he noticed me.
“There you are.”
I smiled.
“She's causing trouble again?”
“Constantly.”
He reached toward Lily.
“Fortunately, I've learned that sometimes her trouble is a blessing.”
I sat beside him.
The sunset painted the gardens gold.
For the first time in years, I felt something dangerously close to peace.
Dominic turned toward me.
“Mara?”
“Yes?”
“I've been thinking about the future.”
My heart skipped.
“What about it?”
He looked toward the children.
“I want them to grow up knowing this house can be a home.”
I watched Ethan help Lily rebuild the tower.
“They deserve that.”
Dominic hesitated.
“And so do you.”
I turned toward him.
He wasn't looking at me like an employer.
He wasn't looking at me like a man who owed my daughter a debt.
He looked at me as though he hoped I might choose to stay.
“Dominic…”
A radio crackled nearby.
Gabriel's voice interrupted.
“Boss, we have someone at the main gate.”
Dominic frowned.
“Who?”
“A woman.”
“Does she have an appointment?”
“No, sir.”
Gabriel hesitated.
“She says she's family.”
Dominic stood.
“Name?”
A long silence followed.
Then Gabriel answered.
“She says her name is Elena Moretti.”
The world seemed to stop.
Dominic stared at the radio.
“Repeat that.”
Gabriel's voice sounded unsteady.
“Elena Moretti, sir.”
I felt every hair on my arms rise.
Dominic moved toward the security monitor mounted near the terrace doors.
Gabriel activated the camera.
A woman stood outside the iron gates.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A familiar face.
She wore a long beige coat and held a small leather suitcase.
Dominic gripped the edge of the desk beneath the monitor.
“No.”
His voice broke.
“It can't be.”
The woman looked directly into the camera.
Then spoke.
“Dominic.”
The speakers carried her voice clearly.
He stopped breathing.
“Elena?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
Dominic's face crumpled.
“Where have you been?”
She glanced behind her.
“There's no time.”
Gabriel's voice came through the radio.
“Boss, should we open the gate?”
Dominic didn't answer.
Elena stepped closer to the camera.
“Dominic, listen carefully.”
Her voice trembled.
“You have to get Ethan out of that house.”
I felt my heart pound.
“Why?” Dominic whispered.
She looked directly into the lens.
“Because Simon wasn't the person who planned his murder.”
Dominic went pale.
“Then who?”
Elena covered her mouth.
For a moment, she seemed unable to speak.
Then she whispered:
“The person who has been watching him since the day he was born.”
My eyes darted toward Ethan.
He was still sitting on the terrace beside Lily, completely unaware of the nightmare unfolding around him.
Dominic leaned closer to the screen.
“Elena. Tell me the name.”
She looked over her shoulder again.
Then her expression changed.
Pure terror.
“Dominic, where's Nathan?”
He frowned.
“Nathan Harris?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Elena pressed both hands against the gate.
“Where is he?”
Dominic turned toward me.
My blood went cold.
Because less than ten minutes earlier, Dr. Harris had arrived for Ethan's routine medical examination.
I had personally welcomed him into the house.
And now he was upstairs, waiting in the nursery where Ethan and Lily would soon be brought for their checkups.
Dominic grabbed his radio.
“Gabriel! Secure the medical suite!”
Elena screamed through the monitor.
“DOMINIC, DON'T LET HIM TOUCH THE CHILDREN!”
Suddenly, the mansion's lights went out.
The security screens turned black.
Somewhere upstairs, a door slammed.
Then Lily's frightened voice echoed through the hallway.
“Mommy?”
I spun toward the staircase.
“Lily!”
But she was no longer on the terrace.
Ethan wasn't there either.
A man's calm voice came through the mansion's internal speaker.
“Good evening, Dominic.”
Dominic froze.
It was Dr. Harris.
“I believe it's time we discussed what your wife discovered three years ago.”
A faint mechanical click followed.
Then the doctor's voice returned.
“And Mara?”
My heart stopped.
“Yes?”
He laughed softly.
“Your daughter wasn't supposed to see the cake.”
Silence.
Then one final sentence.
May you like
“She was supposed to be the next child.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
