Chapter 6 - An Unexpected Visitor
Later that afternoon, the crisp autumn air buzzed with tension across the sprawling lawns of Meadowlark Hall. Eleanor had stationed Chloe and Megan by the rose garden in full equestrian riding gear, posing dramatically for when Truett Barlow’s car arrived up the gravel drive.
Inside the mansion, the heavy front doors opened, but it wasn't the sound of elite chatter that echoed through the marble foyer. Heavy, deliberate footsteps bypassed the formal parlor entirely, moving with purposeful direction down the private residential corridor toward the west wing.
Vada was sitting at her desk in the old office, her laptop open as she reviewed the last batch of encrypted financial backups, when a sharp knock sounded on her half-open door.
Before she could look up, the door pushed open smoothly.
Truett Barlow stood in the doorway. He had removed his suit jacket, wearing a crisp white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, looking completely out of place among the dusty bookshelves and towering stacks of old ledgers.
Vada gasped softly, standing up from her chair in surprise. "Mr. Barlow? How... how did you find this room? The main parlors are on the other side of the estate."
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Truett stepped inside, his keen grey eyes scanning the disorganized room before locking firmly onto Vada. A slow, knowing smile touched the corners of his mouth.
"It wasn't hard," Truett replied smoothly, his voice rich and steady. "When a woman commands a room with silence while everyone else screams for attention, people tend to remember her. And when I asked the estate butler where the real work of this house was being done, he pointed me down this hallway."
