Chapter 2: The Only Witness
Arthur barely heard the paramedics when they rushed through the front doors.
"Sir, please step back."
He refused.
His mother's blood stained the sleeves of his tailored suit as he cradled her against his chest. Eleanor's pulse was fading beneath his trembling fingers.
"Mom... stay with me."
Her lips moved.
Only one word escaped.
"...Lily."
Then her body went still.
Arthur shut his eyes.
The silence inside the mansion became unbearable.
Detective Marcus Hale arrived twenty minutes later.
The veteran homicide detective had investigated enough wealthy families to know one thing.
The larger the fortune, the darker the secrets.
He examined the broken railing.
No splintered wood.
No loose bolts.
No sign of structural failure.
Only fresh fingerprints pressed against polished brass.
"It wasn't an accident," he said quietly.
Victoria, wrapped in a blanket by one of the housekeepers, began sobbing with remarkable precision.
"It happened so fast."
"She leaned over."
"I tried to grab her."
"I couldn't..."
Every sentence sounded rehearsed.
Marcus noticed something else.
Not a single tear had ruined her expensive mascara.
Hidden behind the massive grandfather clock, Lily watched everything.
She hadn't spoken since the fall.
Not to the police.
Not to her father.
Not to anyone.
She kept seeing Victoria's face.
Not frightened.
Not surprised.
Satisfied.
Then those cold green eyes had turned toward her.
For one terrifying second...
Victoria knew she had been seen.
Late that night, after everyone finally left, Arthur found Lily sitting inside Eleanor's empty bedroom.
She held her grandmother's favorite music box against her chest.
Arthur knelt beside her.
"You don't have to be afraid."
Lily looked at him.
Tiny tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Daddy..."
She swallowed hard.
"...Grandma didn't fall."
Arthur's heartbeat stopped.
"What did you say?"
Lily's small voice barely existed.
"She pushed Grandma."
Arthur stared at his daughter.
Every instinct as a father told him she was telling the truth.
Every instinct as a man hoped she wasn't.
Because if she was...
The woman sleeping under his roof had murdered his mother.
That same moment...
Victoria stood alone inside the guest suite.
She slowly removed the engagement ring Arthur had given her.
Then she opened a hidden compartment inside her designer suitcase.
A burner phone.
One missed call.
She dialed the number.
"It almost went wrong," she whispered.
A man's voice answered.
"Did anyone see?"
Victoria hesitated.
"...Maybe."
Silence.
Then the voice became ice cold.
"Then the child has to disappear."
Victoria slowly closed her eyes.
May you like
Outside her bedroom window...
Someone was already watching the house.
