Chapter 1 - THE GREEN PHONE
The white plate shattered against the carved wooden cabinet behind Lena.
Roasted vegetables slid down the polished surface.
A silver fork struck the floor and spun beneath the dining table.
Nobody moved.
Helen stood in the doorway with one hand pressed against her mouth.
Richard remained beside her, his face pale beneath the warm chandelier light.
Victor’s chest rose and fell as if he had just finished running.
His right hand was still lifted from the throw.
Lena sat perfectly still in the ivory chair.
A thin streak of sauce marked the shoulder of her cream-colored dress.
She closed her eyes for one painful second.
When she opened them again, tears shimmered across them.
But her voice was steady.
“You did this in front of everyone.”
Victor’s expression changed.
Until that moment, he had still believed he controlled the room.
He believed Helen would excuse him.
He believed Richard would look away.
He believed Lena would lower her head and apologize for making him angry.
Then Lena reached for the tan leather handbag on the chair beside her.
Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
Victor took one step forward.
“What are you doing?”
Lena pulled out a dark-green phone.
The anger drained from Victor’s face.
His lips parted.
His eyes locked onto the device as though she had drawn a weapon.
Helen noticed.
“Victor?”
He ignored his mother.
“Give me that phone.”
Lena pressed one button.
A small red light appeared near the top of the screen.
Victor moved around the table.
Richard stepped between them.
It was the first time in twenty years that Richard had physically blocked his son.
“Stay where you are,” he said.
Victor stared at him.
“Dad, move.”
“No.”
The word landed harder than the plate had.
Lena lifted the phone to her ear.
“Come now,” she said.
“They both saw what he did.”
Victor’s breathing stopped.
A voice answered faintly through the speaker.
“Are you in immediate danger?”
“Yes.”
“Is Victor still in the room?”
“Yes.”
“Do not disconnect.”
Victor lunged.
Richard caught him by the chest.
Helen screamed.
Lena rose from the chair and backed toward the wall.
“You set me up,” Victor snarled.
“No,” Lena said.
“I finally stopped protecting you.”
He looked at the phone again.
“You promised you destroyed that.”
Lena’s eyes narrowed.
Helen slowly lowered her hand.
“Destroyed what?”
Victor looked at his mother.
That was his second mistake.
His first had been throwing the plate.
His second was allowing fear to reveal that the phone held something much worse than a recording of tonight’s dinner.
A siren sounded somewhere beyond the estate gates.
Victor turned toward the windows.
The front drive curved through nearly two acres of gardens.
Red and blue lights flashed between the bare winter trees.
Richard tightened his grip on his son’s jacket.
“What is on that phone?” he asked.
May you like
Lena looked directly at Victor.
“Everything.”
