Chapter Five: The Hidden Will
Victoria requested an emergency meeting with the family attorney.
Charles Benton arrived carrying several sealed files.
"You asked about your mother's estate."
"I need to know everything."
Charles hesitated.
"There is something I never mentioned."
Victoria looked up.
"What?"
"Your mother changed her will six months before she died."
Victoria's face paled.
"What changed?"
Charles opened the file.
"The bracelet."
Victoria stared.
"My mother specifically mentioned it?"
"Yes."
He read aloud.
'The Carter Bracelet shall remain with the family member who demonstrates integrity above personal ambition.'
Victoria frowned.
"That's... unusual."
Charles nodded.
"Your mother believed the bracelet represented character, not wealth."
"And if it's stolen?"
Charles sighed.
"Then ownership becomes subject to court review."
Victoria suddenly understood.
Someone hadn't simply stolen jewelry.
Someone had created a legal crisis.
Brooks assembled every suspect's financial records.
One name immediately stood out.
Olivia Mercer.
Three failed investments.
Millions in debt.
Loans due within thirty days.
He quietly muttered,
"Now we have motive."
Emily returned to her apartment for the first time since the arrest.
The place looked untouched.
Until she noticed something strange.
Her bookshelf.
One photo frame had been moved.
She picked it up.
Behind it lay a folded envelope.
No stamp.
No address.
Inside was a single sentence.
Stop looking... or you'll disappear with the bracelet.
Her hands shook.
Someone had entered her apartment.
Someone knew she had been released.
And someone was watching her.
That night Brooks assigned patrol officers outside Emily's building.
May you like
Not because she was a suspect anymore.
Because he believed she had become the next target.
