Chapter 2 β The Husband Who Arrived Too Late
The first siren echoed through the gates twelve minutes later.
Evelyn heard the ambulance before she allowed herself to move.
She had counted every second since Monica disappeared into the study. The cramps had become stronger, and each one stole a little more of her strength. Still, she knew she couldn't stand until someone she trusted arrived.
A familiar voice shattered the silence.
"Evelyn!"
It was Daniel.
Her husband.
His footsteps thundered across the marble floor before he dropped to his knees beside her.
"Oh my God... Eve... stay with me!"
Only then did Evelyn slowly blink her eyes open.
Daniel's face turned white.
"You're alive."
"I've... been alive the whole time," she whispered.
The paramedics rushed inside with a stretcher, carefully checking her pulse and the baby's heartbeat.
"Mother's pulse is weak," one medic said.
"But the baby's heartbeat is still strong."
Relief washed over Daniel's face, though only for a moment.
His eyes drifted toward the staircase.
"What happened?"
Evelyn looked directly at Monica, who had just appeared in the doorway wearing an expression of perfect horror.
The older woman covered her mouth.
"IβI found her like this. She must have slipped."
Daniel turned to his wife.
"Did you fall?"
Evelyn held his gaze.
"No."
The hallway became deathly quiet.
"I was pushed."
Monica gasped so convincingly that one of the younger maids burst into tears.
"Mrs. Carter!" Monica cried. "How could you say something like that?"
Daniel looked between the two women, confusion written across his face.
"Evelyn..."
She slowly raised one trembling hand.
"Don't ask me to explain."
She slipped the tiny digital recorder from beneath her sweater and placed it in Daniel's palm.
"Just listen."
Daniel frowned.
"What is this?"
"My insurance."
Before anyone could react, Monica stepped forward.
"She's delirious! She hit her head. Please don't upset her."
The lead paramedic interrupted sharply.
"Sir, your wife needs surgery immediately. Any delay could endanger both patients."
Patients.
Not patient.
Mother and child.
Daniel squeezed Evelyn's hand as they lifted her onto the stretcher.
"I'm coming with you."
"No."
She grabbed his wrist with surprising strength.
"Don't leave this house."
"What?"
"Someone is destroying evidence."
His eyes narrowed.
"What evidence?"
She looked toward Monica.
The housekeeper stood perfectly still.
Too still.
"The study."
Daniel followed Evelyn's gaze.
For the first time in years, he noticed something strange.
Monica wasn't frightened.
She looked...
Cornered.
Daniel handed the recorder to his younger brother, Michael, who had just rushed into the mansion after hearing the commotion.
"Don't let anyone leave."
Michael nodded immediately.
Daniel climbed into the ambulance beside Evelyn as the doors slammed shut.
The sirens screamed back to life.
Inside the moving ambulance, Evelyn finally allowed herself to cry.
Not from pain.
From fear.
Daniel brushed damp hair away from her forehead.
"Tell me the truth."
She swallowed hard.
"I knew someone wanted me dead."
His expression froze.
"You... knew?"
"I just didn't know who."
Daniel stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I wasn't sure if I could trust everyone around you."
Those words landed like a punch.
"What do you mean?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"The person Monica called..."
She hesitated.
"...had a man's voice."
Daniel frowned.
"So?"
"It wasn't a stranger."
"How can you know that?"
Her eyes slowly opened again.
"Because she called him..."
She fought another contraction before finishing.
"...'Sir.'"
Daniel's heart sank.
Only three men in the Carter household were addressed that way.
His father.
His younger brother Michael.
And...
Himself.
Outside the ambulance, rain began pounding against the windows.
Neither of them noticed.
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For the first time in their marriage...
Daniel wondered whether someone inside his own family had ordered the murder of his wife.
