Chapter 1 - THE WOMAN UNDER THE RED HEEL

Gabriel Mercer came through the open glass doors with pool water still shining on his shoulders.

He had heard something fall inside the living room.

Then he heard a woman crying.

The scene on the white marble floor stopped him cold.

His wife, Camille, stood over Iris Monroe in a fitted red dress.

One of Camille’s designer heels pressed against Iris’s hand.

Iris lay beside the overturned coffee table with tears running down her face.

Her lower lip was bleeding.

A dark bruise had already begun forming near her temple.

Several bundles of cash were scattered across the floor.

Beside them rested Camille’s missing emerald bracelet.

For one terrible second, no one moved.

Then Camille saw Gabriel.

Her cruel expression vanished.

Fear replaced it.

“Gabriel.”

She stepped away from Iris and pointed toward the money.

“Thank God you’re here.”

“I caught her stealing.”

Iris tried to push herself upright.

“She put it there.”

Camille turned sharply.

“Shut your mouth.”

Gabriel’s eyes moved from the bracelet to Iris’s torn sleeve.

Iris had worked at Mercer House for six years.

She managed the estate archives, supervised household purchases, and cared for Gabriel’s elderly grandmother before her death.

He had never heard her raise her voice.

Camille rushed toward him.

“She attacked me when I confronted her.”

“She has been stealing from us for months.”

Gabriel looked at Camille’s hands.

Her knuckles were red.

A thin scratch crossed her wrist.

Iris’s hands showed deep pressure marks.

“You were standing on her hand.”

Camille laughed nervously.

“She was trying to crawl away with the evidence.”

Iris whispered:

“Check the camera.”

Camille’s gaze jumped toward the small black lens above the fireplace.

That single movement told Gabriel everything he needed to know.

Camille recovered quickly.

“The camera has been broken since Tuesday.”

Gabriel stepped between her and Iris.

“Move away from her.”

Camille’s face hardened.

“This is my house.”

“No.”

“This is the place where I just watched you pin another human being to the floor.”

“She is a servant.”

“She is a thief.”

“She is lying.”

Camille lifted one hand as though she intended to strike Iris again.

Gabriel caught her wrist.

“Stop.”

She twisted against him.

“Let go of me.”

“Get outside.”

“You cannot order your wife out of her own home.”

She swung toward Iris again.

Gabriel turned her away from the injured woman and pushed her toward the terrace.

Camille stumbled through the open doors.

Her heel caught on the wet stone beside the pool.

She lost her balance and fell sideways into the water.

A violent splash rose beneath the afternoon sun.

The guests near the outdoor bar screamed.

Camille surfaced, coughing and furious.

Her red dress floated around her.

“You threw me into the pool.”

Gabriel stood in the doorway.

“You were hurting her.”

“My father will destroy you.”

“Call him.”

Gabriel turned his back on her.

He dropped to his knees several feet from Iris.

She flinched when he reached forward.

He stopped immediately.

“I won’t touch you without permission.”

Her breathing shook.

“My phone.”

“Where is it?”

“Camille took it.”

Gabriel looked back toward the pool.

A black phone was visible inside the wet pocket of Camille’s dress.

Camille climbed onto the terrace.

“Gabriel, listen to me.”

“This woman broke into my office.”

“She stole private documents.”

Iris closed her eyes.

“I copied them.”

Gabriel looked at her.

“What documents?”

Camille’s face changed.

Gabriel called estate security.

“Lock every gate.”

Then he called the police.

Camille stared at him.

“You are making a terrible mistake.”

“No.”

“I made the mistake when I trusted you to control every room in this house.”

The first sirens reached Mercer House nine minutes later.

By then, Camille was wrapped in a white towel beside the pool.

Iris was covered with Gabriel’s jacket.

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The fake evidence remained scattered across the marble.

And the little camera above the fireplace continued blinking.