CHAPTER 5 The Wife With A Secret
Eleanor found Clara in the guest bedroom.
The young woman was sitting beside the window, watching rain fall over the vineyard.
For a moment, Eleanor simply stood there.
Because suddenly there was a new question.
Not only:
What had Julian done?
But:
What was Clara hiding?
“Can I come in?” Eleanor asked.
Clara turned.
“Of course.”
Eleanor entered slowly.
She closed the door behind her.
“Thomas found something.”
Clara’s expression changed.
“What?”
“The cellar camera was accessed using my password.”
Clara became still.
“And?”
“And only three people had access.”
A long silence.
Then Clara whispered:
“Me.”
Eleanor studied her face.
“Why?”
Clara looked away.
“I knew this day would come.”
Those words were not what Eleanor expected.
“Explain.”
Clara took a deep breath.
“When I married Julian, I thought I was marrying someone powerful.”
She looked down.
“I didn’t realize I was marrying someone who needed power more than anything else.”
Eleanor remained quiet.
“After the first incident, I started documenting things.”
“The first incident?”
Clara closed her eyes.
“I thought if I had proof, I could leave.”
Eleanor felt anger rising.
Not toward Clara.
Toward herself.
“How long?”
“Two years.”
Two years.
The number echoed in Eleanor’s mind.
Two years of Clara living in this house.
Two years of pretending everything was normal.
Two years of Julian controlling the story.
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
Clara smiled sadly.
“Because Julian was right about one thing.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“He knew exactly how much this family values reputation.”
The words hurt because they contained truth.
But Eleanor shook her head.
“He was wrong.”
“About what?”
“My reputation is not more important than your safety.”
Clara’s eyes filled with tears.
For the first time that night, she allowed herself to cry.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just quietly.
Like someone who had been holding everything inside for too long.
Then Eleanor asked:
“Where is the evidence?”
Clara hesitated.
“Hidden.”
“Where?”
“In a place Julian would never look.”
“Where?”
Clara looked toward the vineyard outside.
“The old chapel.”
Eleanor frowned.
“The abandoned one?”
Clara nodded.
“Julian hates that place.”
“Why?”
A shadow crossed Clara’s face.
“Because that’s where I found out who he really was.”
Before Eleanor could ask another question—
The lights went out.
The entire estate fell into darkness.
A second later…
The alarm system activated.
Thomas’s voice came through the intercom.
“Mrs. Vale…”
His breathing was tense.
“What happened?”
“The west gate has been opened.”
“By whom?”
A pause.
Then:
“We don’t know.”
Eleanor walked toward the window.
Outside, through the heavy rain, a single vehicle was moving slowly up the vineyard road.
The headlights cut through the darkness.
Clara stood beside her.
And whispered:
“That’s him.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“Who?”
Clara’s face turned pale.
“The man who sent the message.”
The vehicle stopped near the house.
The driver’s door opened.
A tall man stepped into the rain.
And Eleanor realized something.
May you like
The night her son’s secret began to collapse…
Was the same night someone else’s secret was arriving.
