Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Evelyn covered Lily’s ears.
Nathaniel rushed into the corridor.
The officers followed.
Evelyn carried Lily back toward the ballroom.
Another gunshot rang out.
Guests screamed behind the locked doors.
Nathaniel found Julian near the kitchen entrance.
Julian was lying against the wall.
Blood spread across his shoulder.
His face had lost all color.
“Who shot you?” Nathaniel demanded.
Julian struggled to breathe.
“Black mask.”
“The same person who took Lily?”
Julian nodded weakly.
The commissioner pressed a cloth against the wound.
“Stay awake.”
Julian grabbed his wrist.
“The brooch.”
“What about it?”
“The center piece is a data chip.”
Evelyn stopped several feet away.
Nathaniel looked at Julian.
“What is stored on it?”
Julian’s eyes moved toward Eleanor.
“Everything.”
Eleanor stood at the end of the corridor.
Her expression was unreadable.
Julian began to laugh despite the pain.
“You should see her face.”
Eleanor walked closer.
“You are delirious.”
“You promised no one would get hurt.”
“I promised nothing.”
Julian’s laugh turned into a cough.
“You told me to place the brooch in the child’s bag.”
The officers turned toward Eleanor.
Evelyn felt Lily tighten her arms around her neck.
Eleanor did not blink.
“Julian is trying to save himself.”
Julian pointed at her.
“She said Evelyn would be arrested.”
“She said the police would search the child.”
“She said the scandal would force them out of the city.”
Evelyn stared at Eleanor.
“Why?”
Eleanor’s voice remained cold.
“Because your mother stole from us.”
“My mother worked for you for twenty years.”
“She betrayed me.”
Julian’s eyes began to close.
Nathaniel shook him.
“Where is the data chip?”
Julian whispered something.
Nathaniel leaned closer.
“What?”
Julian opened his eyes one last time.
“Inside the rose.”
His head fell back.
The paramedics arrived moments later.
They lifted him onto a stretcher.
Eleanor watched without emotion.
Nathaniel faced her.
“You are under arrest for conspiracy, evidence tampering, and endangering a child.”
Eleanor smiled.
“You have accusations.”
“You do not have the chip.”
The commissioner placed handcuffs around her wrists.
“I have a confession.”
“You have the words of a wounded liar.”
She looked at Evelyn.
“And you have a key that opened the wrong secret.”
Evelyn stepped toward her.
“What did my mother know?”
Eleanor leaned close.
“She knew why your father died.”
Evelyn’s body went cold.
Her father had supposedly died in a car accident when she was eleven.
Eleanor lowered her voice further.
“It was not an accident.”
Nathaniel pulled her away.
Eleanor continued staring at Evelyn.
“Your mother hid the truth inside the brooch.”
“And now someone else will kill to get it.”
A crash came from Eleanor’s office.
Nathaniel drew his weapon.
They rushed back inside.
The window was open.
May you like
The photograph was gone.
And on the desk, someone had left a fresh white rose stained with red ink.
