Chapter 5 - SOMEONE WAS ALREADY INSIDE
Audrey went home with two security guards.
She still didn’t feel safe.
Her apartment was on the twenty-seventh floor of a private building in Santa Monica. Cameras covered every entrance. The elevator required facial recognition.
It shouldn’t have been possible for anyone to get inside.
But when Audrey opened the door, she knew immediately.
Someone had.
A lamp was on.
She never left lamps on.
One guard stepped ahead.
“Stay here.”
Audrey ignored him.
She walked in.
Nothing looked stolen.
Her television was still there. Jewelry boxes were untouched. The painting above the fireplace hung straight.
Then she saw her father’s old photograph on the floor.
The frame was broken.
A message had been written across the glass in black marker.
GIVE IT BACK.
Audrey’s throat tightened.
The guard said, “Don’t touch anything.”
She took out her phone.
Julian’s name was still near the top of her recent calls.
She hated that.
She called anyway.
He answered after four rings.
“What?”
“Were you in my apartment?”
Silence.
“What are you talking about?”
“Someone broke in.”
His voice changed.
“Are you okay?”
“Answer me.”
“No.”
“Your mother?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Audrey.”
“Because whoever came here wrote ‘give it back.’ That sounds like her.”
“I’m coming over.”
“No.”
“I’m coming.”
She hung up.
Twenty minutes later, Julian arrived.
He looked exhausted.
Audrey let him in because one of the guards was standing five feet away.
Julian stared at the broken photograph.
“Jesus.”
“You still think this is just about getting back family property?”
He crouched.
“Could be someone trying to scare you.”
“Very useful observation.”
He stood.
“You don’t have to attack me every five seconds.”
“You slapped me at my wedding.”
“You pushed my mother into a pool.”
“She let us almost marry while knowing we shared a father.”
“We don’t know that.”
Audrey stared at him.
“Then take the test.”
“I did.”
She blinked.
“When?”
“This afternoon.”
Her anger paused.
“And?”
“Results in two days.”
Audrey looked away.
Two days.
Forty-eight hours until she knew whether the man she loved had been her brother.
Julian moved closer.
“Audrey.”
“Don’t.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what part?”
“All of it.”
She laughed.
“You’re going to need a more specific apology.”
He looked at her cheek.
“The slap.”
Her eyes hardened.
“I deserved to be stopped. I didn’t deserve that.”
“I know.”
“You humiliated me in front of everyone.”
“So did you.”
“That’s not an apology.”
“No.”
He exhaled.
“I’m sorry.”
Audrey looked at him.
For one dangerous second, she wanted to believe him.
Then his eyes drifted toward the dining table.
A folder sat there.
Harbor Street redevelopment plans.
Audrey noticed.
“So that’s what you’re looking at.”
Julian looked back.
“What?”
“The property.”
“I saw a folder.”
“You see forty-eight million dollars.”
“You really think that’s all I care about?”
“I don’t know what you care about anymore.”
His phone buzzed.
Lenora.
He declined the call.
It rang again.
He declined it again.
Audrey crossed her arms.
“Trouble at home?”
“She’s panicking.”
“Good.”
“She says Richard is lying about the break-in.”
Audrey frowned.
“Why?”
“She thinks he moved the original agreement himself.”
“To where?”
Julian hesitated.
Audrey stepped closer.
“To where?”
“Your mother’s house.”
Audrey’s face went cold.
“My mother lives in Vermont.”
“I know.”
“Dad hasn’t spoken to her in fifteen years.”
“Apparently he has.”
Audrey stared at him.
Julian continued.
“My mother says Richard visited Evelyn six months ago.”
Audrey’s heart started pounding.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
She grabbed her keys.
Julian frowned.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to Vermont.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t just—”
Audrey looked at him.
“My father is dying. My mother has been lying to me. Your mother may have tried to trade our marriage for property, and somebody broke into my apartment.”
She opened the door.
“I’m done waiting for people to tell me the truth.”
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
Audrey answered.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice whispered, “Audrey?”
She froze.
“Mom?”
Evelyn Bellamy sounded terrified.
“Do not come here.”
Audrey’s blood went cold.
“Why?”
A crash sounded in the background.
May you like
Then Evelyn whispered,
“Because someone is already in the house.”
