Chapter 9 - ROSAMUND’S SECRET
Police arrested Elliot before midnight.
Sabina was detained.
Not yet charged with everything Chadworth believed she had done, but enough to keep her away from the house.
For the first time in months, his daughters slept in the same room.
Chadworth sat outside their door.
Rosamund brought him coffee.
He looked up.
“You should hate me.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“I suspected you.”
“You were manipulated.”
“I let myself be manipulated.”
Rosamund sat across from him.
“That part is true.”
He almost laughed.
“Thank you for not making me feel better.”
“You don’t need to feel better tonight.”
He studied her.
“Why did you stay?”
She looked toward the girls’ room.
“For them.”
“You could have left.”
“Yes.”
“Sabina hit you.”
“That wasn’t the first time.”
Chadworth’s jaw tightened.
“How many?”
Rosamund shrugged.
“Enough.”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
“And say what? Your rich fiancée yelled at children and slapped an employee?”
“Yes.”
Rosamund gave him a tired look.
“People believe money before they believe people like me.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No. It’s not.”
He had no answer.
After a moment, she said, “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Chadworth looked at her.
“What?”
“I didn’t come to work here by accident.”
His body stiffened.
“What does that mean?”
Rosamund folded her hands.
“Elizabeth hired me.”
He stared.
“My wife?”
“Before she died.”
“That’s impossible. You started after—”
“Officially.”
Chadworth felt cold.
Rosamund continued.
“I worked part-time for her during her treatment. Mostly errands. Pharmacy pickups. Laundry. Things she didn’t want staff talking about.”
“Why did I never see you?”
“She scheduled me when you were away.”
That hurt.
Again.
“How much did she hide from me?”
“She thought she was protecting you.”
“Everyone keeps protecting me by lying.”
Rosamund nodded.
“That’s fair.”
He rubbed his face.
“What did she ask you to do?”
“If anything happened to her, she wanted me to watch the girls.”
Chadworth stared.
“She knew?”
“She suspected.”
“Why didn’t you come to me immediately?”
“She told me not to unless I had proof.”
“Why?”
“Because Elliot controlled so much around you. Your legal paperwork. Your schedules. Parts of the household administration. She didn’t know who else he had.”
Chadworth thought of Rachel.
His assistant.
The missing messages.
The vanished letter.
Rosamund continued.
“I took a housekeeping position because it gave me access without making Sabina suspicious.”
Chadworth stood.
“You lied to me for four years.”
“Yes.”
“You watched my family.”
“Yes.”
“You had information about Elizabeth.”
“Yes.”
Anger and gratitude fought inside him.
“Do you have anything else?”
Rosamund looked down.
That was when he knew.
“What?”
She reached into her pocket.
Pulled out a small brass key.
“Elizabeth gave me this.”
“What does it open?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ve had it four years?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She said I’d know when it was time.”
Chadworth stared at the key.
“What was I supposed to do with it?”
Rosamund looked him in the eyes.
“She said, ‘When Chad finally sees the truth, take him to the station.’”
“What station?”
“I think she meant Grand Central.”
Chadworth frowned.
Then he remembered.
Elizabeth had rented a private storage locker near Grand Central for years.
She used it for foundation archives.
He had forgotten it existed.
At dawn, he and Marcus drove into Manhattan.
The locker facility opened at six.
The brass key fit.
Inside was one metal box.
Chadworth opened it.
There were photographs.
Bank ledgers.
A phone.
And a sealed envelope.
On the front, Elizabeth had written:
FOR LORELAI AND GEMMA — WHEN THEIR FATHER IS READY.
Chadworth swallowed.
Then Marcus picked up the old phone.
The battery was dead.
They connected it to power.
Five minutes later, the screen came alive.
There was one unread voice message.
May you like
Timestamp:
The night Elizabeth died.
