Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN WHO NEVER LIED TO ME
I found Elena Carter folding table linens in the east pantry.
She looked exactly as she always did.
Dark hair tied back.
Gray uniform.
No makeup.
No jewelry except a thin silver chain with a tiny cross tucked beneath her collar.
For six years, she had worked at Ravenwood without asking one unnecessary question.
That was rare.
People who worked for men like me usually became curious.
Curiosity created problems.
Elena never had.
She looked up.
“Mr. Moretti. I didn’t know you were home.”
Neither did Vivien.
That was the only reason I still had an advantage.
“Where’s Emma?”
Elena immediately stiffened.
“She was in the library.”
“She’s safe.”
The tension left her face slightly.
I closed the pantry door.
“Has Vivien ever asked you about my study?”
Elena’s hands stopped folding.
“No.”
Too quick.
I watched her.
She looked away.
“Elena.”
“I said no.”
“You lied.”
Her jaw tightened.
“I’m not good at this kind of conversation.”
“Then make it simple.”
She stared at the tablecloth in front of her.
“Three weeks ago she asked me who cleans your study.”
“And?”
“I told her nobody.”
“Anything else?”
Elena hesitated.
“She asked where you keep old family records.”
My eyes narrowed.
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because she’s your fiancée.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is when you’ve spent six years watching people get fired for getting between you and your family.”
The word hit harder than she intended.
Family.
Vivien had become family in everyone’s eyes.
Mine included.
Elena finally met my gaze.
“She also asked about Emma.”
A muscle tightened in my neck.
“What about her?”
“She asked whether Emma ever wandered upstairs alone.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
I thought of the rabbit outside my study.
“Did she give you a reason?”
“She said she was worried Emma might get hurt.”
“And you believed her?”
“No.”
That answer came immediately.
“Why?”
Elena lowered her voice.
“Because I saw the way she looked at my daughter.”
Before I could ask more, footsteps approached.
Elena’s eyes widened.
The pantry door opened.
Vivien stood there.
For one second, nobody moved.
Then she smiled.
“Dominic.”
Perfect surprise.
Perfect warmth.
She crossed the room and kissed me.
I let her.
That may have been the hardest thing I did all day.
“You’re home early.”
“Meeting ended.”
Her hands rested on my chest.
“You should’ve called.”
“Wanted to surprise you.”
Her smile didn’t change.
But her eyes did.
Barely.
Then she noticed Elena.
“Everything okay?”
I turned toward the housekeeper.
“Elena was explaining tomorrow’s breakfast schedule.”
Elena understood instantly.
“Yes, sir.”
Vivien smiled.
“Good. We have enough chaos coming.”
She touched my face.
“Two days until I become Mrs. Moretti.”
I smiled back.
“Can’t wait.”
Her phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
For half a second, her smile disappeared.
Then it returned.
“I need to take this.”
She left.
Elena waited until the footsteps faded.
Then whispered, “You know.”
“Yes.”
Her knees nearly gave out.
I caught her elbow.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Tears appeared in her eyes.
Not dramatic tears.
Angry ones.
“The night your father died…”
My hand tightened around her arm.
“My father died of a heart attack.”
Elena slowly shook her head.
“No, Mr. Moretti.”
I released her.
“What are you saying?”
“I worked the dinner that night.”
I remembered.
Barely.
My father had collapsed in his study.
Vivien hadn’t been in my life then.
Marco had been.
Elena swallowed.
“Your father didn’t drink his usual brandy.”
“What?”
“Someone brought him tea.”
“Who?”
“I never saw the person’s face.”
She looked toward the closed pantry door.
“But I saw Marco leaving through the service entrance ten minutes before your father collapsed.”
Everything inside me became quiet.
“Elena, why have you never told me this?”
“Because the next morning Marco came to my apartment.”
I stared at her.
“He knew where I lived. He knew I had a baby. He told me accidents happen to children whose mothers talk too much.”
Emma.
My stomach turned.
“I thought Marco disappeared eighteen months ago.”
“So did I.”
“What changed?”
Elena’s lips trembled.
“Last Tuesday I saw him.”
I stepped closer.
“Where?”
“Here.”
The room seemed to shrink.
“At Ravenwood?”
She nodded.
“Outside the old greenhouse.”
“Did he see you?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Who was he with?”
Elena looked directly at me.
“Vivien.”
My phone vibrated.
A message from my head of security.
Boss, we have a problem. Your study footage from today has been remotely erased.
May you like
Then a second message arrived.
And someone just locked down the estate gates.
