Chapter 5 - The Confrontation in the Study
Midnight had fallen over the Whitman estate. The mansion was shrouded in shadows, the grand hallways silent except for the ticking of the antique grandfather clock in the foyer.
A shadow slipped through the side garden entrance, moving with practiced stealth. It wasn't an intruder from the outside; it was Ethan, using his own key, accompanied by Noah and Arthur Pendelton. They didn't go through the front. They bypassed the main alarm system using an override code Arthur had memorized over thirty years of service.
"We need to get into Dad's private safe in the study," Ethan whispered, checking the hallway. "That's where he keeps the physical records of the estate and the original security footage from the foyer."
"If Victoria planted that brooch, the security cameras in the staff quarters corridor would have caught her," Noah added. "Dad never reviewed them. He took her word for it."
They crept up the grand staircase, their footsteps silent on the thick Persian runners. As they reached the second-floor landing, the light from Charles's study spilled across the floorboards. The door was cracked open.
Inside, voices murmured.
Ethan motioned for Noah and Arthur to hold back. He crept to the door and peered through the narrow gap.
Charles was sitting behind his mahogany desk, looking pale and exhausted. Standing over him was Victoria, her hand resting provocatively on his shoulder.
"You don't need to worry about the boys, Charles," Victoria was saying, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "They’re young, they’re emotional. They’ll get over the old nanny. What matters is the upcoming board vote. Sign these papers, and the merger goes through seamlessly."
Charles stared at the documents, rubbing his temples. "I still feel uneasy about firing Emily so abruptly, Victoria. Something doesn't sit right in my gut."
"You saw the evidence," Victoria snapped, her sweet facade slipping for a second, revealing a sharp, calculating edge. "She betrayed your trust. Now sign the papers, Charles, or do you not trust your own fiancée?"
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Ethan felt the blood rush to his ears. Fiancée? His father was planning to marry Victoria?
Before Charles could pick up the pen, Ethan kicked the study door wide open. It slammed against the wall with a deafening crash, making Charles jump and Victoria shriek.
