Chapter 14 - THE FINAL THREAT
The peace did not last.
It began with small things. A door left open. A portrait turned slightly. A book moved from its shelf.
I noticed. Thomas noticed.
“Someone is entering the house,” Thomas said one evening. “When we are away. When we sleep.”
“Who?” I asked. “Arthur is in prison. Julian is awaiting trial. Mrs. Gable is sentenced. Rachel is incarcerated.”
“Which leaves no one,” Thomas said. “And yet… someone is here.”
I thought back. Through all the names. All the faces. All the secrets.
“Jonathan’s letter,” I said. “He wrote: ‘The killer has been in our midst every day since. And they believe they are a hero.’ We assumed he meant Mrs. Gable.”
“Perhaps he meant someone else,” Thomas said slowly. “Perhaps there was more than one.”
That night, I woke to silence.
I sat up. My heart beating slowly. Steady.
A light flickered beneath my study door. Soft. Moving.
I slipped out of bed. I picked up the heavy candlestick from my bedside table. I walked quietly into the hallway.
The study door stood slightly ajar. Light spilled out.
I pushed it open.
A man stood at my desk. He held the ledger. He was reading it by candlelight.
He turned.
I knew him. I had known him my whole life.
“Uncle Edward?” I whispered.
Edward. My father’s younger brother. The quiet one. The scholar. The one who had lived abroad for years. Who had returned recently to “visit family.”
May you like
He smiled. A thin, cold smile.
“Margaret,” he said. “I wondered how long it would take you to find me.”
