Chapter 3: The Woman Who Knew Too Much
At 4:30 p.m., Arthur returned to the Hawthorne estate.
The wedding decorations were still everywhere.
White roses covered the staircase.
Silver ribbons hung from the chandeliers.
The enormous wedding cake stood untouched in the ballroom.
Three hundred personalized place cards remained arranged across the reception tables.
Arthur walked past all of it without stopping.
His entire world had changed in less than six hours.
His fiancée was a criminal.
His father's financial records had been manipulated.
His grandmother was in the hospital.
And somewhere, possibly alive, was the man he had buried two years earlier.
Daniel followed him into the library.
"Arthur, we need to slow down.""
Arthur poured himself a glass of water.
"Slow down?""
"Yes. The police are investigating the message.""
"My father's handwriting is on that paper.""
"That doesn't prove he's alive.""
Arthur turned sharply.
"What do you think it proves?""
Daniel remained silent.
Arthur placed the glass down.
"My father taught me to ride a bicycle in the gardens outside this room. He stayed awake for three nights when I had pneumonia. He built this company because he wanted something to leave behind.""
His voice cracked.
"And I watched them lower his coffin into the ground.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"I was there.""
"Then tell me how someone has his watch.""
Daniel looked away.
That small movement caught Arthur's attention.
"What aren't you telling me?""
"Nothing.""
"Daniel.""
"I said nothing.""
Arthur approached him.
"You've been my best friend for fifteen years. If you know something about my father, tell me now.""
Daniel opened his mouth.
But before he could answer, the library doors swung open.
Maya stood in the doorway.
She had changed into a clean uniform. A small bandage covered the cut on her lip.
Arthur frowned.
"What are you doing here?""
"The police asked me to identify the woman who arranged the private transport.""
Daniel crossed his arms.
"Isn't that something the investigators can handle?""
Maya looked at him.
"They can. But I recognized the driver.""
Arthur turned.
"Marcus?""
"No.""
She placed a photograph on the desk.
"This man.""
Arthur studied it.
The photograph showed a middle-aged man with dark hair, a prominent nose, and a small scar beneath his left eye.
"Who is he?""
"His name is Victor Hale. He delivered a package to the bridal suite yesterday.""
Daniel's expression changed.
Arthur noticed.
"Do you know him?""
Daniel shook his head too quickly.
"No.""
Maya looked at him for another moment.
Then she turned back to Arthur.
"He wasn't delivering flowers or wedding gifts. He was carrying a small metal case.""
Arthur examined the photograph.
"How did you get this?""
"I took a picture from the security monitor.""
"Why?""
"Because he asked Isabella to sign something before he left.""
"What?""
"I couldn't read the document.""
Maya reached into her pocket and produced a second photograph.
This one showed Isabella standing in the bridal suite beside Victor.
The man's hand rested on a black metal case.
Isabella was holding a document.
Her expression was not affectionate or excited.
She looked impatient.
Arthur studied the image.
"How long have you been watching her?""
"Since yesterday.""
"Why?""
Maya paused.
"Because I didn't trust her.""
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"That's convenient.""
Maya's eyes moved toward him.
"What's convenient?""
"You arrive three days before the wedding, suddenly discover an elaborate conspiracy, and somehow have footage of everything.""
Maya remained still.
"I understand how that sounds.""
"Do you?""
"Yes.""
Daniel stepped closer.
"Then perhaps you can explain why a newly hired maid is carrying a body camera and investigating the bride.""
Maya didn't flinch.
"Because the agency sent me here under a different assignment.""
Arthur looked between them.
"What assignment?""
Maya reached into her bag.
She removed a folded envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Richard Hawthorne.
Arthur recognized the picture.
It had been taken at a company event approximately three years earlier.
On the back was a handwritten instruction.
*Find out who ordered the second audit. Do not alert the family.*
Arthur looked up.
"Who gave you this?""
Maya took a slow breath.
"My employer.""
"Who is your employer?""
"Your father.""
Silence.
Daniel stepped backward.
Arthur stared at her.
"That's not funny.""
"I'm not joking.""
"My father has been dead for two years.""
"I know what the official records say.""
Arthur's face tightened.
"Then explain yourself.""
Maya sat down and opened the envelope fully.
There was another document inside.
A photograph of a bank transfer.
A hotel reservation.
And a letter bearing Richard Hawthorne's signature.
Arthur took the letter.
The paper was slightly yellowed.
The writing was unmistakable.
If my son ever learns what happened, tell him that I tried to protect him. The people closest to him are not necessarily the people who love him.
Arthur read the final line twice.
"Where did you get this?""
"From a secure storage facility in Connecticut.""
"When?""
"Six months ago.""
"Why didn't you come to me?""
"Because I was instructed not to.""
"By my father?""
"Yes.""
Arthur's voice rose.
"Why would he trust you instead of his own son?""
Maya looked at him.
"Because he believed someone in your household was monitoring your communications.""
Daniel shook his head.
"This is absurd.""
Maya turned toward him.
"Is it?""
She opened another photograph.
It showed a man entering the underground garage of the Hawthorne headquarters.
He wore a dark coat and carried a briefcase.
Daniel's face was visible in the background.
Arthur looked at the image.
Then at Daniel.
"Why are you in this photograph?""
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"I work there.""
"That's not what I asked.""
"I was attending a meeting.""
"With whom?""
Daniel didn't answer.
Maya pointed to the man with the briefcase.
"Victor Hale.""
Arthur studied the image.
The date was printed beneath it.
Four months before his father's supposed death.
"Why were you meeting Victor?""
Daniel finally spoke.
"Because Richard asked me to.""
Arthur froze.
"You knew?""
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"Not everything.""
"What did you know?""
"Your father was investigating a financial discrepancy. He believed someone had been moving money out of the company through false shipping contracts.""
Arthur lowered his voice.
"Who?""
Daniel looked toward the window.
"Your father's chief financial trustee.""
Arthur felt his stomach drop.
"Edward?""
Daniel nodded.
Edward Blackwood had served the Hawthorne family for nearly thirty years.
He had managed the family's trusts, investments, estate accounts, and private holdings.
Arthur had trusted him like an uncle.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because your father told me not to.""
"Everybody seems to have received instructions from my father except me!""
Daniel's voice hardened.
"He thought you were being watched.""
"By whom?""
"Edward.""
Arthur sat down heavily.
The room seemed suddenly smaller.
For years, Edward had attended family dinners, celebrated Arthur's birthdays, and offered advice about the company.
He had even delivered the eulogy at Richard's funeral.
Arthur remembered the man's hand resting on his shoulder.
He remembered Edward saying, "Your father would be proud of you.""
Now every memory felt contaminated.
Maya quietly placed another item on the desk.
A small silver key.
Arthur recognized it immediately.
It was identical to the key found inside Isabella's shoe.
"Where did you get that?""
"From the metal case Victor carried.""
Arthur looked at her.
"You stole it?""
"I retrieved it after he left the bridal suite unattended.""
Daniel stared.
"That's evidence.""
"I know.""
"Then you should have given it to the police.""
"I was going to.""
Maya turned the key over.
A tiny number had been engraved into its surface.
*17.*
Arthur frowned.
"What does that mean?""
Maya looked at him.
"It's the number of the storage compartment where your father left his private records.""
Arthur stood.
"Where?""
"Connecticut.""
Daniel immediately shook his head.
"No.""
Arthur turned.
"Why not?""
"Because if Edward is involved, we don't know who else is watching us.""
Arthur grabbed his coat.
"Then we'll go quietly.""
Daniel blocked the doorway.
"Arthur, listen to me. You cannot trust this woman.""
Maya looked down.
For the first time since entering the room, she appeared genuinely uncomfortable.
Arthur noticed.
"Why?""
Daniel pointed toward her.
"Because I know who she is.""
Arthur turned slowly.
"What?""
Daniel swallowed.
"Her real name isn't Maya.""
The maid's face became expressionless.
Daniel continued.
"Her name is Maya Collins.""
Arthur looked confused.
"That's what her identification says.""
"No. I mean her father.""
Maya's fingers tightened around the silver key.
Daniel looked directly at Arthur.
"Her father was Thomas Collins.""
Arthur's eyes widened.
Thomas Collins had been the Hawthorne family's former chief security officer.
He had died in a suspicious warehouse fire eighteen years earlier.
The official investigation had concluded that the fire was accidental.
Arthur remembered his father attending the funeral.
He remembered the old man crying.
But what he didn't remember was the little girl who had stood beside the coffin.
Maya slowly lifted her eyes.
"Thomas Collins was my father.""
Arthur looked at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because I didn't come here to discuss my family.""
"Then why did you come?""
Maya reached into her bag and removed a final envelope.
It was sealed with an old Hawthorne family crest.
Arthur recognized the seal.
His father had used it on private correspondence.
Maya placed it on the desk.
"Your father gave this to me before he disappeared.""
Arthur stared at the envelope.
"Before he disappeared?""
Maya nodded.
"Three days before the yacht incident.""
Arthur felt his heartbeat accelerate.
"Open it.""
Maya shook her head.
"He instructed me to give it to you only when the Hawthorne Star was removed from your grandmother's neck.""
Arthur stared at her.
"Why?""
"I don't know.""
"Open it.""
Maya broke the seal.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Arthur took it.
The first line was written in his father's familiar handwriting.
My son, if this letter has reached you, then the people I feared have finally made their move.
Arthur's hands trembled.
He continued reading.
The Hawthorne Star was never simply a family heirloom. The sapphire contains the only physical key to a trust agreement that could destroy everything Edward Blackwood has built.
A second paragraph followed.
Do not trust the police captain assigned to the case. Do not trust the family attorney. And above all, do not trust the man standing beside you when you read this.
Arthur stopped.
He looked up.
Daniel was standing directly beside him.
Neither man moved.
Then Arthur slowly lowered the letter.
"Daniel...""
His friend looked pale.
"Arthur, I can explain.""
A phone vibrated.
Not Arthur's.
Daniel's.
The screen lit up.
Arthur caught a glimpse of the incoming message before Daniel could turn it over.
*THE GIRL HAS THE KEY. ELIMINATE HER BEFORE MIDNIGHT.*
Arthur looked at Maya.
Then at Daniel.
And for the first time in fifteen years, he wondered whether the man he called his best friend had ever truly been on his side.
But Maya was no longer looking at Daniel.
She was staring at the final sentence on the back of the letter.
A sentence Arthur hadn't yet read.
She whispered it aloud.
"Richard isn't the only Hawthorne who survived the yacht.""
Arthur's blood ran cold.
May you like
Because beneath that sentence was a name.
*ELEANOR.*
