Chapter 5 - SISTER, MURDERER, TRAITOR
I left Arthur’s office with the memory card in my pocket and a cold, burning rage in my chest. I didn’t go straight to the police. Not yet. Elena had sent that text—*Meet me at the place*. I needed to know where that was. And who she was meeting.
I drove home, my mind replaying every moment I’d ever shared with Elena. Childhood birthdays. Family holidays. The way she’d held Lily when Grace died and whispered I’m here, I’ve got you. All of it lies. Every word. Every smile. Every comforting touch.
Clara opened the door before I even reached it. Her face was tight with worry.
"Elena came back," she said quietly. "Ten minutes ago. She said she forgot something. She was in and out very fast. She didn’t even look at Lily."
My stomach dropped. "Did she touch anything? Go into any room?"
"Just the hallway. She grabbed her phone from the table and left. Why? What’s going on, Adrian?"
I looked past her, into the quiet house. "She knows we know. Or at least… she suspects."
I went to Lily’s room. She was awake now, sitting up in bed, reading. She looked up when I came in.
"Uncle Marcus was here," she said casually.
My head snapped up. "What?"
"He came while you were gone," Lily said. "He asked where Teddy was. I told him the police took him. He looked really upset. Then he asked if anyone gave me anything new. Or if anyone told me to keep secrets. I said no. Then he left."
I exchanged a look with Clara. "Did he say anything else?"
"He said be careful of people who smile too much," Lily said. "He said Aunt Elena is smiling too much lately."
I felt a chill. Marcus had been right all along. And I had been too blind to see it.
I pulled out Elena’s text again. Meet me at the place. Bring what’s left of the bear’s data.
The place. There was only one place I could think of that Elena would call that. An old family cabin, deep in the woods, where we used to spend summers as children. Grace had loved it. Elena had hated it. Which meant… she was meeting someone else there. Someone who knew the place.
Someone like Marcus.
The thought hit me hard. What if Elena wasn’t working alone? What if she had framed Marcus precisely because everyone trusted him? What if the text meant something else entirely?
I grabbed my coat. "Clara, lock every door. Barricade the front and back. If anyone comes—anyone at all—do not open. Not Marcus. Not Elena. Not the police unless they show proper identification. Call me first. Call Arthur. Call anyone. But do not open this door."
Clara paled but nodded. "Be careful, Adrian. And bring her home safe."
I drove to the cabin, phone in hand, watching the road behind me the entire way. No one followed. But that didn’t mean I was safe.
The cabin stood in a clearing, dark and silent. One window glowed with faint light. Someone was there.
I parked down the road, walked through the trees, and approached quietly. Voices carried on the night air. Elena. And a man’s voice. Not Marcus.
I crept closer, staying in shadow, and peered through the window.
Elena stood by the fireplace. Across from her stood a man I had never seen before. Rough-looking, scarred, holding a tablet.
"The police have the bear," Elena was saying, pacing. "But she hid a backup. I know she did. And if Adrian finds it—"
"He already has," the man said.
Elena stopped short. "What?"
"He came to my office today. Arthur’s. He loaded the files. He saw everything."
My blood turned to ice. Arthur? The man speaking… that was Arthur’s voice. Disguised. Lower. Rougher. But it was him.
Elena stared at him. "Arthur? You said he was on our side!"
"Arthur is a convenience," the man said. "One I’ve paid well. But Adrian… Adrian is a problem. He needs to be handled."
"Handled?" Elena’s voice rose. "I didn’t sign up for killing him too! Grace was enough—"
"Grace was necessary," the man said, stepping closer. "Vanessa was necessary. And now Adrian is necessary. And then the girl."
Lily.
I reached for my phone, already dialing 911, but I froze.
"Not Lily," Elena said, her voice trembling. "I never agreed to hurt Lily. You promised—"
"I promised you wealth," the man cut in. "Everything else is collateral. The child is the only thing standing between us and the full trust. She has to go."
Elena backed away. "No. I won’t. I’ll go to the police. I’ll tell them everything—"
The man moved faster than I could blink. He grabbed Elena by the throat, one hand crushing her airway. She clawed at his face, eyes bulging.
"Then you go to jail too," he said. "Or worse. You’re already an accomplice. You helped with Grace. You recruited Vanessa. You transferred the money. There is no going back, Elena. Not for any of us."
He released her. Elena collapsed, gasping, sobbing.
"Tomorrow," he said, wiping his hands on a cloth. "Tomorrow, there will be an accident. A fire. At the mansion. Adrian, the girl, the nanny… none of it survives. And you, Elena… you will be the grieving sister. You will inherit. And you will do exactly as I say."
Elena looked up at him, hatred warring with fear. "And if I don’t?"
"Then I tell them what you did to Grace," he said calmly. "And I let them put a needle in your arm. Your choice."
He walked out. Elena stayed on the floor, crying, broken.
I stayed in the shadows until his car was gone. Then I stepped inside.
Elena looked up, face streaked with tears, and flinched as if expecting to be hit. Then she saw it was me.
"Adrian," she whispered. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough," I said. "Enough to know you didn’t act alone. Enough to know Arthur is compromised. Enough to know he’s coming for Lily."
Elena buried her face in her hands. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. He… he found out about the money. He said he’d expose me if I didn’t help. I thought… I thought it was just about money. I never meant for Grace to die. I never meant for any of this to happen."
"Who is he?" I demanded. "Really?"
Elena looked at me, eyes hollow. "I don’t know. He goes by many names. But Grace knew him. She mentioned him once. She called him… the silent partner."
The silent partner. The one who had been pulling strings all along.
"Elena," I said. "You’re going to testify. You’re going to tell the police everything. Names, dates, transactions. Everything."
"And if I don’t?" she whispered.
"Then you burn with the rest of them," I said. "Make your choice, sister. But choose fast. Because tomorrow, he’s coming for my daughter."
Elena looked at me—really looked at me—and in that moment, I saw the sister I used to know. Terrified, but not yet lost.
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"I’ll do it," she said quietly. "I’ll testify. I’ll give everything. Just… protect Lily. Please."
"That’s the deal," I said. "Give them the monster. And I’ll try to save what’s left of you."
