Chapter 2 - The Man Holding the Key
Marcus pulled a black object from beneath his jacket.
Charles stepped in front of Noah.
Several guests screamed and moved away.
But Marcus did not raise a gun.
He held a small remote control.
A red light blinked at its center.
The fire investigator recognized it first.
“Drop that.”
Marcus looked toward the burning mansion.
“What is it?” Charles demanded.
“A remote detonator,” the investigator said.
Marcus pressed his thumb against the button.
Evelyn turned and covered Noah’s body.
Nothing happened.
Marcus pressed again.
His expression changed from control to panic.
The investigator tackled him onto the wet grass.
Two firefighters restrained his arms.
Victoria backed toward the line of parked cars.
Charles saw her.
“Do not move.”
“I need an ambulance.”
“You were standing beside the house while my grandson burned.”
“I tried to stop Evelyn from going inside because the structure was unstable.”
“You told everyone Noah had already been evacuated.”
Victoria looked toward the guests.
“I believed he had.”
Noah shook his head.
“She watched me from the hallway.”
Evelyn felt his body begin trembling again.
“What did she do?” Charles asked gently.
“She took my wheelchair downstairs. Then Marcus carried boxes into my room.”
“What boxes?”
“I couldn’t see.”
Marcus struggled against the firefighters.
“The child is confused.”
Noah flinched at his voice.
Evelyn looked directly at Marcus.
“You told me the east wing had been cleared.”
“It was chaotic.”
“You stood at the front door and refused to let anyone reenter.”
“For safety.”
“You knew Noah was upstairs.”
Marcus stopped struggling.
The fire investigator removed the remote from his hand.
A label on the back matched the security system installed throughout Whitmore House.
The detonator was designed to activate emergency demolition charges used during extensive renovation work in the east wing.
Three explosive devices had been registered.
Only two had detonated.
A third remained somewhere inside the burning mansion.
“That is what he was trying to activate,” the investigator said.
Charles stared at Marcus.
“You intended to bring down the remaining wing.”
Marcus looked at Victoria.
The glance lasted less than a second, but it was enough.
Police sirens approached through the estate gates.
Victoria turned and ran.
Evelyn handed Noah carefully to a paramedic and pursued her.
Her lungs burned.
Her legs shook from smoke inhalation.
But she knew the estate better than anyone.
Victoria headed toward the greenhouse path, intending to reach the servants’ road behind the gardens.
Evelyn cut through the rose courtyard and intercepted her near the stone fountain.
Victoria stopped.
Rain streaked across her face.
“Move.”
“No.”
“You have no idea what you are involved in.”
“I know you locked a disabled child inside a burning room.”
“I did not start the fire.”
“You took his wheelchair.”
“I needed him upstairs.”
“For what?”
Victoria looked toward the mansion.
“To make the evidence believable.”
“What evidence?”
“You think Charles will keep the company forever? He is dying.”
Evelyn became still.
Charles had appeared healthy at dinner.
“He has late stage pancreatic cancer,” Victoria continued. “Only four people know.”
“Noah inherits Daniel’s controlling shares.”
“Yes.”
“And you wanted him dead before Charles announced it.”
Victoria’s expression remained cold.
“Noah cannot manage an empire.”
“He is twelve.”
“He will never manage anything.”
Evelyn struck her across the face.
The movement shocked them both.
Victoria touched her cheek.
“You just ended your life.”
“No. I saved his.”
Police officers entered the garden.
Victoria opened her clutch and pulled out a small silver pistol.
Evelyn froze.
“Tell them to stay back.”
The officers raised their weapons.
Victoria pressed the pistol beneath Evelyn’s chin and pulled her against her body.
“You should have stayed in the servants’ wing.”
Evelyn looked toward the clutch still hanging from Victoria’s wrist.
Something rectangular protruded from the open zipper.
A black memory drive.
The same model Charles used for private family trust documents.
“What did you take from Noah’s room?” Evelyn asked.
Victoria tightened her grip.
“Nothing that concerns you.”
“You burned the room to destroy whatever Daniel left his son.”
Victoria’s eyes shifted.
Evelyn understood.
Noah’s father had hidden something inside the bedroom before his death.
Victoria and Marcus needed it.
The fire was intended to kill Noah and erase the hiding place.
A gunshot broke the silence.
Victoria collapsed.
The pistol fell into the mud.
Evelyn turned.
Charles stood near the greenhouse holding an antique revolver from the mansion’s security cabinet.
His hands shook.
Victoria’s wound was in the shoulder.
She was alive.
Police restrained her.
Charles approached Evelyn.
“Where is Noah?”
“With the paramedics.”
“Did she hurt you?”
“No.”
He looked toward Victoria.
“What was on the drive?”
Victoria smiled through the pain.
“You’ll never know.”
The mansion shook behind them.
The undetonated charge exploded.
The entire east wing collapsed into the lower foundation.
Charles closed his eyes.
Whatever Daniel had hidden inside Noah’s room appeared to be gone.
Then Evelyn noticed the memory drive was no longer inside Victoria’s clutch.
Someone had removed it during the confrontation.
A figure stood at the edge of the garden.
May you like
Noah’s private nurse, Rebecca Sloan, slipped the drive into her coat and disappeared into the smoke.
Continue to the next part: Evelyn follows Noah’s trusted nurse into the burning service tunnels and discovers Daniel Whitmore may have predicted his own death.
