Chapter 3 – The Woman in Emerald
Rain began to fall just after midnight.
The sound of raindrops striking the mansion's floor-to-ceiling windows blended with the clicking of cameras as forensic investigators continued documenting every inch of the Hawthorne Estate.
Outside, television crews remained behind police barricades.
Inside, the mansion had become a prison.
Every guest surrendered their phones.
Every servant was questioned.
Every room was searched.
Detective Daniel Carter knew one thing for certain.
The truth was inside these walls.
Vanessa Crawford sat alone in the mansion's private lounge.
Her emerald gown, once flawless, was now wrinkled from hours of questioning. Mascara streaked the corners of her eyes, though no one could tell whether the tears were real or carefully performed.
She had spent her entire adult life manipulating people with emotion.
Tonight, it wasn't working.
The lounge door opened.
Detective Carter entered carrying a thin folder.
He sat across from her without saying a word.
The silence stretched for nearly a minute.
Finally, Vanessa spoke.
"You think I pushed her."
"I think you hated her."
"That's not a crime."
"No."
Carter folded his hands.
"But attempted murder is."
Vanessa laughed softly.
"You have no proof."
Instead of answering, Carter slid a photograph across the table.
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
The photograph showed her standing on the upstairs balcony.
Her right hand was gripping Amelia's left arm.
The timestamp read 8:35:42 p.m.
Only twenty-three seconds before Amelia fell.
"Security camera?" Vanessa whispered.
"The east hallway."
"I thought Nathan disabled those."
"He tried."
Carter leaned forward.
"He forgot about the backup system."
Vanessa remained silent.
Then she pushed the photograph back toward him.
"She grabbed me first."
"So you admit touching her."
"I..."
Vanessa stopped herself.
It was too late.
Carter had already written down her answer.
Across the mansion, Richard Sterling stood in Nathan's private office.
He slowly looked around the room.
Mahogany bookshelves.
Imported leather furniture.
A hand-painted portrait of Nathan hanging above the fireplace.
Everything had been purchased with money Nathan claimed he had earned.
Richard knew better.
He opened a locked cabinet with a small brass key.
Nathan's attorney watched nervously.
"You have no authority—"
Richard ignored him.
Inside the cabinet sat dozens of financial records.
Company ledgers.
Investment reports.
Wire transfer receipts.
One folder immediately caught his attention.
STERLING FAMILY TRUST
He opened it.
Every page was a forgery.
Fake signatures.
Fabricated authorizations.
Illegal transfers totaling nearly $480 million.
Richard closed the folder slowly.
His expression remained calm.
Only his eyes changed.
"They weren't trying to kill Amelia because of jealousy," he murmured.
"They were trying to silence the only legal heir."
Meanwhile...
Amelia was rushed into surgery.
Doctors suspected internal bleeding.
Her unborn daughter's heartbeat had become dangerously unstable.
Outside the operating room, Richard paced the hallway.
For the first time in decades, the powerful businessman looked helpless.
Detective Carter arrived shortly afterward.
"Any news?"
Richard shook his head.
"No."
"I've buried my daughter."
"I'm not burying my granddaughter too."
Carter understood.
Twenty-eight years earlier, Amelia's parents had died in what police ruled a tragic boating accident.
Only Richard had never believed it.
Now, standing in the hospital corridor, he finally voiced the suspicion he had carried for almost three decades.
"What if it wasn't an accident?"
Carter looked at him carefully.
"You think someone murdered your daughter?"
"I think..."
Richard stared through the operating room window.
"...history is repeating itself."
Back at the mansion, the questioning continued.
This time, Carter interviewed the servants.
Most claimed they had seen nothing.
Some admitted hearing arguments.
Others were too frightened to speak.
Then the elderly maid stepped forward.
Her name was Maria Alvarez.
She had worked for the Hawthorne family for thirty-two years.
Her hands trembled as she sat down.
"I should have spoken sooner."
Carter remained quiet.
Maria took a deep breath.
"Miss Amelia was always kind."
"She remembered our birthdays."
"She paid for my grandson's surgery."
Tears filled her eyes.
"And they hated her for it."
"Who hated her?"
"Nathan."
"Vanessa."
"And..."
She hesitated.
"...Mrs. Eleanor Hawthorne."
Nathan's mother.
Carter wrote the name.
"What happened tonight?"
Maria looked toward the closed door.
"They've been planning this for weeks."
The room became silent.
"Tell me everything."
Maria's voice shook as she spoke.
"Three weeks ago I was cleaning the upstairs library."
"I wasn't supposed to be there."
"I heard Nathan arguing with his mother."
"What did they say?"
She closed her eyes, remembering.
Eleanor said,
"As long as Amelia and that baby are alive..."
"Nothing belongs to us."
Nathan answered,
"Leave it to me."
Maria looked at Carter.
"I thought they were only angry."
"I didn't understand."
She wiped away a tear.
"Then yesterday..."
"I saw Mr. Hawthorne installing something on the staircase."
"What exactly?"
"I couldn't see."
"But he told me to leave immediately."
Carter's pulse quickened.
"What time?"
"Around six in the evening."
That matched the forensic team's estimate.
Just then, another detective entered the room.
"We've recovered the security footage."
Carter stood immediately.
"Play it."
The recording appeared on a large monitor.
Everyone watched in complete silence.
8:35:31.
Amelia emerged from the upstairs hallway, moving quickly.
She looked terrified.
Behind her, Vanessa appeared.
Running.
Shouting.
Nathan stepped out of the library seconds later.
He didn't chase Amelia.
Instead...
He looked down at the staircase.
Then...
He bent slightly.
His hand disappeared below the railing.
Only for two seconds.
Then he straightened.
Twenty seconds later...
Amelia reached the stairs.
Her foot caught something.
She lost her balance.
Vanessa reached toward her.
Instead of pulling her back...
She shoved.
The footage froze.
Nobody spoke.
Maria covered her mouth.
"My God..."
Carter stared at the screen.
"It wasn't only a push."
He replayed Nathan's movement.
Again.
And again.
Finally he understood.
Nathan hadn't been watching Amelia.
He had been adjusting the nearly invisible fishing line stretched across the top step.
It had been a trap.
Vanessa's shove only guaranteed the fall.
They had worked together.
At the hospital...
The operating room doors finally opened.
The surgeon removed his mask.
Richard hurried forward.
"Doctor?"
The surgeon smiled faintly.
"Mrs. Hawthorne is alive."
Richard closed his eyes in relief.
"And the baby?"
"The baby's heartbeat is stable."
"They're both going to survive."
For the first time that night, Richard allowed himself to breathe.
But the doctor's expression quickly grew serious.
"However..."
"Mrs. Hawthorne asked for Detective Carter the moment she wakes up."
Two hours later...
Amelia slowly opened her eyes.
The room was dimly lit.
Machines beeped steadily beside her bed.
She instinctively touched her stomach.
Then she heard a tiny heartbeat through the fetal monitor.
Tears rolled down her face.
"My baby..."
The nurse smiled.
"She's fighting."
"So are you."
A gentle knock sounded.
Detective Carter entered alone.
He closed the door behind him.
"I have good news."
"We have enough evidence to charge both Nathan and Vanessa."
Amelia nodded weakly.
"I expected that."
"But that's not why I called you."
Carter frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Amelia looked toward the window.
Rain still covered the glass.
"They're not the masterminds."
Silence filled the room.
Carter slowly stepped closer.
"Explain."
Amelia swallowed.
"The anonymous message..."
"I know who sent it."
"You do?"
She nodded.
"It wasn't someone trying to save me."
"It was someone trying to save themselves."
Carter's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
Amelia whispered three words.
"My mother-in-law."
Carter stared at her in disbelief.
"Eleanor Hawthorne?"
Amelia nodded again.
"She knew the plan."
"Because..."
"...she's been hiding an even bigger secret."
Before Carter could ask another question, Amelia reached into the pocket of her hospital robe.
She removed a tiny gold key.
"I found this inside Nathan's office."
"He doesn't know I took it."
Carter examined it carefully.
A safety deposit box key.
Stamped with the logo of a private Swiss bank.
On the attached tag, only one word had been engraved.
BLACKWOOD
Carter looked back at Amelia.
"What is Blackwood?"
Amelia's exhausted eyes filled with determination.
May you like
"The reason my parents died."
End of Chapter 3
