Chapter 6 - THE MISSING MAID
Charles Mercer claimed he had come to deliver legal documents.
Emma did not believe him.
Neither did the officer outside her room.
Claire left under police protection.
Charles placed a thick envelope on the table.
“Ethan asked me to bring these.”
Emma opened it.
Inside was a temporary separation agreement.
Her eyes moved across the first page.
The document offered her five million dollars, a Manhattan apartment, and full medical coverage.
In return, she would waive all claims against the Hawthorne family and agree not to discuss the investigation publicly.
Emma looked up.
“My husband approved this?”
“Ethan is under considerable pressure.”
“That was not my question.”
Charles adjusted his cuff links.
“He wants to protect you.”
“By buying my silence?”
“By removing you from a dangerous situation.”
Emma tore the agreement in half.
Charles watched the pieces fall.
“You have your father’s stubbornness.”
“You knew him.”
“I represented the foundation.”
“You helped frame him.”
“That is a serious accusation.”
“So is attempted murder.”
Charles stepped closer.
“Vanessa will argue that you lost your balance.”
“I have a recording.”
“You have an argument followed by the sound of a fall.”
“She told me to give her the evidence.”
“She never described what evidence.”
Emma understood then.
Charles knew exactly what was on the recording.
Someone had already told him.
“You spoke to Vanessa.”
“I speak to every member of the family.”
“Where is Maria?”
His expression remained still.
“I have no idea.”
Emma pressed the nurse-call button.
Charles glanced toward it.
“Our conversation is over,” she said.
After he left, Detective Ruiz returned.
“We traced Maria’s call,” Ruiz said.
“It came from a prepaid phone near the Hawthorne estate.”
“Is she still there?”
“We searched the servants’ quarters.”
“She might be in the guesthouse.”
Ruiz looked at the brass key in Emma’s hand.
The Hawthorne guesthouse had been abandoned for nearly fifteen years.
Eleanor claimed mold had made it unsafe.
A storm began shortly after sunset.
Ruiz and four officers drove to the estate.
Emma remained in the hospital.
Ethan arrived just before midnight.
His clothes were soaked.
He looked exhausted.
“I didn’t authorize that separation agreement,” he said.
“Your attorney said you did.”
“Charles lied.”
“Your entire family lies.”
Ethan placed both hands on the bed rail.
“I confronted my mother.”
“What did she say?”
“She said your father tried to blackmail us.”
“Do you believe her?”
Ethan hesitated.
Emma looked away.
His phone rang before he could answer.
Detective Ruiz was calling.
Ethan placed the call on speaker.
“We opened the guesthouse,” Ruiz said.
“We found Maria.”
Emma gripped the blanket.
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
May you like
Ruiz paused.
“She was locked inside a room with your father’s missing files.”
