Chapter 3 - WHAT CAME BEFORE THE SCREAM
The mansion remained quiet long after the security technicians restored power.
No one went home.
No one ate dinner.
No one mentioned the ruined birthday cake still sitting untouched in the dining room.
The entire family gathered in Richard’s study while two technicians examined the damaged backup drive.
Sophia sat alone near the window.
Ethan did not sit beside her.
That fact seemed to bother her more than anything else.
Richard stood near the fireplace with his arms folded.
The red mark on his cheek had darkened.
Every time Ethan looked at it, shame crawled through him.
He finally approached his father.
“Dad.”
Richard looked at him.
Ethan swallowed.
“I shouldn’t have hit you.”
Richard’s expression did not change.
“No.”
Ethan waited.
Richard said nothing else.
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
Ethan looked down.
“I believed Sophia.”
“I know.”
“I thought—”
Richard interrupted quietly.
“That was the problem.”
Ethan’s eyes lifted.
“You thought for three seconds.”
Richard touched his cheek.
“Then you decided you knew enough to strike your father.”
Ethan looked as though he had been slapped himself.
Richard’s voice remained controlled.
“I can survive this.”
He pointed toward his cheek.
“What I do not know is whether I can forget how quickly you decided I was capable of what she accused me of.”
Ethan could not answer.
Across the room, Sophia watched them.
Her face was unreadable.
One of the technicians stood.
“We may be able to recover the deleted segment.”
Richard turned.
“How long?”
“I can’t promise anything.”
Sophia leaned forward slightly.
The technician connected the cracked drive to another device.
“There are fragmented files.”
Grace stepped closer.
“Does that mean the video is there?”
“Parts of it.”
The technician began reconstructing the timeline.
Sophia suddenly stood.
“I need some air.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You’re staying.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You don’t get to imprison me.”
“No one is imprisoning you.”
“You’re blocking the door.”
Ethan realized he was.
He stepped aside.
Sophia moved past him.
Grace followed her with her eyes.
Richard noticed.
“Let her go.”
Ethan stared at him.
“She could disappear.”
Richard looked toward the technicians.
“She won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she still needs something.”
Sophia stopped at the doorway.
She slowly turned.
Richard continued.
“If she only wanted to escape, she would have left when the lights went out.”
Sophia’s face tightened.
“She went after the backup drive instead.”
Grace understood.
“She’s afraid of something on it.”
Richard nodded.
Sophia stared at him.
“You really think you’ve figured everything out.”
Richard met her eyes.
“No.”
He looked toward the damaged drive.
“But I think you’re terrified that I might.”
Sophia walked out.
Ethan started after her.
Richard raised a hand.
“Stay.”
Ethan stopped.
The word carried an authority he had spent years resenting.
Tonight it felt strangely comforting.
The technician clicked several commands.
A corrupted video appeared.
The image stuttered.
The timestamp showed 6:13 p.m.
That was thirty-two minutes before Sophia had screamed.
Richard appeared in the hallway.
He was speaking to someone.
The angle did not show who.
The image broke apart.
Then returned.
Sophia was visible.
She held a thick envelope.
Richard appeared angry.
The footage had no usable audio.
Richard pointed toward the envelope.
Sophia pulled it away.
The image froze.
Then jumped forward twelve minutes.
Ethan frowned.
“What were you arguing about?”
Richard looked toward the empty doorway.
“A letter.”
Grace stared at him.
“What letter?”
Richard hesitated.
“A notice from the trust auditor.”
Ethan’s voice lowered.
“What notice?”
Richard sat down.
He suddenly looked much older.
“The trust is scheduled for a full external audit.”
“When?”
“Monday.”
Ethan stared.
“That’s four days from now.”
“Yes.”
“And Sophia knew?”
“She opened the letter before I saw it.”
Grace’s face tightened.
“Why was she opening your mail?”
Richard looked at Ethan.
“She said she believed it had been delivered to the wrong room.”
Ethan almost laughed.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I know.”
The technician resumed playback.
Sophia appeared to argue with Richard.
Then she pointed toward him.
Richard shook his head.
Sophia moved closer.
The footage fragmented again.
When it returned, Sophia was alone.
She looked toward the security camera.
Then she walked directly underneath it.
The technician paused.
Grace frowned.
“What is she doing?”
Richard leaned closer.
On-screen, Sophia stretched upward.
Her hand disappeared just beneath the camera.
The image shook slightly.
Then the screen went black.
The technician looked toward Richard.
“She physically interrupted the camera.”
Ethan stared.
“She knew it was there.”
“Yes.”
A terrible realization moved through him.
“When she staged the attack, she thought the camera was off.”
The technician nodded.
“Most likely.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“But it came back.”
The technician rewound several frames.
“Looks like she blocked or disconnected something temporarily.”
He pointed toward the timeline.
“Then the connection restored itself.”
Grace whispered.
“That’s why she didn’t know the red light was on.”
Ethan looked toward the doorway.
Sophia had not simply improvised.
She had prepared.
The technician continued.
“Here’s another fragment.”
The timestamp read 6:29 p.m.
Sophia stood with Daniel Pierce.
Richard’s family attorney.
They were in the hallway together.
Daniel held several documents.
Sophia said something.
Daniel looked nervous.
Then he handed her a key.
Richard stood abruptly.
“What key?”
Ethan stared at the screen.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
The footage skipped.
Sophia walked toward Richard’s private office.
The camera lost her.
Grace turned toward her father.
“What is in your private office?”
Richard’s expression tightened.
“Trust documents.”
Ethan stared at him.
“And?”
Richard hesitated.
“The original estate files.”
Grace understood immediately.
“Your will.”
“Yes.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“Why would Daniel give Sophia a key?”
Richard did not answer.
Everyone heard footsteps.
Sophia returned.
She stopped when she saw the frozen image on the monitor.
Her face went white.
Ethan noticed.
“You went into Dad’s office.”
Sophia said nothing.
“What did you take?”
“Nothing.”
Richard crossed the room.
“You had no permission to enter that room.”
Sophia laughed nervously.
“I didn’t enter it.”
Ethan pointed at the screen.
“We just watched you.”
“You watched me walk toward it.”
“With Daniel’s key.”
“That proves nothing.”
Richard stepped closer.
“Where is the key?”
“I don’t have it.”
“Where is it?”
“I gave it back.”
“To Daniel?”
“Yes.”
Richard grabbed his phone.
Sophia’s voice sharpened.
“Don’t call him.”
Richard looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because he’s not involved.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed.
“You just told me you gave him the key.”
Sophia froze.
Grace whispered.
“Another mistake.”
Sophia glared at her.
Ethan’s patience broke.
“What did you take from the office?”
Sophia looked at him.
“You really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“You won’t like it.”
“I don’t care.”
Sophia stepped closer.
“I took proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“That your father planned to cut you out.”
Richard frowned.
“What?”
Sophia reached into her handbag.
She removed a folded document.
Then she handed it to Ethan.
He unfolded it.
The top read LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF RICHARD WHITMORE.
Ethan scanned the page.
His face changed.
Grace moved beside him.
“What does it say?”
Ethan’s voice was barely audible.
“It says Dad leaves the controlling interest in Whitmore Holdings to you.”
Grace stared at Richard.
“What?”
Ethan continued reading.
“It removes me as successor trustee.”
Richard’s brow furrowed.
“That is not my will.”
Sophia smiled bitterly.
“Of course you’d say that.”
Richard took the paper.
He read three lines.
His expression changed from confusion to anger.
“This is forged.”
Ethan looked at him.
“You’re sure?”
Richard stared at his son.
“I signed my current will seven months ago.”
He held up the document.
“This says it was executed three weeks ago.”
Sophia folded her arms.
“And Daniel witnessed it.”
Richard looked toward the signature block.
Daniel Pierce’s signature appeared at the bottom.
Grace whispered.
“Oh, my God.”
Ethan turned toward Sophia.
“Where did you get this?”
“His office.”
Richard examined it.
“This document was planted.”
Sophia scoffed.
“Convenient.”
Richard pointed toward the signature.
“My name is misspelled.”
Everyone stared.
Ethan looked closer.
The middle name read Alexander.
Richard’s legal middle name was Andrew.
Sophia’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second.
Richard saw it.
“You didn’t know.”
Sophia stepped backward.
Richard continued.
“You didn’t know because you copied information from the wrong record.”
“I didn’t make that.”
“Then Daniel did.”
Sophia shook her head.
“No.”
Richard’s voice became hard.
“One of you did.”
Ethan took the document.
“What was this supposed to accomplish?”
Richard looked at him.
“Make you believe I betrayed you.”
Grace stared toward Sophia.
“And isolate him from Dad.”
Sophia’s breathing quickened.
Ethan’s face slowly changed.
Weeks of arguments suddenly rearranged themselves in his memory.
Sophia had repeatedly told him that Richard wanted Grace to inherit everything.
She had insisted Richard believed Ethan was weak.
She had shown him emails supposedly written by Richard.
She had encouraged him to confront his father.
Ethan had refused.
Until tonight.
He looked at Sophia.
“Those emails.”
Sophia’s eyes moved away.
Ethan stepped toward her.
“The emails you showed me from Dad.”
Richard frowned.
“What emails?”
Sophia said nothing.
Ethan pulled out his phone.
He searched quickly.
Then he opened one.
The message appeared to come from Richard.
ETHAN DOES NOT HAVE THE TEMPERAMENT TO CONTROL THIS FAMILY.
Grace read over his shoulder.
Richard shook his head.
“I never wrote that.”
Ethan looked at Sophia.
“You told me you found these on the shared office computer.”
“I did.”
Richard held out his hand.
Ethan gave him the phone.
Richard studied the sender information.
Then he frowned.
“This email address has an extra letter.”
Ethan looked closer.
It was almost identical to Richard’s address.
Almost.
One character had been added.
Ethan’s face went blank.
The false will.
The fake emails.
The forged transfers.
The staged assault.
Everything pointed in the same direction.
Sophia had not spent one evening trying to frame Richard.
She had spent months constructing a reality around Ethan.
He looked at his wife.
“How long?”
Sophia’s expression became cold.
“How long what?”
“How long have you been doing this to me?”
She looked at the people around her.
Then she did something none of them expected.
She smiled.
“Long enough.”
Ethan stared.
Richard’s phone rang.
He answered.
The voice on the other end belonged to his private investigator.
Richard listened without speaking.
His face darkened.
“When?”
Everyone watched him.
Richard slowly looked toward Sophia.
The investigator continued speaking.
Richard closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he ended the call.
Grace stepped closer.
“What happened?”
Richard looked at Ethan.
“Daniel Pierce was found unconscious in his office twenty minutes ago.”
Sophia stopped breathing.
Ethan stared at her.
Richard continued.
May you like
“And the safe containing the original trust records is empty.”
---
