Chapter 2: The Note Hidden In My Hand
After dinner, Victoria insisted on showing me around the house.
I should have been impressed.
Anyone else probably would have been.
The mansion had everything.
A private library.
A wine cellar.
A home theater.
A room filled with antique furniture imported from Europe.
But I couldn't stop thinking about Emily.
Everywhere I went, I noticed signs of control.
The family photos.
The carefully arranged decorations.
The way every employee moved quietly.
The way Daniel changed whenever his parents entered the room.
It felt like everyone inside that house knew invisible rules.
Rules nobody explained.
But everyone followed.
"This room was my grandmother's," Victoria said as she opened the door to a sitting room.
I smiled politely.
"It's beautiful.""
"It has remained untouched for twenty years.""
"Why?""
She looked at me.
"Some things are valuable because they stay exactly the same.""
I didn't know why that sentence bothered me.
Maybe because I suddenly thought about Emily.
Was she valuable to them only if she stayed exactly the same?
Quiet.
Obedient.
Invisible.
Around nine-thirty, I found Emily standing alone in the hallway.
She was holding a glass of water.
When she saw me, she froze.
Not surprised.
Afraid.
"Emily?""
She looked toward the staircase.
Then toward the living room.
Like she was checking if someone was watching.
"Are you okay?""
She nodded quickly.
"I'm fine.""
It was the same answer people gave when they were clearly not fine.
"You don't have to be nervous around me.""
Her expression changed.
Almost like she wanted to say something.
But she stopped.
"Claire...""
The way she said my name sounded like a warning.
Before I could respond, Daniel called from the other room.
"Claire?""
Emily immediately stepped back.
"I should go.""
"Wait.""
But she was already walking away.
I watched her disappear upstairs.
Something was wrong.
I knew it.
The question was what.
At ten fifteen, Daniel and I were preparing to leave.
I was standing near the entrance when Emily appeared.
She moved quickly.
Almost too quickly.
"Claire.""
I turned.
She was holding something in her hand.
A folded piece of paper.
Before I could ask what it was, she grabbed my fingers and pushed it into my palm.
Her hand was shaking.
"Don't open it here.""
I stared at her.
"Emily...""
"Please.""
The desperation in her voice stopped me.
Then she walked away.
Daniel approached seconds later.
"What happened?""
I closed my hand around the paper.
"Nothing.""
The lie came out naturally.
That scared me.
Because I wasn't someone who usually lied.
But something told me Emily needed me to.
The entire drive home, I felt the folded paper against my palm.
Daniel talked about wedding plans.
The guest list.
The flowers.
The venue.
I answered when necessary.
But my mind was somewhere else.
At home, after Daniel went to shower, I finally opened it.
The handwriting was messy.
Like she had written it quickly.
Like she was afraid someone would find her.
There were only two sentences.
"Come back at 10 p.m. alone.""
"You will see what you need to see.""
I read it three times.
My first thought was that it had to be some misunderstanding.
My second thought was that Emily needed help.
My third thought was Daniel.
Because if Emily was in trouble...
Why hadn't her own brother noticed?
I sat on my bed staring at the note.
A part of me wanted to throw it away.
I was about to marry Daniel.
Getting involved in family problems could destroy everything.
But another part of me remembered Emily's face.
The way she looked at Victoria.
The way she stopped speaking before she finished a sentence.
The way she ate that terrible bowl of oatmeal while surrounded by expensive food.
Something was happening.
And I couldn't ignore it.
At 9:40 p.m., I drove back to the Mercer estate.
I told myself I was only going because I wanted answers.
Not because I was suspicious.
Not because I was afraid.
But when I parked outside the gates and turned off the engine, I realized something.
May you like
I wasn't afraid of what I would discover.
I was afraid of what it would mean if I was right.
