Chapter 3: The Man in the Gray Suit
Richard smiled.
Not nervously.
Not apologetically.
It was the kind of smile a man wore when he had already decided how the story would end.
Alexander stared at him.
“Richard.””
The name sounded different coming from him now.
Not recognition.
Warning.
Richard slowly set his champagne glass on the mantel.
“Yes?””
The security chief stepped forward.
“Sir, should I—”
“No.””
Alexander lifted one hand.
His eyes remained fixed on Richard.
“Leave him where he is.””
Richard adjusted his cuff.
“You've become suspicious, Alexander.””
“You've become stupid.””
A few guests shifted uneasily.
Richard laughed softly.
“I wondered how long it would take.””
My attention stayed on the black folder under his arm.
That was the same folder I'd seen beside the greenhouse.
The same one he'd carried while Vivian stood beside him.
Daniel moved closer to Alexander.
“That's him.””
Richard glanced at Daniel.
“Daniel.””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“You shouldn't have come.””
Richard smiled.
“And yet here I am.””
Vivian suddenly whispered, “Richard, please.””
Alexander heard her.
He turned toward his wife.
“Please?””
She looked at him, tears shining in her eyes.
“I can explain.””
“You've said that three times tonight.””
“This isn't what you think.””
Richard laughed again.
“Vivian, don't waste your breath.””
She flinched.
Alexander noticed.
Then Richard lifted the black folder.
“You've been asking the wrong questions.””
Alexander's voice was ice.
“Then give me the right ones.””
Richard opened the folder.
“Ask why your wife needed that inheritance.””
Vivian closed her eyes.
Alexander looked at her.
“Why?””
She said nothing.
Richard answered for her.
“Because without it, she would lose everything.””
“I already provided for her,” Alexander said.
Richard shook his head.
“No. You provided an allowance.””
“I gave her a home.””
“You gave her a cage.””
Alexander took one step forward.
“And you were the one holding the key?””
Richard's smile vanished.
For the first time, anger flickered across his face.
Daniel quietly moved between them.
“Everybody needs to calm down.””
Richard looked at Daniel.
“You've always loved playing the hero.””
Daniel's expression darkened.
“You hired me once.””
“And you betrayed me.””
“I refused to kill him.””
A gasp moved through the room.
Alexander stared at Daniel.
“You were hired to kill me?””
Daniel didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The silence did it for him.
Alexander took a slow breath.
“When?””
“Three weeks ago,” Daniel said.
Vivian began crying.
Alexander looked at her.
“Was she there?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.””
Vivian whispered, “It wasn't supposed to happen like this.””
Alexander laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“Of course.””
He looked around the room.
At the guests.
At the servants.
At the security team.
At his wife.
At Richard.
“So this is why.””
Richard frowned.
“Why what?””
Alexander walked toward the table where the contract papers from earlier still lay scattered.
“My revised will.””
Richard's expression changed.
Just slightly.
Alexander saw it.
“You were worried I would sign it.””
Richard didn't answer.
“You weren't interested in whether I lived.””
Alexander's voice grew louder.
“You were interested in what happened after I died.””
Richard slowly closed the folder.
“Now you're beginning to understand.””
I stood near the doorway, barely breathing.
There was something about Richard that frightened me more than Vivian.
Vivian looked desperate.
Richard looked prepared.
Alexander turned toward me.
“Ethan.””
It was the first time he'd used my name that evening.
I looked up.
“Sir?””
“You said you were trimming roses when you saw Vivian.””
“Yes.””
“Why were you behind the sunroom?””
I frowned.
“Because the climbing roses there were damaged.””
“By what?””
“I thought wind.””
Richard's expression changed.
My memory suddenly clicked.
There had been broken branches.
Fresh ones.
Not wind damage.
Someone had climbed over the hedge.
I looked at Richard.
“You came through the garden.””
Richard smiled faintly.
“You noticed.””
Alexander turned toward him.
“You were on my property.””
“I've been on your property many times.””
“Without permission?””
“Your wife invited me.””
Vivian whispered, “Richard…”
He turned toward her.
“Don't look at me like that.””
“You promised.””
Richard's eyes hardened.
“I promised you a way out.””
Alexander looked between them.
“A way out of what?””
Vivian wiped her face.
“You don't understand.””
“Then explain it.””
She shook her head.
“I can't.””
Richard said quietly, “She can.””
Vivian looked at him with pure fear.
“Don't.””
Richard opened the folder again.
He removed a document.
“This is your medical authorization.””
Alexander looked at it.
“What is that?””
“Your wife signed permission for a private physician to access your records.””
Alexander frowned.
“Why?””
Richard's answer was simple.
“To make your death look natural.””
The room went silent.
One of the guests whispered, “Jesus.””
Alexander's hand tightened around the edge of the table.
“Who is the doctor?””
Richard looked at Vivian.
She didn't speak.
“Who?””
Richard turned the page.
“Dr. Samuel Reeves.””
Alexander's face went still.
I recognized the name.
Everyone in the region did.
Samuel Reeves was the physician who had treated Alexander's father.
He had been a family doctor for decades.
Alexander whispered, “He died eight years ago.””
Daniel looked at the document.
“Then this isn't a current authorization.””
Richard smiled.
“No.””
Alexander stared at him.
“Whose signature is that?””
Richard didn't answer.
Alexander looked down.
I stepped closer.
There was something familiar about the handwriting.
A thick downward stroke.
The shape of the H.
The uneven crossing of the t.
Then I saw it.
“That isn't Vivian's signature.””
Every head turned toward me.
Vivian stared at me.
“What?””
I pointed.
“I've seen her sign delivery records in the garden office.””
Alexander looked closer.
“You're right.””
Richard's face hardened.
Daniel immediately understood.
“The signature was forged.””
Alexander looked at Richard.
“By whom?””
Richard slowly shut the folder.
“You're asking the wrong question again.””
He reached inside his jacket.
The security guards immediately drew closer.
Richard stopped.
Slowly, he removed a small envelope instead.
He held it up.
“Your real problem isn't Vivian.””
Alexander stared at the envelope.
“Then who?””
Richard looked directly at me.
“The gardener.””
My stomach dropped.
“What?””
Vivian's expression changed instantly.
Daniel swore under his breath.
Alexander looked at Richard as though he'd misheard.
“You're accusing my gardener?””
Richard gave a small nod.
“Not accusing.””
He held out the envelope.
“Exposing.””
I didn't move.
Alexander stepped between us.
“Don't you dare.””
Richard smiled.
“Open it.””
Alexander snatched the envelope from his hand.
He tore it open.
Inside was a photograph.
Alexander stared at it.
Then his face went completely white.
I couldn't see the picture from where I stood.
“What's on it?”” Vivian whispered.
Alexander didn't answer.
Richard did.
“The gardener isn't who you think he is.””
My pulse hammered.
“I don't know what he's talking about.””
Richard looked straight at me.
“Then tell them your real name.””
Silence.
Alexander slowly turned toward me.
“Ethan.””
I couldn't speak.
Richard's voice became colder.
“Tell your employer who your father was.””
My hands went numb.
Because no one at the Hawthorne estate was supposed to know about my father.
No one.
Not Alexander.
Not Vivian.
Not Daniel.
But Richard knew.
He knew the name I'd buried for fifteen years.
The name that connected me to the Hawthorne family.
Alexander looked at me.
“Ethan…”
I finally whispered,
“My name isn't Ethan.””
Vivian's eyes widened.
And Alexander took one step backward.
Then I said the name I had spent half my life trying to forget.
“Elias Mercer.””
May you like
Richard smiled.
Because he knew exactly what that name meant.
