Chapter 8: The Conservatory
The old conservatory smelled of wet stone and roses.
Rain struck the glass roof above Grace like thousands of tiny fingers.
She pushed through the doors alone.
The diamond necklace was nowhere in sight.
Neither was the person who had summoned her.
She held the original birth certificate tightly in her hand.
“I'm here.””
Nothing.
Grace took another step.
“You wanted the certificate.””
A light flickered.
Then came a voice.
“You shouldn't have brought anyone.””
Grace turned.
Helen Whitmore stood near the far windows.
The elderly woman wore a long black dress and carried the missing necklace in both hands.
Grace's breath caught.
“Give it to me.””
Helen smiled sadly.
“You look exactly like Victoria.””
“You knew my mother.””
“I knew everything about her.””
Grace stepped closer.
“Did you poison her?””
Helen's expression changed.
“No.””
“Then who did?””
Helen looked down at the necklace.
“Someone who wanted her inheritance.””
Grace's voice hardened.
“Evelyn?””
Helen shook her head.
“Not Evelyn.””
“Richard?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
Helen lifted her eyes.
“Your father.””
Grace froze.
“Michael?””
Helen nodded.
“He wasn't protecting you.””
Grace shook her head.
“You're lying.””
“Am I?””
Helen walked toward the center table.
“I watched Victoria trust that man with everything.””
Grace's hands tightened.
“Why would he kill her?””
“Because Victoria discovered the truth.””
“What truth?””
Helen placed the necklace on the table.
“That Michael wasn't the man she thought he was.””
Grace stared.
Helen continued.
“Your father had another family.””
Grace's face went blank.
“No.””
“He was married when he met Victoria.””
Grace shook her head.
“That's not enough to make him a murderer.””
“No.””
Helen reached into her purse.
“This is.””
She pulled out a photograph.
Grace took it.
It showed Michael standing beside a man Grace didn't recognize.
The man wore a dark suit.
A silver watch.
Grace looked closer.
“That's Richard.””
Helen nodded.
“Twenty-eight years ago.””
Grace stared.
“Why were they together?””
“Because they were partners.””
“In what?””
Helen's voice dropped.
“The transfer of Victoria's inheritance.””
Grace looked toward the necklace.
Helen continued.
“Victoria discovered they were moving money through shell companies.””
Grace's stomach turned.
“She found out.””
“Yes.””
“And they killed her.””
Helen shook her head.
“Michael didn't.””
Grace looked up.
“Then who?””
Helen's eyes filled with tears.
“Richard.””
Grace stopped.
“No.””
“He gave Victoria the poison.””
Grace backed away.
“No.””
“He told her it was medication.””
Grace shook her head violently.
“My father wouldn't—”
“Your father didn't know.””
Grace stared at her.
“What?””
Helen whispered, “Michael was blamed because he disappeared.””
Grace's mind raced.
“Why did he disappear?””
“Because Richard threatened him.””
Grace remembered the photograph.
Richard's watch.
The hospital.
The secret.
Everything suddenly connected.
“Why would Richard protect me all these years?””
Helen answered quietly.
“Because the trust was the one thing he couldn't steal.””
Grace looked at the necklace.
“And the transfer yesterday?””
Helen nodded.
“Richard forged it.””
Grace's breath caught.
“Not Evelyn?””
“No.””
“Then why did Evelyn look terrified?””
“Because she knew.””
Grace stared.
Helen picked up the necklace.
“Evelyn helped Richard alter the paperwork. She thought they were transferring the necklace to a private holding company.””
Grace's voice trembled.
“Why?””
“Because Richard had discovered the trust would automatically release the full inheritance when you turned thirty.””
Grace stared at her.
“Twelve million dollars.””
“More now.””
Helen smiled sadly.
“Much more.””
Grace looked down at the birth certificate.
“And my mother?””
“She left you more than money.””
“What?””
Helen pointed toward the certificate.
“Look at the back.””
Grace turned it over.
There was handwriting she'd never seen.
The ink had faded.
But she could read it.
*If anything happens to me, the truth is in the necklace.*
Grace looked up.
“The necklace?””
Helen nodded.
“Victoria hid something inside it.””
Grace's heart raced.
“What?””
Before Helen could answer, the conservatory doors slammed shut.
Grace turned.
Richard stood outside the glass.
His face was expressionless.
Beside him stood Evelyn.
And behind them were two police officers.
Richard lifted one hand.
Helen whispered, “You were followed.””
Grace stepped backward.
Richard spoke through the glass.
“Give me the certificate, Grace.””
Grace held it tighter.
“No.””
His expression hardened.
“Then you're going to learn why your mother was so afraid of me.””
He raised his phone.
A video began playing on the glass-mounted security screen.
Victoria appeared.
Young.
Pregnant.
Terrified.
And sitting beside her was Michael.
Victoria looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this…”
She swallowed.
“…Richard has already killed me.””
Grace covered her mouth.
The video continued.
“And the man everyone thinks is my husband…”
Victoria looked at Michael.
“…isn't the father of my child.””
Grace stared at Michael through the glass.
Then at the necklace.
The hidden truth inside it suddenly mattered more than everything else.
May you like
And Helen whispered one final warning:
“Grace, don't open the necklace until you know who your real father is.””
