Chapter 2 - The Secret Inside the Silver DriveAlexander picked up the flash drive.
“Emma.”
I stared at it.
“Don't.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Because you don't know who sent it.”
“I know.”
“No. You don't.”
He stepped closer.
“Then tell me.”
I wanted to.
God, I wanted to.
But fear had a way of making every truthful sentence feel like a loaded weapon.
Noah clung to my hand.
“Daddy, don't open it.”
Alexander looked down.
“What did you say?”
Noah whispered.
“Mommy said not to.”
I stopped breathing.
Alexander crouched.
“Mommy told you?”
Noah nodded.
“Before she went away.”
Eleanor suddenly interrupted.
“That is enough.”
Alexander looked up.
“No.”
His mother stopped.
“I want an explanation.”
“There is nothing to explain,” Eleanor said. “The boy is confused.”
“Noah remembers things.”
“He was three.”
“And you somehow know he is wrong?”
Eleanor’s eyes flashed.
Alexander stood.
“Everyone out.”
The ballroom emptied quickly.
Vanessa was already gone.
Madeline and Claire disappeared with their families.
The musicians packed in silence.
Security closed the doors.
Within ten minutes, only seven people remained.
Alexander.
Eleanor.
Noah.
Me.
Two security officers.
And Halbrook.
I noticed something immediately.
Halbrook was sweating.
Alexander saw it too.
“Did you know about the drive?”
“No.”
“Look at me.”
Halbrook raised his eyes.
“I said no.”
Alexander held out the drive.
“Plug it in.”
Halbrook stiffened.
Eleanor stepped between them.
“Alexander.”
“Move.”
“This is not the place.”
“This is my house.”
“This concerns your father's legacy.”
“My father is dead.”
Eleanor’s expression changed.
“He left responsibilities.”
“No. He left secrets.”
Silence.
Alexander handed the drive to security.
“Use the isolated laptop.”
We moved into a private office.
Noah sat beside me on the sofa.
He looked exhausted.
I held his little hand.
The laptop screen lit up.
One folder appeared.
No title.
Just a date.
December 14.
The date of Alexander’s wife’s death.
Alexander stared at the screen.
Halbrook whispered, “Impossible.”
Alexander turned.
“What?”
“I thought those files were destroyed.”
My stomach dropped.
Alexander slowly looked at him.
“What files?”
Halbrook said nothing.
“Answer me.”
Halbrook lowered his head.
“There was an investigation.”
“What investigation?”
“After your wife died.”
Alexander looked at Eleanor.
She didn't move.
“You told me there was no investigation.”
“There wasn't.”
Halbrook nervously adjusted his tie.
“There was an internal inquiry.”
Alexander’s voice became dangerous.
“About what?”
Halbrook looked at me.
That was the first time I knew the secret was connected to me.
“There were concerns about the household.”
“What concerns?”
“Missing medications.”
Alexander went still.
“What?”
Halbrook continued.
“Several doses of your wife's medication disappeared during the final month.”
Noah squeezed my hand.
Alexander stared at the laptop.
“Why wasn't I told?”
“Your mother insisted the matter be handled privately.”
Alexander looked at Eleanor.
“Is that true?”
She said nothing.
I wanted to leave.
Instead, I stayed.
The folder finally opened.
There was one video file.
Alexander clicked it.
The screen showed his late wife sitting inside the same study I had discovered.
She looked tired.
Terrified.
And pregnant.
Alexander froze.
She was speaking directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, Alexander, then something happened to me.”
He stopped breathing.
She continued.
“Please don't trust my mother-in-law.”
Eleanor stepped back.
“No.”
The video continued.
“And don't trust the woman they are about to bring into this house.”
Alexander turned to me.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
His wife looked directly into the camera.
“There is one person I trust.”
She paused.
“She works in this house.”
My hands went cold.
The screen showed a photograph.
It was me.
A picture taken years before I had ever worked for the Sterlings.
Alexander stared.
Noah whispered:
“Mommy liked Emma.”
I closed my eyes.
Because this was the part I had been afraid of.
I had never met Alexander’s wife.
At least, not officially.
And yet she had left a message about me.
The video suddenly glitched.
A second image appeared.
A handwritten note.
Three words.
FIND HER DAUGHTER.
Alexander turned toward me.
“Emma…”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
“Who is your sister?”
I couldn't answer.
He stepped closer.
“Who is your sister?”
Before I could speak, a loud crash came from the hallway.
One of the security officers ran out.
Seconds later, he shouted:
“THE ARCHIVE ROOM IS ON FIRE!”
Alexander looked at me.
May you like
Then at the burning hallway.
And I knew someone had just decided to destroy the rest of the evidence.
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