Chapter 7 - The Man Margaret BroughtThe police moved first.
The hidden room was too narrow for everyone to move safely, so we stayed behind the shelves.
Footsteps descended the staircase.
One pair.
Then another.
Margaret appeared.
Beside her stood a man wearing a dark coat.
I had never seen him before.
But Lily did.
She whispered:
“That's the man from Grandma's house.”
My heart stopped.
Margaret looked around the room.
“You should have left this buried.”
I stepped forward.
“Who is he?”
She didn't answer.
The man did.
“My name is Victor Hale.”
Daniel stared at him.
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“We've met before.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“You thought wrong.”
Margaret looked furious.
“Victor, enough.”
He ignored her.
He looked at Michael.
“Your father sends his regards.”
Michael's eyes filled with shock.
“Where is he?”
Victor smiled.
“Alive.”
Margaret turned.
“This wasn't the agreement.”
Victor laughed.
“Your agreement expired years ago.”
Daniel whispered:
“Jonathan didn't disappear.”
“No,” Victor said.
“He went underground.”
Michael stepped forward.
“Why?”
Victor looked at him.
“Because Margaret wanted him dead.”
Margaret screamed.
“Liar!”
Victor reached into his coat.
The police drew weapons.
He stopped.
Slowly, he pulled out a photograph.
He held it up.
It showed Margaret standing beside a car.
Beside her was my father.
And in the trunk was something wrapped in plastic.
I felt sick.
“What is that?”
Victor looked at Margaret.
“The night she believed Jonathan was dead.”
I stared at the photograph.
Then at Margaret.
She wasn't denying it anymore.
She simply stood there.
Breathing hard.
I whispered:
“My father helped Jonathan escape.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
Victor smiled.
“Lily's father isn't Michael.”
The room went silent.
I turned slowly toward Michael.
He looked devastated.
“What?”
Victor continued.
“Michael raised Lily.”
“But he isn't her biological father.”
My heart stopped.
“Then who is?”
Victor looked at Lily.
“The man Margaret has spent seven years trying to erase.”
“Who?”
He said the name.
“Jonathan Vale.”
I couldn't breathe.
Michael stared at me.
“My mother…”
Victor interrupted.
“Your mother knew.”
Then he looked at me.
“And your father knew.”
Everything spun.
Lily's biological father was Jonathan.
My father's enemy.
Margaret's brother-in-law.
The supposed dead man.
The man whose bloodline controlled the family trust.
The man who was still alive.
I whispered:
“Where is he?”
Victor smiled.
“You're looking at the wrong place.”
He pointed toward the ceiling.
“Jonathan has been in this house for three days.”
Everyone froze.
“What?”
Victor looked at Margaret.
“She never told you?”
Margaret's face collapsed.
“No…”
Then we heard a cough.
Above us.
From inside the library.
A man's voice followed.
“Margaret.”
She looked up.
Her face became pure terror.
Jonathan spoke again.
“You really should have let them come to the party.”
Margaret stumbled backward.
I ran upstairs.
The library door was open.
A man stood beside the fireplace.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Thin.
But unmistakably the man from the photograph.
Jonathan Vale.
He looked at me.
Then at Lily.
His eyes filled with tears.
“I have waited seven years to meet my daughter.”
Lily held my hand.
I couldn't speak.
Then Jonathan said the words that destroyed whatever remained of Margaret's story.
“Emma, your father didn't die of a heart attack.”
I whispered:
“How did he die?”
Jonathan looked toward Margaret.
May you like
“He was poisoned.”
And Margaret screamed.
