Chapter 2 - Nobody spoke after the officer found my ring.I touched my finger automatically.
The ring was still there.
The diamond Adrian had given me on our second anniversary.
Or so I thought.
The officer held the second ring inside a clear evidence bag.
It was identical.
Same design.
Same stone.
Same tiny scratch beneath the setting.
I stepped closer.
“How?”
The officer looked at me.
“You tell me.”
“I have never seen that ring before.”
Adrian finally found his voice.
“It's not hers.”
I looked at him.
“Then whose is it?”
He didn't answer.
Charles did.
“It's a replica.”
The officer turned toward him.
“A replica of his wife's wedding ring?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Charles stared at the floor.
“I don't know.”
“That is not a convincing answer.”
Eleanor suddenly began crying.
Not loudly.
Softly.
Almost theatrically.
“This family has been through enough tonight.”
I almost laughed.
Enough?
My husband had smashed a plate into my head.
My in-laws had tried to take my home.
And now the police had found a hidden box containing evidence related to Adrian's dead first wife and a duplicate of my wedding ring.
But apparently they were the victims.
I looked at Maya.
She had gone completely still.
“Maya,” I whispered.
She looked at me.
“What does Evelyn have to do with me?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Everything.”
Adrian snapped.
“Stop talking.”
Maya flinched.
That told me more than her words could have.
The officer noticed too.
“Ms. Maya, I need you to come with me.”
Charles stepped forward.
“She is family.”
“That wasn't a request.”
Maya looked at me before following him.
As she passed, she whispered,
“Do not leave this house with Adrian.”
Then she was gone.
I turned toward my husband.
He looked exhausted.
Bloodless.
“You're coming home with me,” he said.
I shook my head.
“No.”
“You're my wife.”
“You assaulted me.”
“Claire…”
“No.”
He stepped toward me.
An officer immediately moved between us.
“Back up.”
Adrian stopped.
His eyes met mine.
There was something strange in them.
A warning.
A plea.
Maybe both.
Then he said,
“You don't understand what you're involved in.”
I felt a chill.
“What am I involved in?”
He lowered his voice.
“You think tonight is about money.”
“It isn't.”
“You think my mother wants your condo.”
“She does.”
“You think my father wants your money.”
“He does.”
Adrian looked toward the basement.
“But that's not why they wanted you here.”
I stared at him.
“What was tonight about?”
He didn't answer.
A phone began ringing upstairs.
Everyone looked around.
It was coming from the study.
One officer followed the sound.
A moment later he returned holding a phone.
“It's been ringing for several minutes.”
He checked the screen.
Then his expression changed.
“Claire?”
“Yes?”
“The contact name says 'Evelyn.'”
The room went silent.
My heart stopped.
“That's impossible.”
The officer handed me the phone.
It was an old model.
Cracked screen.
No password.
The call was still coming in.
I stared at the name.
EVELYN.
My hand shook.
I answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then a woman's breathing came through the speaker.
Slow.
Careful.
Alive.
“Claire?”
I couldn't move.
The voice continued.
“You finally found the basement.”
My knees nearly gave out.
Adrian whispered,
“No.”
The woman said one final thing.
“He never told you what happened to me.”
The line went dead.
Adrian sank into a chair.
I stared at him.
“Was that Evelyn?”
He didn't answer.
“Adrian.”
He covered his face with both hands.
And for several seconds, the only sound in the room was the distant flashing of police radios.
Then one officer returned from the basement.
“Detective,” he said quietly.
The detective looked up.
“What?”
“We found a second room.”
“Where?”
“Behind a false wall.”
The detective frowned.
“What's inside?”
The officer hesitated.
Then he said,
“A bed.”
May you like
Nobody breathed.
“And blood stains.”
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