CHAPTER 2 THE WOMAN WITH THE KEY
The lock clicked.
Gavin's eyes snapped toward the door.
Evelyn grabbed his wrist.
“Don't.”
The handle began to turn.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Someone outside knew the door was locked.
And they had a key.
Gavin's mind raced.
This was his private office.
Only a handful of people had access.
His personal assistant.
His security chief.
His head of household.
And Priscilla.
The door opened two inches.
“Gavin?”
Priscilla's voice was soft.
Almost frightened.
Gavin looked at his mother.
Evelyn shook her head.
Then she whispered,
“Remember what I told you.”
Gavin stepped toward the door.
“Priscilla.”
“Yes?”
“Why do you have a key?”
Silence.
A long, uncomfortable silence.
Then Priscilla laughed softly.
“You gave it to me.”
“I did?”
“Last month.”
Gavin's eyes narrowed.
“I don't remember.”
“You've been under so much pressure lately.”
Her voice sounded perfectly reasonable.
That was what disturbed him.
Priscilla had always been good at sounding reasonable.
She could make an accusation sound like concern.
A threat sound like affection.
A lie sound like a fact.
Gavin opened the door wider.
Priscilla stood outside.
Her expression was worried.
Her champagne-colored dress was immaculate.
Not a single wrinkle.
Not a single sign that anything had gone wrong.
Behind her stood three guests.
His chief financial officer.
His personal attorney.
And his security director.
Gavin stared at them.
Why were they here?
Priscilla smiled.
“I was worried.”
“About what?”
“You disappeared.”
Gavin glanced toward Taylor.
The little girl was still standing at the end of the hallway.
Watching.
Priscilla noticed her.
Her expression immediately hardened.
“Why is she still here?”
Gavin didn't answer.
Instead, he stepped into the hallway and quietly closed the door behind him.
Priscilla looked past him.
“Is your mother in there?”
Gavin said nothing.
Her face changed.
Only for a fraction of a second.
But he saw it.
Fear.
Real fear.
Then it disappeared.
“I thought we agreed she wasn't invited.”
Gavin's voice was calm.
“Did we?”
Priscilla stared at him.
“Yes.”
“I don't remember agreeing to that.”
“You said she wasn't welcome.”
“I said I didn't want drama.”
Priscilla's eyes flickered.
“Exactly.”
Gavin studied her.
“What did my mother tell you?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
Priscilla froze.
The three men behind her exchanged glances.
Gavin noticed.
That was when he realized something.
They weren't standing behind Priscilla because they were worried about him.
They were waiting.
Waiting to see what he knew.
Gavin smiled faintly.
“Gentlemen.”
His CFO swallowed.
“Mr. Roberson.”
“Why are you here?”
The attorney answered first.
“Ms. Ashford asked us to come.”
Gavin looked at Priscilla.
“Why?”
She hesitated.
Then she smiled.
“Because I thought you might need legal advice.”
“About what?”
“Your mother.”
There it was.
Gavin's stomach tightened.
He had said nothing about Evelyn being inside.
Yet Priscilla already knew.
He looked back at the closed door.
“How did you know my mother was here?”
Priscilla didn't answer.
Gavin stepped closer.
“How did you know?”
“I saw her arrive.”
“When?”
“Earlier.”
“With whom?”
Priscilla's face remained composed.
“Alone.”
Gavin nodded slowly.
Then he looked at Taylor.
The little girl was staring at Priscilla.
Not at Gavin.
Not at the men.
Only Priscilla.
And Taylor looked terrified.
Gavin crouched beside her.
“Taylor.”
The child leaned closer.
“What did you hear?”
Taylor looked at Priscilla.
Then at Gavin.
Her voice became a whisper.
“She said…”
Gavin waited.
Taylor's tiny fingers grabbed his sleeve.
“She said nobody can let your mommy talk to you.”
Priscilla's face went white.
The hallway fell silent.
Gavin slowly stood.
He looked at Priscilla.
“Is that true?”
“No.”
She answered too quickly.
Gavin noticed.
“Taylor is three years old.”
“I know.”
“She doesn't know about our family problems.”
“I know.”
“So why would she say that?”
Priscilla stepped forward.
“Gavin, she's a child. She's confused.”
Taylor suddenly began crying.
“No!”
She pointed at Priscilla.
“She said it!”
Priscilla's expression turned cold.
“Enough.”
Taylor flinched.
Gavin immediately moved between them.
“Don't speak to her like that.”
Priscilla stared at him.
Something had changed.
The warmth was gone.
For the first time, Gavin saw anger underneath her polished exterior.
“Gavin, you're making a mistake.”
“Maybe.”
“You're listening to a child instead of me?”
“I'm listening to everyone.”
He paused.
“But I'm starting to notice who keeps trying to stop me from listening.”
Priscilla's lips parted.
Before she could answer, Gavin's phone vibrated.
Once.
Then again.
He looked down.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
DON'T TRUST THE WOMAN IN THE GOLD DRESS.
Gavin stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
SHE KNOWS ABOUT THE SECOND ACCOUNT.
His blood ran cold.
He looked at his CFO.
The man's face had gone pale.
Gavin slowly turned the phone toward him.
“Second account?”
The CFO said nothing.
Gavin's voice hardened.
“Answer me.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“You just looked at the message.”
“I…”
Gavin stepped closer.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“Then why are you shaking?”
The CFO's hands trembled.
Priscilla suddenly interrupted.
“Gavin, stop this.”
He turned toward her.
“Why?”
“Because you're humiliating everyone.”
“No.”
Gavin's voice became dangerously quiet.
“Someone has been moving money through my company.”
Priscilla stared at him.
“That's ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
He pulled the document from his pocket.
The bank transfer.
His forged signature.
Priscilla glanced at it.
Only once.
But that was enough.
Gavin saw her eyes move directly to the account number.
She recognized it.
His heart sank.
“You know that account.”
“No.”
“You looked at the number.”
“I've seen thousands of accounts.”
“This one?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Priscilla stepped backward.
“Because you're paranoid.”
Gavin smiled.
“Maybe.”
Then he said,
“That's exactly what my mother told me six months ago.”
Priscilla went completely still.
The door behind Gavin suddenly opened.
Evelyn stepped into the hallway.
Her voice was calm.
“Because six months ago, I found the first transfer.”
Priscilla stared at her.
“You.”
Evelyn looked directly at her.
“Yes.”
For several seconds, neither woman spoke.
Then Priscilla laughed.
A strange, almost empty laugh.
“You really won't stop, will you?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Not until my son knows the truth.”
“You've poisoned him against me.”
“No.”
Evelyn looked at Gavin.
“You did that yourself.”
Priscilla's face hardened.
“You have no proof.”
Evelyn reached into the folder.
“I have enough.”
She pulled out another document.
Gavin looked down.
It was a property transfer.
A luxury condominium in La Jolla.
Purchased through one of his companies.
The buyer's name wasn't Priscilla.
It was a woman named Marissa Cole.
Gavin frowned.
“Who is Marissa Cole?”
Priscilla's expression changed.
Just slightly.
Evelyn saw it.
“So you remember her.”
Gavin looked at Priscilla.
“Who is she?”
Priscilla shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Evelyn placed another photograph on the table.
Priscilla standing beside Marissa.
They were outside a private clinic.
Gavin stared at the photograph.
“When was this?”
Evelyn answered.
“Three months ago.”
Priscilla's voice rose.
“This proves nothing.”
Evelyn reached into the folder again.
“This does.”
She pulled out a birth certificate.
Gavin took it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
His face changed.
“No.”
Evelyn said nothing.
Gavin read it again.
The mother's name was Marissa Cole.
The father's name had been left blank.
But attached to the certificate was a medical record.
And on that record was a handwritten note.
DNA MATCH: 99.98%.
Gavin looked at his mother.
“Whose DNA?”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“Yours.”
Nobody spoke.
Even Priscilla looked stunned.
Gavin's hands began shaking.
“What are you saying?”
Evelyn whispered,
“You have a child.”
Gavin stared at her.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I would know.”
“You were never supposed to.”
Gavin turned toward Priscilla.
She was crying now.
But he couldn't tell whether the tears were real.
“Priscilla…”
She said nothing.
Gavin's voice cracked.
“Tell me she's lying.”
Priscilla looked at him.
For the first time since he had met her, she had no answer.
Then a sound came from the ballroom.
A woman's scream.
Everyone turned.
Security guards rushed past them.
Guests began shouting.
Gavin's security director touched his earpiece.
“Mr. Roberson…”
“What?”
“The ballroom has been breached.”
“By who?”
The guard looked toward Priscilla.
Then back at Gavin.
“Your fiancée's private security team.”
Gavin's expression hardened.
“Why?”
The guard swallowed.
“They're looking for something.”
“What?”
The guard's voice dropped.
“The black folder.”
Gavin looked at Evelyn.
Then at Taylor.
Then at Priscilla.
And suddenly he understood.
The folder wasn't the only thing Evelyn had brought.
Someone was willing to tear apart an entire engagement party to get it.
Gavin reached for his mother.
“Mom, where's the rest of the evidence?”
Evelyn's face went pale.
“What do you mean?”
“The folder can't be everything.”
“It isn't.”
“Where is the rest?”
Evelyn looked toward Taylor.
Gavin followed her gaze.
The little girl was clutching something beneath her red dress.
Something black.
Something flat.
A small leather envelope.
Evelyn whispered,
“Taylor took it.”
Gavin stared at the child.
Taylor slowly pulled the envelope from beneath her dress.
Then she looked up at him.
“I found it before the bad man came.”
Gavin's blood ran cold.
“What bad man?”
Taylor pointed toward the ballroom.
“He was with Miss Priscilla.”
A gunshot suddenly echoed through the mansion.
Everyone froze.
Taylor screamed.
May you like
And Gavin realized the engagement party was no longer a party.
It was a trap.
:::
