CHAPTER 1 – The Sirens at Howard Manor
The first sound wasn't the screaming.
It was the ticking of the grandfather clock.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Each second echoed through Howard Manor like a countdown to disaster.
Elena Howard remained crumpled at the bottom of the marble staircase, one arm wrapped protectively around her pregnant belly. Her breathing was ragged, every inhale scraping against the pain spreading across her ribs.
Above her, Vanessa Howard continued sobbing dramatically into Mrs. Howard's shoulder.
"I swear I didn't mean it!" she cried. "She rushed at me. She lost her balance!"
Her tears flowed perfectly.
Too perfectly.
Mrs. Howard looked between the two women, unable to think.
Everything had happened too quickly.
One moment Elena had been climbing the stairs.
The next...
She was lying in a pool of shattered flower petals from the vase that had crashed beside her.
A servant rushed forward.
"Should I call an ambulance?"
"No!" Vanessa shouted almost instantly.
The word escaped before she could stop herself.
Every eye turned toward her.
Vanessa forced another sob.
"I... I mean... someone already called. Didn't they?"
No one answered.
The servants exchanged uneasy glances.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Upstairs...
Inside the security office hidden behind the west wing library...
Three tiny monitors continued recording.
Every hallway.
Every staircase.
Every entrance.
A single red light blinked steadily.
Recording.
Recording.
Recording.
Nobody inside the mansion knew the room even existed.
Nobody...
Except Elena.
Months earlier, after discovering unexplained withdrawals from company accounts and strange visitors entering the house late at night, she had secretly hired Detective Gabriel Ruiz.
Instead of confronting anyone...
She watched.
She waited.
And she collected evidence.
Because Ruiz had warned her.
"If they're stealing," he'd said, "they'll get careless."
He had been right.
At that exact moment...
Five black SUVs turned onto the private road leading toward Howard Manor.
No sirens.
No flashing lights.
Just silent determination.
Inside the lead vehicle, Detective Gabriel Ruiz stared at the phone in his hand.
The call had lasted only four seconds.
"It happened."
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
He looked toward the driver.
"Faster."
The tires bit into the gravel.
Back inside the mansion...
Vanessa slowly composed herself.
She wiped away fake tears before looking down at Elena.
Still unconscious.
Still breathing.
Good.
Dead was dangerous.
Alive...
Alive could be manipulated.
She leaned close enough that only Elena could hear.
"If you wake up," Vanessa whispered, "tell them you slipped."
Elena didn't move.
Vanessa smiled.
"Good girl."
Mrs. Howard finally found her voice.
"We have to help her!"
A servant hurried toward Elena.
Before he reached her...
Vanessa stepped directly into his path.
"Don't touch her."
"What?"
"If she loses the baby because you move her incorrectly..."
The servant froze.
Vanessa turned toward everyone else.
"Nobody touch her until the ambulance arrives."
It sounded reasonable.
Responsible.
Exactly the kind of thing an innocent person would say.
But in reality...
Every passing second gave her time to think.
To erase mistakes.
To prepare lies.
In the kitchen...
Housekeeper Maria stood frozen.
Her hands trembled around a porcelain teacup.
She had seen it.
Not everything.
But enough.
She hadn't witnessed the entire argument...
Only the ending.
Vanessa's hands.
The shove.
Elena falling backward.
Maria closed her eyes.
Should she tell the truth?
If she did...
She would lose her job.
Perhaps worse.
Vanessa had powerful friends.
Very powerful.
Maria looked toward the back door.
Run?
Stay?
She couldn't decide.
Outside...
A black SUV rolled silently through the front gates.
Then another.
Then another.
The guards frowned.
None of the vehicles had announced themselves.
One security guard stepped forward.
"Can I help—"
His sentence stopped midway.
The driver opened a leather wallet.
Police badge.
Detective Ruiz.
"We're here under judicial authorization."
The guard swallowed.
"Please open the gate."
Within seconds...
The gates slowly parted.
Inside the mansion...
Vanessa was already moving.
She excused herself from Mrs. Howard and hurried upstairs.
No one questioned her.
Everyone assumed she was overwhelmed.
Instead...
She entered the guest bedroom.
Locked the door.
Opened a drawer.
Inside lay a second phone.
One nobody knew existed.
She dialed a number from memory.
A man answered immediately.
"You shouldn't be calling."
"We have a problem."
"What happened?"
"I pushed her."
Silence.
Then...
"You WHAT?"
"It wasn't supposed to happen today!"
The man's breathing became heavier.
"Listen carefully."
"You need to leave the mansion."
"I can't."
"You have to."
"There are too many people."
Another pause.
Then the man's voice dropped into a whisper.
"Destroy the ledger."
Vanessa's heartbeat skipped.
"The blue one?"
"All of it."
"What about the hard drive?"
"Take both."
The call ended.
Vanessa stood motionless.
Then she rushed toward the hidden compartment beneath the wardrobe.
Only...
It was already open.
Empty.
Her face turned white.
"No..."
Someone had taken everything.
Downstairs...
Elena's breathing suddenly became weaker.
Mrs. Howard knelt beside her, panic filling her eyes.
"Stay with us, sweetheart."
A faint whisper escaped Elena's lips.
"So... cold..."
Mrs. Howard grabbed her hand.
"It's going to be okay."
For the first time...
Mrs. Howard noticed something.
Blood.
Not much.
Just enough to stain Elena's sleeve.
Fear tightened around her chest.
"What have we done..."
The front doors burst open.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the entrance hall.
Six detectives entered in dark jackets.
Behind them came uniformed officers.
And finally...
Detective Gabriel Ruiz.
His sharp eyes swept across the room only once before landing on Elena.
His expression hardened.
"Call the paramedics inside."
Two officers rushed forward.
Another detective blocked the staircase.
"No one leaves this house."
Vanessa descended the stairs at that exact moment carrying a leather handbag.
She forced a confused smile.
"Detective? What's going on?"
Ruiz looked directly at her.
His voice remained perfectly calm.
"Mrs. Vanessa Howard..."
"Yes?"
"I have a warrant to search this residence."
Vanessa laughed nervously.
"A warrant? There must be some misunderstanding."
Ruiz slowly reached into his coat.
Instead of producing paperwork...
He held up a small remote.
Then pressed a single button.
A television mounted above the fireplace flickered to life.
Security footage filled the screen.
The timestamp read...
Three months earlier.
Vanessa stared upward.
Her blood turned to ice.
Because the woman on the screen...
Was herself.
And standing beside her...
May you like
Was a man who was supposed to have died six years ago.
End of Chapter 1
