Chapter 5
The heavy mahogany doors of the master study slammed shut, cutting off the distant noise of the gala. William gently laid Ethan down on the massive leather Chesterfield sofa. The young man curled immediately into a fetal position, shivering despite the warmth of the room, his eyes darting frantically around the dark corners of the ceiling.
Emma rushed to the private bar in the corner, pouring a glass of filtered water. Her hands were shaking so badly she nearly dropped the crystal tumbler. She hurried back, kneeling beside the sofa, and gently supported Ethan’s head while he drank.
"Slowly, Ethan," Emma coaxed gently, her fair, rosy skin pale with lingering shock. "Just small sips."
"Where is she?" Ethan gasped, pulling away from the glass. "Dad, where did Isabella go?"
"She is locked in the corridor," William promised, pacing the length of the Persian rug like a caged lion. He had shed his tuxedo jacket, his white dress shirt pulled tight across his broad shoulders. "My men are on their way up from the security pavilion. No one is getting in or out of this house."
William stopped pacing and knelt beside Emma, looking deeply into his son's exhausted eyes.
"Ethan, I need you to tell me what happened," William said, his voice desperate for answers. "Two weeks ago, your car was found abandoned by the river. The police told me you jumped. Isabella told me you were deeply depressed. Why did she put you in the wall?"
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut, a fresh wave of tears cutting through the dust on his cheeks. "Because I found the ledgers, Dad."
"Ledgers?" William asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "What ledgers?"
"In her private safe," Ethan explained, his voice gaining a fraction of strength as the water soothed his raw throat. "I saw her open it. She wasn't just stealing from the trust fund, Dad. She was paying people off. Judges. Police chiefs. And..." Ethan choked on a sob, looking at Emma before looking back at his father.
"And what, Ethan?" William pressed gently.
May you like
"And she was paying the men who sabotaged Mom's brakes three years ago," Ethan whispered. "She murdered Mom, Dad. She orchestrated the whole thing so she could marry you and take the company."
The study descended into a deafening, horrifying silence. William stared at his son, the rugged, handsome features of his face twisting into a mask of pure, unadulterated devastation. His first wife's death hadn't been an accident. The woman he had brought into his home had murdered her.
