Chapter 5
Elise had one sister.
Margot Hale.
We had not spoken in eight years.
Not because of hatred.
Because after Elise died, Margot blamed me.
Said Vale killed softness in her sister long before illness did.
Maybe partly true.
She left Connecticut.
Moved west.
No contact.
At least that was what I believed.
“Margot was inside my estate?”
Reed nodded.
“Why?”
“Ask Brooks.”
“He’s dead.”
“Exactly.”
I wanted to hit him.
Didn’t.
Rage is useful when controlled.
Less so when someone wants it.
“Why was Margot there?”
Reed finally explained.
She had returned three weeks before the fire.
Secretly.
Not to see me.
To see Daniel.
That surprised me.
Daniel had been close to Elise.
More than a driver.
He handled errands during her illness.
Took Margot to the airport after the funeral.
Apparently they stayed in contact.
Margot believed Elise left something behind.
Not money.
A letter.
A recording.
Something for me.
Daniel found it.
Then discovered Reed was searching for the same thing.
“What thing?”
Reed shook his head.
“Never saw it.”
I believed him.
For once.
“Why did you want it?”
“Because my father wanted it.”
There.
New layer.
Reed’s father, Thomas Vale.
My older brother.
Dead three years.
Heart attack.
Another man whose shadow never fully left.
“What did Thomas think Elise left?”
Reed looked toward the window.
“A confession.”
My chest tightened.
“For what?”
“Something she knew about your succession.”
Of course.
Again.
Everything in our family eventually became succession.
I sat back down.
“What did my wife know?”
Reed smiled without humor.
“Enough that Dad spent years making sure you never found out.”
My brother.
My wife.
My driver.
My nephew.
The fire suddenly felt older than six days.
Reed continued.
“Margot came for the recording. Brooks helped her.”
“Then?”
“They got caught.”
“By you?”
He did not answer.
Enough.
“Was Margot in the west wing when the fire started?”
“Yes.”
“Did Daniel go back for her?”
Reed nodded.
Then:
“He went back for both of you.”
That changed everything.
Daniel had not simply saved his boss.
He had run into a burning estate twice.
Once for me.
May you like
Once for Margot.
Only one of us came out.
