Chapter 9 - In the Dark
For one second, nobody moved.
Then Vanessa screamed.
Not elegantly.
Not carefully.
A raw sound of genuine fear.
Emergency lights flickered on along the hallway.
Ethan immediately moved beside me.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Mom.”
“I’ve spent thirty years dealing with frightened businessmen.”
I looked toward George.
“I’m not starting to hide now.”
George glared at me.
“You think I did this?”
“I think you’re unusually calm.”
His expression shifted.
Ethan noticed.
One of the Carter executives, Charles Bennett, pulled out his phone.
“No signal.”
The other executive, Renee Wallace, checked hers.
“Mine too.”
The house manager entered carrying a flashlight.
“The property network is down.”
Ethan frowned.
“What caused it?”
“We don’t know.”
George walked toward the hallway.
Ethan blocked him.
“You said we could leave.”
“You can.”
Ethan looked toward the dark grounds outside.
“But you might want to wait until we know why security systems just failed.”
George stopped.
I looked at Charles.
He had been Ethan’s chief strategy officer for six years.
Quiet.
Efficient.
Trusted.
He had personally recommended the Mitchell partnership.
“Charles.”
He looked at me.
“How closely did you review the Mitchell valuations?”
His face remained calm.
“Our team handled them.”
“Which team?”
“Corporate development.”
“Who signed final approval?”
He paused.
“I did.”
Renee turned toward him.
Charles glanced at her.
“That’s normal.”
I nodded.
“It is.”
I watched him carefully.
“Did you know Marcus Bell?”
“No.”
Too fast.
I said nothing.
Charles looked at me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
The house manager returned.
“Backup power should restore the main lights shortly.”
I looked toward the patio doors.
Outside, the engagement lawn was almost completely dark.
Only battery-powered candles remained glowing on the tables.
Then Daniel appeared at the doorway.
He looked frightened.
“Mrs. Carter?”
“Yes?”
“I saw someone near the service entrance.”
Ethan turned.
“Who?”
“I couldn’t see his face.”
Daniel swallowed.
“But he was carrying something from the office.”
Charles stiffened.
“What office?”
“The small study beside the kitchen.”
Ethan looked at me.
That was where I had left a second envelope.
Not the financial records.
The guest list.
Travel details.
And a printed copy of internal Carter approval logs.
I moved toward the study.
The others followed.
The door was open.
A drawer had been pulled out.
Papers covered the floor.
The second envelope was gone.
Ethan cursed under his breath.
Renee looked toward the service corridor.
“Who knew those papers were here?”
I answered.
“Very few people.”
My eyes moved to Charles.
Then George.
Then Vanessa.
Then Patricia.
Charles looked offended.
“You can’t seriously think—”
The main lights suddenly returned.
Everyone blinked.
And in that instant, I noticed something near Charles’s shoe.
A torn corner of yellow paper.
The same yellow paper from my missing envelope.
Charles followed my gaze downward.
His face changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
So did Renee.
And Ethan.
May you like
Charles slowly stepped backward.
Then he ran.
