Chapter 4 - The Piece of Metal
Daniel did not physically stop them.
That frightened Emily more than if he had.
Instead, he straightened his shirt and calmly told Emily she needed rest.
Then he walked toward his office.
Mara watched until he disappeared.
“Laundry room.”
Emily nodded.
They crossed the rear hallway without speaking.
Once inside, Mara locked the door.
The small room smelled of detergent and warm linen.
Emily leaned against the washing machine.
“What else do you know?”
Mara reached into her apron.
She removed a thick metal bolt.
One side had been filed almost completely through.
Emily stared at it.
“Where did you find that?”
“Top of the staircase.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
Mara placed it in Emily’s palm.
“I heard Daniel working near the chandelier before sunrise.”
“Why didn’t you tell me immediately?”
“I wasn’t sure.”
Mara’s voice cracked.
“I thought maybe he was repairing something.”
Emily closed her fingers around the bolt.
“Then I saw the chain.”
Mara explained how she had noticed Daniel leaving the balcony with a tool case.
Later, she discovered tiny metal filings on the floor beneath the chandelier support.
She became suspicious.
So she waited.
When Emily walked into the foyer, Mara watched the fixture sway.
That was why she had been close enough to save her.
Emily covered her mouth.
“You knew it could fall?”
“I knew something was wrong.”
“You could have died.”
“So could you.”
Mara looked down at Emily’s stomach.
“So could Lily.”
Emily’s eyes filled with tears.
She had already chosen her daughter’s name.
Only Mara knew.
Daniel had said he wanted to wait until birth.
Emily suddenly realized why.
Perhaps he never expected Lily to be born.
The thought nearly broke her.
Mara gripped her shoulders.
“Listen to me.”
Emily looked up.
“We cannot panic.”
“He tried to kill my baby.”
“I know.”
“I married him.”
“I know.”
“How could I not know?”
Mara lowered her voice.
“Because monsters don’t introduce themselves as monsters.”
Emily wiped her tears.
“What do we do?”
“We collect evidence.”
“And then?”
“We leave.”
Emily shook her head.
“Daniel knows everyone.”
“Then we don’t give him an accusation he can bury.”
Mara placed the bolt inside a plastic laundry bag.
“We give them a case they cannot ignore.”
Emily nodded slowly.
The fear inside her changed.
It was still there.
But something else now stood beside it.
Anger.
Daniel had looked at her kindness and mistaken it for weakness.
He had looked at her pregnancy and mistaken vulnerability for helplessness.
He was wrong.
Emily straightened.
“What evidence?”
“Money.”
Emily frowned.
Mara looked toward the locked door.
“Men like Daniel may lie about love.”
She slipped the evidence into her apron.
“But they almost never lie to their bank accounts.”
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Emily suddenly remembered the locked drawer inside Daniel’s office.
And she knew exactly where they needed to search.
