Chapter 3
I thought I had already reached the bottom of Diane’s cruelty.
I was wrong.
I looked from Frank to my daughter.
“What does Lily have to do with this?”
Frank closed his eyes as if gathering strength.
“Water.”
I rushed to the little sink.
The glass beside it smelled strange.
I didn’t use it.
Instead, I took an unopened bottle from my purse and helped him drink.
He swallowed carefully.
Ryan sat beside him, still staring like he was afraid his father might disappear.
Frank squeezed his hand.
“I’m sorry.”
Ryan broke.
“I should’ve known.”
“You were manipulated.”
“I believed her.”
“You were grieving.”
Diane laughed coldly from the doorway.
“This touching reunion changes nothing.”
I turned.
“How can you stand there?”
“Because unlike all of you, I understand what’s at stake.”
Ryan stood.
“What did you do?”
Diane stared at him.
“You think your father was some saint?”
“I asked what you did.”
Frank answered.
“Your grandfather created a trust.”
Ryan looked confused.
“What trust?”
“For the first biological granddaughter in the family.”
I looked at Lily.
Frank nodded.
“When Lily was born, the trust transferred into her name.”
My heart pounded.
“How much?”
“Currently? About eighteen million dollars.”
I almost dropped the water bottle.
Ryan whispered, “What?”
Diane’s jaw tightened.
Frank continued.
“I managed the trust until Lily turned twenty-one. If I died, Diane became temporary trustee.”
Everything suddenly made horrible sense.
“She needed you legally dead.”
Frank nodded.
“But she also needed periodic authorization for major transfers.”
Ryan stared at Diane.
“You forged Dad’s signatures?”
“I protected this family.”
“You kidnapped him.”
“He was going to destroy everything.”
“You chained him in a room!”
Diane finally lost control.
“Because he was going to leave me!”
Her scream filled the room.
Lily flinched.
I immediately covered her ears.
Diane’s chest heaved.
“He wanted a divorce. He planned to expose private financial matters. I spent thirty-five years building this family’s reputation, and he was going to humiliate me.”
Frank said quietly, “You stole from our granddaughter.”
“It was family money.”
“It was Lily’s money.”
“She’s a child!”
Ryan backed away from his mother.
I saw disgust replace confusion.
“How long?”
Diane said nothing.
“How long has Dad been locked here?”
Frank answered.
“Three years and two months.”
Ryan covered his mouth.
I could almost see every Christmas, birthday, and family dinner replaying in his mind.
We had eaten downstairs.
Frank had been upstairs.
Ryan had toasted his dead father on the first anniversary of his supposed death.
Frank had probably heard us.
My own stomach turned.
“Why didn’t you scream?”
Frank looked toward the windows.
“Soundproof glass.”
Of course.
Diane loved renovations.
She had bragged about soundproofing the blue room because Frank liked reading in silence.
I suddenly understood why.
Frank looked at Lily.
“But children notice things.”
Lily pressed against me.
“I heard tapping.”
“When?”
“Today.”
She pointed to the radiator.
“He tapped when I was in the bathroom.”
Frank smiled weakly.
“The old pipes connect.”
Lily had followed the sound.
She had found the key.
She had discovered a man she recognized from family photographs.
And when she hugged him, Diane had caught them.
My hands curled into fists.
“You hit her because she found him.”
Diane looked away.
That was confirmation enough.
I picked up my phone from the hallway floor.
The screen was cracked but working.
I dialed 911.
Diane rushed forward.
Ryan stepped between us.
“Don’t.”
She stared at him.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“For the first time tonight, I do.”
I told the dispatcher everything.
Possible kidnapping.
False death documentation.
A chained elderly man.
Child assault.
Drugging.
Financial fraud.
The dispatcher’s voice became very serious.
Officers and paramedics were coming.
Diane walked downstairs without another word.
I should have known that meant trouble.
Frank suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Emily.”
“Yes?”
“Do not let her reach the study.”
“Why?”
“The real trust papers are there.”
Ryan’s head snapped up.
“She keeps a safe.”
Frank nodded.
“She’ll destroy everything.”
Ryan ran.
I followed.
“Stay with Grandpa,” I told Lily.
“No!”
Her fear stopped me.
I couldn’t leave her.
So I carried her downstairs.
By the time we reached the study, smoke was already curling from beneath the door.
“Mom!” Ryan shouted.
He kicked it open.
Heat rushed out.
Diane stood beside the fireplace.
Documents were burning.
She held another stack in her hands.
Ryan lunged.
She threw them into the flames.
I saw the heading before they disappeared.
VANCE FAMILY TRUST.
“No!”
Ryan grabbed the metal poker and dragged burning papers from the fireplace.
I put Lily behind me.
Diane laughed.
“You think paper matters?”
Then she reached into the safe.
She pulled out a small black drive.
Frank’s evidence.
I knew it instantly.
Ryan moved toward her.
Diane stepped backward.
“Stay away.”
Police sirens sounded outside.
For the first time, fear entered her eyes.
Then she looked at the open French doors leading to the garden.
And ran.
Ryan chased her.
I stayed with Lily.
Two officers burst through the front entrance seconds later.
“Where is she?”
“Garden!”
More officers ran outside.
Paramedics rushed upstairs.
I held Lily while strangers filled the mansion.
Her face was pressed against my neck.
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Is Grandpa going to die now?”
My throat tightened.
“No, sweetheart.”
I kissed her hair.
“He’s going to get help.”
Outside, someone shouted.
Then a gunshot cracked through the night.
Lily screamed.
I dropped behind the marble island and covered her body with mine.
For three terrible seconds, I couldn’t breathe.
May you like
Then Ryan stumbled through the French doors.
There was blood on his shirt.
