Chapter 7
The lawyer’s name is Arthur Pritchard.
Seventy-two years old.
Margaret’s attorney for thirty years.
A good man.
An honest man.
At least—Elena always thought so.
She finds him at his office.
Late that night.
He’s packing up to leave.
Elena bursts in.
Pritchard jumps.
“Elena! My God, you scared me—”
“Did you write it?” Elena demands.
She slams the copy of the will on his desk.
Pritchard’s face falls.
He knows.
“Elena, sit down—”
“Did you write it?” she shouts.
Pritchard sighs.
Rubs his face.
“I did,” he says.
Elena stares.
“Why?” she whispers. “After thirty years. How could you?”
“Your mother came to me three days ago,” Pritchard says. “She was… different. Scared. She said she had to change the will. That it was a matter of life and death. She wouldn’t explain. She just kept saying ‘do it or they’ll kill us all.’”
Elena’s breath catches.
“Who?” she says. “Did she say who?”
Pritchard shakes his head.
“Just ‘they.’ She was terrified, Elena. I’ve never seen her like that. Not even when your father died. She signed it in front of two witnesses. My secretary and my clerk. Both completely independent. It’s ironclad. There’s nothing I can do.”
Elena slumps into a chair.
“Was she forced?” she asks. “Was Julian there?”
Pritchard hesitates.
“Look,” he says. “Off the record. I’ve known you since you were five. I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally. But I have a duty to my client. Even a dead one.”
He leans forward.
Lowers his voice.
“Your mother wasn’t alone when she came in,” he says. “There was a man with her. Stayed in the waiting room the whole time. Never came in. But every time your mother hesitated… she’d glance at the door. Like she expected him to burst through.”
“Julian,” Elena says.
Pritchard nods slowly.
“I didn’t recognize him at the time,” he says. “Not until I saw the news. The gala. That’s him. That’s the man.”
Elena stands.
“Thank you, Arthur,” she says.
“Elena,” Pritchard says. “Be careful. That man… there’s something wrong with him. In his eyes. I’ve seen that look before. On men who’ve killed. And will kill again.”
Elena is already walking out.
“I know,” she says.
She drives to the lake house.
It’s 11 p.m.
Dark.
Moonless.
She parks down the road.
Walks through the woods.
She’s not thinking clearly.
She knows she shouldn’t be here.
That it’s dangerous.
But she doesn’t care.
She needs to see Vivian.
Needs to look her in the eye.
Needs to know the truth.
The lake house is dark.
Except for one light.
The living room.
Elena creeps up to the window.
Peeks through the curtains.
What she sees stops her heart.
Julian is on his knees.
In front of Vivian.
He’s holding her hands.
Crying.
Actually crying.
“Please, baby,” he’s saying. “Please don’t leave me. I can’t do this without you.”
Vivian is pale.
Thinner than ever.
She strokes his hair.
“You have to,” she says softly. “You have to be strong. For Noah.”
“I don’t want to be strong!” Julian sobs. “I want you. I want us. The way it was supposed to be.”
He kisses her hands.
Over and over.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m so sorry for everything. For the lies. For the stealing. For Margaret. God forgive me, I’m so sorry.”
Elena freezes.
He admitted it.
He just admitted he killed Margaret.
Vivian closes her eyes.
Tears roll down her cheeks.
“I know,” she whispers. “I know you are.”
“I had to,” Julian says. “She was going to call the police. She found out about the foundation money. About the old accounts. She was going to send us both to prison. And then where would Noah be? Where would you be? You need medicine. You need doctors. I did what I had to do. For us.”
Vivian looks at him.
Her eyes are empty.
“Did you?” she says. “Or did you do it for the money? For the empire you’ve always wanted?”
Julian stands.
Anger replacing the tears.
Like a switch flipped.
“Not this again,” he says. “Vivian, I have given you twelve years. Twelve years of my life. I gave up everything for you. My name. My career. My freedom. Don’t you dare stand there and question my motives.”
“You killed my mother,” Vivian says flatly.
“Your mother was going to destroy us!” Julian shouts. “She was going to take Noah away! She was going to make sure we died in a gutter somewhere! I saved us! I saved you!”
“You killed her,” Vivian repeats.
She stands.
Winces in pain.
Holds her stomach.
“And now you’re rich,” she says. “One hundred and twenty million dollars. More than enough to pay off your ‘enemies.’ More than enough for anything you ever wanted. Congratulations, Julian. You finally won.”
“I didn’t win!” Julian screams. He grabs her. Shakes her. “How can I win when you’re dying? Huh? Tell me that! What good is all the money in the world if I’m alone?”
Vivian doesn’t flinch.
She just looks at him.
“Let go of me,” she says.
Her voice is ice.
Julian stares.
Then drops her like she burned him.
Vivian steps back.
“I’m not going to let you do it,” she says.
“Do what?”
“Take Lila,” Vivian says. “I know your plan, Julian. I’ve known for weeks. You’re going to tell her the truth. You’re going to turn her against Elena. You’re going to make her choose us. And then you’re going to use her to get to Elena’s money too. The trusts. The foundation. Everything.”
Julian says nothing.
His face is stone.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Vivian says.
Julian smiles.
Cold.
“Lila is my daughter,” he says. “She belongs with her family. With me. Elena had her turn. Sixteen years. It’s only fair I get some time with her.”
“She’s my daughter too!” Vivian shouts. “And I’m not going to let you turn her into you. She’s good. Kind. She’s nothing like us. Nothing like you.”
“Blood is blood,” Julian says. “She’ll come around. They always do.”
“Not this time,” Vivian says.
She reaches into her pocket.
Pulls out a small digital recorder.
Julian’s eyes widen.
“What is that?”
“Everything,” Vivian says. “Every threat. Every confession. Every plan. I’ve been recording you for months, Julian. Since I found out about the blackmail. Since I found out you killed Margaret.”
Julian goes pale.
“You wouldn’t,” he whispers.
“Try me,” Vivian says. “If you go near Lila. If you go near Elena. If you so much as look at Noah wrong… I send this to the police. To every news station in the country. You’ll spend the rest of your life in prison. And you’ll never see a dime of that money.”
Julian stares at her.
The woman he’s lived with for twelve years.
The woman he loves.
The mother of his child.
And he realizes—
She has him.
Completely.
“You bitch,” he whispers.
Vivian smiles.
It’s the saddest smile Elena has ever seen.
“I learned from the best,” she says.
Elena has heard enough.
She backs away from the window.
Trips over a root.
Falls.
*CRACK.*
A loud snap.
Inside the house—
Silence.
Then—
“Who’s there?” Julian shouts.
Elena scrambles up.
Runs.
Fast as she can.
Through the trees.
Toward her car.
She hears the back door of the lake house fly open.
“ELENA!” Julian roars.
She doesn’t look back.
She jumps in her car.
Turns the key.
Spins the tires.
Peels out.
In the rearview mirror—
Julian stands in the road.
Naked from the waist up.
Holding something.
Shiny.
Metal.
A gun.
He raises it.
*BAM.*
The rear window shatters.
Elena ducks.
Presses the gas harder.
One hundred.
One twenty.
She doesn’t slow down until she’s ten miles away.
Her heart is hammering.
She’s alive.
Barely.
And now she knows.
Vivian isn’t the enemy.
Not really.
She’s been recording Julian.
She has proof.
Everything Elena needs.
But there’s something else.
Something Vivian said.
*“I’m not going to let you take Lila.”*
Vivian is dying.
She doesn’t want Lila back for herself.
She wants to protect her.
From Julian.
From the life they lived.
From the truth.
Elena pulls over.
Breathes hard.
Tries to think.
Her phone is broken.
She needs to call Richard.
Needs to warn him.
Needs to get Lila somewhere safe.
Because Julian knows she was there.
He knows she heard everything.
May you like
And he has a gun.
And nothing left to lose.
