Chapter 3 - Elena’s SecretDetective Reeves ordered the gates sealed.
Security guards moved through the mansion while guests waited in shocked silence, pretending not to enjoy every second of the Harrington family implosion.
Elena sat in a small receiving room beside the ballroom, still wrapped in Julian’s jacket. Her hands would not stop shaking.
Julian stood near the fireplace, speaking quietly with Reeves.
Every few seconds, his eyes returned to her.
Elena wished he would stop.
Not because she disliked it.
Because every time he looked at her like that, she remembered something she had spent two years trying to forget.
Julian Harrington had once saved her before.
Not publicly.
Not dramatically.
Not like this.
Two years earlier, before he became the feared man everyone whispered about, Julian had visited a shelter on the south side after a charity fire. Elena had been there with a bruised cheek, an empty wallet, and nowhere to go. He had not recognized her tonight, but she had recognized him the moment he entered the ballroom.
He was the reason she had applied for work at the Harrington estate.
Not because she wanted money.
Because she wanted answers.
The necklace was not the only secret in this house.
“Elena.”
Julian’s voice pulled her back.
She looked up.
Detective Reeves sat across from her, notebook open.
“I need to ask you a few questions.”
Elena nodded. “Of course.”
Julian said, “You don’t have to answer without an attorney.”
“I have nothing to hide.”
Victoria, who had been brought into the room under security watch, laughed from the corner.
“That is what every thief says.”
Reeves looked at her once.
She went quiet.
He turned back to Elena. “How long have you worked here?”
“Six months.”
“Who hired you?”
“Marla Greene. The housekeeping supervisor.”
“Did you know Mrs. Harrington before tonight?”
Elena’s fingers tightened.
“No.”
Julian noticed the hesitation.
Reeves did too.
“No,” Elena repeated, softer this time. “Not personally.”
Victoria’s eyes sharpened.
“Not personally?” Reeves asked.
Elena looked at the floor.
This was the moment she had feared.
The room seemed to shrink around her.
“I knew her name.”
Julian stepped closer. “How?”
Elena swallowed.
“My mother worked for the Harrington family years ago.”
Victoria’s face changed.
It was tiny.
Almost invisible.
But Elena saw it.
So did Julian.
“What was your mother’s name?” Reeves asked.
“Rosa Morris.”
The moment the name left her mouth, Victoria stood.
“This interview is over.”
Julian turned slowly.
“Sit down.”
Victoria’s voice shook. “You have no right to bring that woman’s name into my home.”
Elena stood too.
“My mother died because of this home.”
The words exploded before she could stop them.
Julian froze.
Reeves leaned forward.
Victoria looked furious, but beneath it was fear.
“What do you mean?” Julian asked.
Elena’s chest tightened.
“My mother worked here as a live-in housekeeper when I was twelve. She disappeared after being accused of stealing from Mrs. Harrington.”
Julian looked at Victoria.
Elena continued, voice trembling.
“They said she ran away. They said she took jewelry and cash. But she would never leave me. She called me that night from this house. She was crying. She said she had found something she wasn’t supposed to see.”
The fire crackled softly.
Julian’s face had gone pale.
“What did she find?”
Elena looked at Victoria.
“I don’t know. The call ended before she could tell me.”
Victoria whispered, “Lies.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears.
“Three days later, her body was found in the river.”
The room went completely still.
Julian looked as if the floor had shifted beneath him.
Reeves stopped writing.
Victoria’s hands curled into fists.
“That was investigated,” she said. “It was ruled an accident.”
Elena turned on her.
“You told everyone she stole from you. You ruined her name before she was buried.”
Victoria stepped forward. “Your mother was unstable.”
Julian’s voice cut through the room.
“Enough.”
But Elena could no longer stop.
“I came here because I wanted to know why. I thought maybe someone in the staff remembered her. I thought maybe Marla knew something.”
Reeves asked, “Did Marla know who you were?”
Elena nodded slowly.
“I told her my mother had worked here.”
Julian closed his eyes.
“And tonight,” Reeves said, “you were framed for stealing jewelry, just like your mother.”
Elena’s voice broke.
“Yes.”
Julian turned to Victoria.
For the first time, his anger looked personal in a way that frightened even her.
“What did Rosa Morris find?”
Victoria laughed, but it sounded hollow.
“You are all being manipulated by a servant’s daughter with a tragic story.”
Julian stepped closer.
“My father died six months after Rosa Morris.”
Victoria flinched.
The connection hit the room like thunder.
Richard, who had been standing in the doorway, looked up sharply.
Julian continued.
“Before he died, he told me there were things about this family I should never trust.”
Victoria whispered, “Your father was sick.”
“He was afraid.”
“He was confused.”
“He was murdered?”
The question hung in the air.
Victoria’s face went white.
Elena covered her mouth.
Reeves rose slowly.
“Mr. Harrington, I think we need to open a second investigation.”
Before anyone could respond, a security guard burst into the room.
“Sir, we found Marla Greene.”
Julian turned.
“Where?”
The guard looked shaken.
“In the east wing.”
“Bring her here.”
“We can’t.”
Julian’s expression hardened.
“Why not?”
May you like
The guard swallowed.
“She’s dead.”
