Chapter 14 - The House Goes DarkThe power outage lasted only twelve seconds.
Long enough for the security system to reset.
Long enough for someone to enter the house.
Alexander locked the nursery door and placed Grace and the twins inside the walk-in closet with his phone.
“Do not open for anyone but me.”
Grace gripped his sleeve. “Alexander.”
It was the first time she had used his name.
He looked at her hand.
Then her face.
“I will come back.”
She let go.
Downstairs, the house was filled with emergency lights and shadows.
Nathan stood in the hall with two guards.
“The rear door alarm was disabled.”
“By whom?”
“Someone with a staff code.”
Alexander’s blood chilled.
Mrs. Hale was in custody.
Eleanor had been removed.
Victoria was gone.
So who still had access?
A sound came from Amelia’s sitting room.
Alexander entered first.
The room had been searched.
Drawers open. Books pulled down. The blue ribbon letters scattered on the floor.
On the desk lay a note written in black ink.
Stop digging, Alexander. Your wife died with secrets for a reason.
Nathan read it and looked at him.
“This is not your mother’s handwriting.”
Alexander already knew.
Outside, tires screamed against gravel.
The guards ran.
A black car tore away from the service drive before the gate could close.
They found one thing left behind near the rear door.
A silver cufflink engraved with a crest.
Nathan recognized it immediately.
“The Ashford family.”
Alexander went still.
Amelia’s family.
Her brother, Charles Ashford, had not spoken to Alexander since the funeral. He had blamed the Whitmores for Amelia’s death, then vanished into litigation and silence.
Grace came downstairs carrying Clara, with Iris clinging to her shoulder.
“I told you not to open the door,” Alexander said.
“You were gone too long.”
It should have annoyed him.
Instead, it warmed something broken inside him.
Then Grace saw the cufflink.
Her face changed.
“I have seen that before.”
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“Where?”
“In my mother’s box.”
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