Chapter 5 - The Silent Accomplice
Caleb backed away until his spine hit the hallway wall.
"I didn't know anything!" Caleb shouted, his hands raised defenselessly.
"I’m just trying to keep this family from collapsing in front of the press!"
Adrian held up the silver USB drive between two fingers.
"The truth is right here," Adrian said.
"Every ledger, every transaction, every name."
Downstairs, the sound of breaking glass shattered the mansion's quiet atmosphere.
A woman shrieked in rage.
Adrian sprinted back down the hallway, leaving Caleb and Natalie behind.
He reached the top of the grand staircase.
Madison was struggling against two security officers near the foyer mirror.
A shattered crystal champagne flute lay scattered across the marble floor.
Margaret was yelling at the guards to unhand Madison immediately.
"Let her go this instant!" Margaret commanded.
"She is my future daughter-in-law!"
Adrian’s voice boomed down from above like a thunderclap.
"She is a murderer!"
The entire ballroom fell into utter silence.
Sensors, executives, and journalists froze in place.
Adrian descended the stairs slowly, holding the red Cartier box high in the air.
"This was hidden in my dead wife's secret compartment," Adrian announced to the crowd.
"The compartment Madison claimed she had never seen."
"The compartment Emma saw her opening in the dark without her shoes on."
Madison stopped struggling.
She looked up at Adrian with wild, unhinged eyes.
"You have no proof!" Madison spat.
"A four-year-old child’s story isn't proof in a court of law!"
May you like
"I have Claire’s letter," Adrian replied coldly.
"And I have the transaction ledger."
