Chapter 3

The lights were bright in the dining room on the first floor. The long dining table was laden with dishes freshly prepared by the chef. Right in the center stood a three-tiered custom fondant cake.

It was a dinner to celebrate Cecilia winning the gold medal at the International Ballet Competition that night.

It was also the day I died.

Callum pulled out a chair and sat Cecilia down.

The butler, Edmund Miller, stood beside them and handed him a hot towel. "Mr. Lovelace, Ms. Caroline…"

He took one look at the tightly shut basement door and hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Ms. Caroline has a heart condition. The heating isn't on in the basement. Should I take her a coat?"

Callum slammed the hot towel onto the silver tray. "No one's allowed to go down there! Her heart condition's merely a lie she made up just to drive Cecilia out of the family!

"I had someone look into her medical records. Every single result is barely outside the normal range. None of it is life-threatening!"

Callum pulled out a chair and sat down before lifting his wineglass and taking a sip. "She's only causing a scene to disgust us because she saw Cecilia win an award today and knew we were throwing a party.

"When I ignored her, she stole Cecilia's bracelet. Now that she's locked up, she's banging her head against the wall until it bleeds just to rain on our parade."

Callum cut into a piece of rare steak, popped it into his mouth, and chewed aggressively. "If we don't handle the bad habits she picked up in the countryside with a heavy hand, she'll end up tearing the roof down next!"

Edmund lowered his head and dared not utter another word.

Cecilia picked up a silver spoon and scooped a bit of cream from the edge of the cake. "Don't be mad at Caroline anymore, Callum. I can forget about the bracelet, so why don't you go unlock the door?"

The tenderness in his eyes was plain to see. "Cecilia, you're being picked on because you're far too kind. That bracelet was the last thing Mom and Dad left for you. Why on earth should you give it up?"

Callum glanced at the Patek Philippe on his wrist. 20 minutes had passed, yet there wasn't a single peep from the basement.

He sneered before setting his cutlery down. "Well, she's certainly learned to hold out. Usually, she complains that her stomach hurts if she has to eat so much as cold leftovers. Now, she's been lying on the basement floor for this long, and she hasn't even made a peep."

Edmund couldn't help but interject. "Mr. Lovelace, what if Ms. Caroline has really passed out?"

"What do you mean, passed out?" Callum raised his voice. "She has her phone in her pocket! If she genuinely couldn't take it anymore, she'd call for help. She's just playing a game of chicken with me right now!"

Callum tapped his fingers against the table as he issued a strict order. "Edmund, listen closely. No one's allowed to take her food or open the door for her tonight. If she wants to come out, she has to hand over the bracelet herself, get down on her knees, and apologize to Cecilia!"

Just then, the doorbell rang a few times in rapid succession, the sound echoing through the entire first floor of the villa. The video surveillance screen mounted on the wall flickered to life. Everyone in the dining room froze for a moment.

Edmund was about to press the intercom to see who was at the door when Callum abruptly shoved his chair back and rose to his feet.

A mocking, cold smile curled at the corner of his lips as he raised his hand to stop Edmund. "Don't bother. I told you she can't keep up the act."

He strode toward the foyer. "The basement connects to an abandoned ventilation shaft in the backyard. She must've climbed out through it herself. Then, she ran to the front door and rang the bell because she wants to rouse the security guards and neighbors so the whole world will know that I'm abusing her!"

Cecilia hurried after him and reached out to tug at his arm. "Don't take out your anger on Caroline, Callum. Let's talk things over calmly."

Callum yanked open the villa's ornate front door.

Without even looking at who was outside, he launched into a furious tirade. "Caroline Lovelace, have you no shame? Do you think you can use a cheap stunt to force me to give in? Dream on! If you don't hand over that bracelet today, you can forget about stepping foot inside this house!"

The air suddenly went still. There was none of the backtalk or wailing that he had expected from me.

Callum knit his brows before shifting his gaze to the person outside the door.

Standing at the foot of the steps were two uniformed police officers, not me, disheveled and covered in dirt.

A police car was parked beside the iron gate outside the villa, its flashing red and blue lights piercing the darkness. Two paramedics carrying first-aid kits followed behind the officers.

Callum froze in his tracks. The lead police officer's face was grim as he raised his badge. "Who's the homeowner?"

Callum instinctively took half a step back and gulped. "I am… Is something the matter, officer?"

The officer's piercing gaze swept past him and across the interior of the house. "We received an emergency alert from a smart device 20 minutes ago. The system indicated that the device owner had suffered sudden cardiac arrest."

The officer stepped forward, locking eyes with Callum. "The location is the basement of this villa. Please lead us there immediately."

"Hold on." Callum's voice was strained. "Who's the device owner?"

The officer glanced at him before lowering his head and pulling up the system alert on his phone. The cold light of the screen illuminated his face. "Caroline Lovelace."