8

Elena

The family scattered like startled birds. My mother-in-law stormed toward the study with my father-in-law hot on her heels, hissing threats about calling their family attorneys. Vivian sat frozen on the velvet sofa, the smugness completely drained from her face.

Lucas didn’t move an inch. He simply stood in the shadows, watching me with a cold, unreadable stillness that made the hairs on my arms stand up.

I ignored them all.

“Mrs. Hart,” Mr. Whitfield said gently, stepping into my line of sight once the room had mostly cleared. “Might I have a private word with you?”

I led him into the small sunroom off the main hall, closing the double doors. Roxy slipped in silently behind us, keeping watch near the entrance.

“I don’t understand, Mr. Whitfield,” I murmured, sinking into an armchair as my fragile composure began to crack. “I called you here to help me seize control of the estate paperwork. I never expected a hidden trust. I didn’t even know one existed.”

“I know,” Whitfield said softly. “I’ve known about it since the day your late father established it, Elena. I drafted the documents myself.”

I stared at him, my brow furrowing. “Then why did you keep it from me all these years?”

“Because there was no reason to tell you while your husband was alive. The survivorship clause was dormant. It only became active after his death.”

“So you knew,” I said slowly, “that even though Adrian’s name was on the title, the house would still come back to me if anything happened to him?”

“Yes.”

I sat back, a chaotic rush of emotion rising in my chest. I had walked into this morning ready to wage war for what I believed I’d have to take back piece by piece. Instead, my father had protected me from beyond the grave, locking my inheritance away where no one could touch it.

“You still should have told me,” I whispered.

“Perhaps,” Whitfield admitted. “But knowing your father, he would have wanted you to discover the protection only when you truly needed it.”

He stood, adjusting his coat. “I must take my leave. Please accept my deepest condolences for your loss.”

I walked him out. Roxy squeezed my fingers tightly. “I’ll drop Mr. Whitfield at his office and come straight back.”

“Take your time,” I said with a faint smile, watching her car roll out through the iron gates before turning back inside.

The moment I stepped across the threshold, my mother-in-law boomed from the center of the foyer, her face twisted into an eerie, sickening smile.

“My sweet, beloved Elena!”

“Mother.”

She rushed forward, taking my hands and patting them with unnatural warmth. I didn’t need a detective to explain her sudden change of heart—she was terrified of losing the house, and she wanted my signature more than she wanted my blood.

“Sister-in-law,” Lucas’s voice purred behind me, smooth as silk. “Come, sit down. You look exhausted.”

He guided me by the elbow toward the sofa, pushing me gently into the cushions. “Here. Drink this.”

Cold sweat instantly broke out across my neck. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs as my eyes locked onto the object in his hand—a glass of thick, white milk.

My breath hitched. My hands began to shake uncontrollably as vivid, horrific memory fragments flashed behind my eyes.

They’re going to drug me.

They’re going to kill me and dump my body in a ditch.

“Elena? Are you alright?” my mother-in-law asked, leaning in closer. Their faces blurred before my eyes.

No. Stay awake. Do not faint. Fainting right now means handing your neck to the executioner.

“I’m... I’m fine,” I gasped out, letting tears overflow and spill down my cheeks to cover my terror. “I’m just... thinking about Adrian.”

“I’m sure Adrian is resting in a better place,” my father-in-law said smoothly, taking a seat across from me.

A better place? I thought, my jaw clenching under my fake tears. I will send every last one of you straight to hell to join him.

Lucas placed the glass of milk on the coffee table right in front of me, inches from my hands.

“Elena,” my father-in-law began, lowering his tone to a paternal murmur. “We know how deeply you loved my son. But now that he’s gone, you can’t treat your own family like enemies.”

I raised a trembling hand, dabbing my eyes with a handkerchief. “I would never. You are my family.”

“Then prove it,” my mother-in-law demanded, her patience snapping through her fake sweet smile. “Go to your lawyer today. Demand that he amend the trust and name the Blackwood family as beneficiaries, in Adrian’s memory!”

A heavy silence fell over the room as all four pairs of eyes locked onto my face, waiting for my reaction.

“I didn’t even know it existed,” I sobbed softly, playing the gullible fool to perfection. “If I had, I promise you, I would have gone to Mr. Whitfield years ago and asked what could be done, for Adrian’s sake. I had no idea any of this was sitting there. I was just as shocked as you were. Please believe me.”

“If you want us to trust you, you’ll go back to that lawyer and have the trust rewritten today. If you still respect me as your mother, you will do as I say!”

“Alright,” I whispered, lowering my head. “I’ll do it.”

A quick, triumphant glance passed between my mother-in-law and father-in-law. They thought they had won.

“Good girl,” Lucas cooed, sliding the glass closer to my fingers. “Drink your milk, sister-in-law. It will soothe your nerves and help you rest.”

“I will, but before that, about Adrian’s body...”

“We will take care of that. Just leave it to us,” my father-in-law said. “All you need to focus on is getting that trust rewritten.”

How had I been so blind to their greed, their true selves, for so long?

“Please take care of it,” I muttered, standing up and leaving the glass completely untouched on the table. “I just... need to lie down for a moment before I leave.”

I hurried upstairs to my bedroom, turning the deadbolt behind me. I dared not touch a single drop of food or water in this house.

I sank onto the mattress, pulled out my phone, and shot a message to Roxy:

‘I need you to dig into Lucas immediately. Search for any hidden records, police complaints, or hush-money payments.’

‘On it,’ she replied seconds later.

I laid back, aimlessly scrolling through my digital photo gallery. Pictures of Adrian and me filled the screen—our first date, our wedding, our anniversaries. His bright, handsome smile stared back at me.

If I hadn’t died on that cold hospital bed in my past life, I would have taken those smiles to my grave, believing he truly cherished me.

A wave of pure disgust surged through my veins. I deleted every single photo, erasing his face from my device forever.

I stood up, snatched the framed portrait off my nightstand, and slammed it face-down onto the floor, shattering the glass before sweeping the sharp wooden frame into the trash bin.

Ping.

My phone vibrated in my palm. It was a message from Roxy.

‘I can’t believe this. Your brother-in-law is an absolute monster. The entire family has been covering for him.’

My breath caught. ‘What did you find, Roxy?’

‘He’s a serial predator. He’s been using the family’s money to silence young women for years.’

My blood ran cold, though I wasn’t surprised. He had done the exact same thing to me.

‘Do you have hard proof?’ I typed frantically.

‘Sending it now.’

A heavy video file loaded on my screen. I pressed play, my chest tightening as security camera footage played out—showing Lucas brutally assaulting a weeping young woman in a private parking garage, pinning her against his vehicle while whispering graphic threats to murder her family if she ever went to the police.

A cold, lethal smile slowly spread across my face as I stared at his wicked face on the screen.

‘The girl in the video...’ I texted Roxy back, my fingers flying across the keypad. “I need to meet her today.”

‘Setting up a meeting now,’ Roxy replied instantly.

I locked my phone, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

Well, well, well, Lucas. Your doom is here.