Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven: The manipulator 

Emma drove straight to the Reeds family estate, her fingers tight around the steering wheel the entire way. The familiar iron gates came into view and she exhaled slowly, composing herself. She needed to look like a woman in pain, not a woman with a plan.

Nathan's mom had always had a soft spot for her. From the moment Emma had placed a grandson in her arms, she had become the old woman's favourite daughter rather than daughter-in-law. It was a card Emma had never hesitated to play. And today she was going to play it well.

The housekeeper let her in without question and led her to the sitting room where Mrs. Reeds was having her afternoon tea. Mrs. Reeds looked up the moment Emma walked in, reading her face immediately. That was the thing about older women who had seen a lot they always thought they could read a room. Emma let her think she could.

"Emma? What's wrong?"

Emma sat down across from her, folding her hands in her lap. She let the silence stretch just long enough to seem like she was struggling to find the words. Long enough to look like it hurt.

"It's Sarah," she finally said. “My… sister ."

Mrs. Reeds set her teacup down slowly. "What about her?"

"She's been lying, Mom. To everyone, to Nathan, to anyone who would listen." Emma's voice cracked slightly, right on cue. "And now she's going after Nathan. Using whatever she has to get close to him. And when I tried to say something, to warn him, he sent me away. Like I was the problem."

Mrs. Reeds stared at her for a moment. "You're saying your sister has been lying to everyone, and now she's going after Nathan? And he sent you out because of her?"

"Yes, Mom." Emma's eyes glistened with tears she had been rehearsing since the drive over. "I'm just... trying to look out for Nathan, that's all. But he thinks I'm interfering with his business."

The older woman's expression shifted. There was no confusion in her eyes. She had not built the Reeds name by letting people walk through her family unchallenged. There was no confusion in her eyes-only quiet, simmering resolve. She had not carried the

Reed's name this far by letting people walk through her family unchallenged. Emma had known that. That was exactly why she had come here first. Before Nathan. Before anyone else.

"You don't need to cry over that," she said, reaching over to pat Emma's hands. "Don't worry. I'll meet her myself, and you know what that means. Unless she wants to face a very big problem."

Emma managed a small, grateful smile. "Thank you, Mom. I don't know what I'd do without you."

She stayed a little longer. Accepted a cup of tea she didn't drink.

Made gentle, careful conversation about Alex, about Nathan, about nothing in particular just enough to seem like a woman who needed company, not one who had already gotten exactly what she came for. Then she rose, dabbed at the corners of her eyes, and picked up her bag.

"I'll be on my way. I'm going to get. Alex from school," she said.

Mrs. Reeds walked her to the door and squeezed her hand. "Take care of yourself. And don't worry - I'll handle this"

Emma nodded, smiled, and stepped out into the afternoon sun.

The smile dropped the moment she reached her car.

She wasn't going to get Alex from school. She had a mission to complete, and sentiment had no place in it.

She sat behind the wheel for a moment before starting the engine, Just thinking. The visit had gone exactly as planned. Mrs. Reeds would go after Sarah. That would create noise, keep Nathan distracted, maybe even drive a wedge between them before anything could happen. Good. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough to just cause noise. She needed facts. Solid, undeniable, devastating facts.

Earlier that morning, when she had gone to Nathan's office under the pretense of giving him his favourite food , she had slipped a small voice recorder beneath the edge of his Table where no one would think to look. She had been careful. She was always careful. Careful was the only way she had ever survived in this family.

She needed to know what Nathan was saying about the photo that had gone viral, that was still burning a hole in her chest.

She needed to know what Nathan knew. The photo that had gone viral was still burning a hole in her chest. She had seen it the same way everyone else had. A child's face staring back at her from a screen-and something in her had twisted in a way she couldn't shake. She needed to confirm it and hear Nathan say it himself, or hear him react in a way that left no room for doubt.

Because if that child was who she thought it was, everything changed. Everything.

She started the engine and drove slowly through the estate gates, her mind already running three steps ahead. She would retrieve the recorder tonight and listen to everything. And then she would decide what to do with what she found.

One thing was certain she wasn't going to sit back and watch her life unravel because of Sarah. Not now. Not after everything she had built and protected and fought to keep.

She turned onto the main road and pressed her foot down on the accelerator.

Whatever it took, she would get to the truth first.

She didn't know exactly what she would find on that recorder. Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. But either way, she would know. And knowing was power. Knowing was the only thing that had ever kept her one step ahead of everyone else in that house, in that family, in this whole complicated mess she had found herself in. She wasn't about to stop now.

The city blurred past her windows. She kept her eyes on the road and her mind on what would come next.