Chapter 7 - The Shadows of Sarah Vance
The silence returned to the penthouse, but it was no longer the sterile silence of luxury. It was the heavy, suffocating atmosphere of a crime scene.
Victor stood over his wife, his hands trembling at his sides, his chest heaving under his dark navy suit. He looked at Evelyn as if she were a toxic parasite that had infested his home, his life, and his mind.
"Sarah," Victor murmured, his voice cracking slightly as the name escaped his throat.
Evelyn’s head snapped up. Through her swollen eye and tear-streaked face, a flash of pure, primal panic crossed her features.
"What did you say?" Evelyn whispered.
"My first wife," Victor said, taking a step closer, his shadow completely enveloping her. "Sarah died of an sudden, unexplained cardiac arrest in this very living room two years ago. The autopsy was inconclusive. They said it was a rare congenital heart defect."
Victor looked toward Martha, whose stern face nodded slowly in silent confirmation.
"Martha," Victor said, his voice dropping into a dark, icy register. "When Sarah died... who was the person who served her tea that afternoon?"
Martha took a deep breath, her hands tightening around the wooden picture frame. "Mrs. Evelyn was visiting that day, sir. She was Sarah's closest friend. She offered to stay with her while you were in Tokyo on business."
Evelyn began to crawl backward across the marble floor, her silk dress smearing her own blood across the white stone. "No... no, Victor, don't do this! You're crazy! Sarah was my friend! I loved her!"
"You didn't love her," Clara spoke up from across the room, her voice clear and resonant. "You wanted her life. You wanted her husband. You wanted this penthouse."
Clara walked forward, still holding Leo safely against her chest. She looked down at Evelyn with a mixture of profound pity and absolute disgust.
"You couldn't have Sarah's life while Sarah was alive," Clara said softly. "And when you finally got into this house... when you realized that Leo was the true center of Victor's world... you realized you couldn't have complete control as long as Sarah's child was here to remind Victor of the woman he actually loved."
Evelyn backed up against the base of the glass staircase, her spine striking the chrome support pillars. She had nowhere left to run.
Victor pulled his smartphone from his inner jacket pocket. He didn't call his high-priced corporate attorneys. He didn't call his public relations team.
May you like
He dialed three digits.
"Emergency services," Victor said into the receiver, his voice cold, steady, and devoid of emotion. "I need police and an ambulance at Penthouse 1, Maison Vance. I have evidence of severe, ongoing child abuse... and a confession regarding a homicide."
