THE WOMAN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POOL

“LOCK THE HOUSE!””

Marcus's shout sent the security guards running.

He jumped through the open window onto the garden path, ignoring the sharp pain as his bare feet struck the stone.

The figure was already near the side gate.

“STOP!””

The person turned for half a second.

Marcus recognized the black jacket.

Then the figure disappeared into the darkness.

Two guards pursued him, while another called the police.

Marcus returned to Lily's bedroom.

His daughter was trembling.

“Daddy, is Mommy in trouble?””

Marcus knelt.

“No, sweetheart. Mommy is going to come home.””

Lily looked at him.

“You don't know that.””

The words hurt more than he expected.

Because she was right.

He didn't know.

And for the first time in fourteen months, he understood that his wife might have been fighting to return to them while he was preparing to replace her.

At 2:15 a.m., Detective Harris arrived with two forensic officers.

They examined the window, collected fingerprints, and reviewed the security recordings.

One officer discovered something unusual.

The intruder hadn't entered through the garden.

He had come from inside the house.

“Someone opened the side entrance from the kitchen,” the officer explained.

Marcus looked toward Rosa.

She shook her head immediately.

“I didn't open anything.””

“Who else has keys?””

“Mr. Hale, Miss Victoria, Mr. Daniel, and the maintenance staff.””

Marcus rubbed his forehead.

“Victoria is in police custody.””

Harris nodded.

“Daniel isn't.””

A moment later, Marcus's phone rang.

Unknown number.

He answered immediately.

“Hello?””

A woman's voice whispered.

“Marcus?””

His entire body went rigid.

He knew that voice.

He would have recognized it in a crowded stadium, through a thousand telephone lines, or after a hundred years.

“Elina?””

There was a faint sound of breathing.

Then the woman spoke again.

“Don't say my name too loudly.””

Marcus's knees nearly buckled.

“Where are you?””

“Listen to me. You need to get Lily away from the house.””

“What? Why?””

“Because Daniel knows she remembers.””

Marcus looked toward the bedroom.

“Are you safe?””

Silence.

“Elina, please. Tell me where you are.””

“I can't.””

“I'm coming to get you.””

“No, Marcus. You don't understand.””

His voice cracked.

“I watched them put an empty coffin in the ground. I mourned you for fourteen months. I thought I would never hear your voice again.””

“I know.””

“Then why didn't you come home?””

A shaky breath came through the phone.

“Because I couldn't.””

Marcus closed his eyes.

“Who did this to you?””

“Victoria and Daniel.””

“I know.””

“No. You don't know everything.””

A pause.

Then Elina whispered something that made Marcus grip the phone harder.

“They weren't trying to kill me because of the company.””

“Then why?””

“Because I found out what Daniel did before I married you.””

Marcus frowned.

“What are you talking about?””

“Remember the night we met? At the charity auction?””

“Of course.””

“Daniel was supposed to be there with you. But he never arrived.””

Marcus remembered.

He had met Elina after she accidentally spilled champagne on his shirt. They had laughed, talked for hours, and exchanged numbers before leaving.

It had been the beginning of their entire life together.

“What does that have to do with Daniel?””

Elina's voice trembled.

“He had been following me for months. He wanted access to my family's business connections. When I refused him, he started using your name.””

Marcus felt sick.

“Are you saying Daniel arranged for us to meet?””

“I found the messages. He paid someone to invite me to that auction. He wanted me close to you because he knew I would eventually become part of Hale Industries.””

Marcus couldn't speak.

“He used our marriage?””

“He used both of us.””

A noise interrupted the call.

A door slamming.

Elina whispered urgently.

“Marcus, I have to go.””

“Wait! Where are you?””

“Check the old music room.””

“What?””

“Your mother left something there before she died. Something Daniel never found.””

Marcus frowned.

“My mother?””

“Behind the piano. Look for the small brass key.””

“Why didn't you tell me this before?””

“Because I didn't know whether I could trust you.””

The words cut deeply.

“I'm your husband.””

“You were,” she whispered.

Marcus's eyes filled with tears.

“Elina, please.””

Then came a sound.

A man's voice in the background.

“Who are you talking to?””

Elina gasped.

“Marcus, get Lily out—”

The call ended.

He immediately called back.

The number was unavailable.

Detective Harris had been listening.

“Did you recognize the caller?””

Marcus nodded.

“My wife.””

Harris immediately signaled an officer to trace the call.

Marcus turned toward the stairs.

“I need to find the old music room.””

“Mr. Hale, don't go anywhere alone.””

“I'm not waiting another fourteen months.””

The old music room was on the eastern side of the mansion. It had been locked since Marcus's mother died seven years earlier.

A grand piano stood beneath a dusty chandelier.

Marcus approached it slowly.

He remembered his mother playing there every Sunday.

He remembered Elina sitting beside her, laughing when she missed a note.

He crouched and examined the space behind the piano.

There it was.

A small brass key.

He picked it up.

A narrow wooden cabinet was built into the wall. The key fit perfectly.

Inside lay an envelope bearing his mother's handwriting.

Marcus opened it.

There was a photograph of Daniel as a teenager, standing beside their father.

On the back, his mother had written:

If Daniel ever tries to take what belongs to you, remember that your father knew the truth.

Marcus frowned.

Beneath the photograph was a folded legal document.

He unfolded it.

The document revealed that Daniel was not merely his brother.

According to the original birth records, Daniel had been adopted.

Marcus stared at the page.

Then he noticed a second sheet.

It was a letter addressed to him.

Marcus,

Your father made me promise never to tell you why Daniel came into our family. But after what happened at the hospital, I can no longer keep this secret.

Daniel's biological father was the man who tried to destroy our company.

Marcus felt his hands go cold.

His phone vibrated again.

A message appeared.

This time, it included a photograph.

Elina was sitting in a small room, her face pale, her hair cut short.

She was holding a piece of cardboard.

Written across it were six words.

*MARCUS, DANIEL IS NOT MY ONLY ENEMY.*

Below the photograph was another message.

Come alone if you want her alive.