Chapter 4 - The Package in the Kitchen
I followed Mrs. Gable down the winding back service stairs two steps at a time, the anger in my chest burning hotter with every stride. The revelation about Victoria's true identity—that she was Arthur Sterling's vengeful daughter—had already transformed my grief and shock into cold, calculated resolve. But if she had accomplices inside my home on our wedding day, this was no longer just a malicious plot of personal revenge or financial fraud. It was a targeted operation.
When we pushed open the heavy steel door of the security monitoring office, our head estate guard, Marcus, was standing over a metal table. Spread out across the surface were several heavy velvet jewelry rolls, a stack of bearer bonds from my personal home safe, and a passport bearing Victoria’s photograph under the alias Victoria Sterling.
Marcus looked up as I walked in, his expression grim. “We caught him trying to make for the service road in a catering van, Mr. Reynolds. He had these tucked inside a box of unused linen napkins. The safe code must have been compromised.”
“How did he get the safe code?” I asked, my voice dangerously calm.
“Only two people in this house had the master combination,” Marcus replied, sliding a printed log sheet across the desk. “You, sir. And Miss Victoria.”
I stared at the bearer bonds. They were liquid assets meant to fund our expansion project in the tech sector—millions of dollars ready to be transferred abroad within the hour. Victoria hadn't just planned to marry me and slowly siphon my wealth; today was the culmination of her masterstroke. The wedding was never the destination; it was the smoke screen. With hundreds of guests distracted, staff members moving in and out, and security stretched thin, today was the day she intended to clean out the estate completely, frame me for financial impropriety, and vanish across international borders with my fortune, leaving me ruined and disgraced.
And Lily? Lily had accidentally stumbled into Sarah’s old dressing room this morning, found the floral handbag where Sarah had hidden the backup flash drive months ago, and brought it downstairs—disrupting the entire timeline of Victoria's escape.
“Where is Victoria now?” I demanded, turning back toward the hallway.
“We kept her in the foyer under watch, sir,” Marcus said, reaching for his radio. “Shall I call the local authorities?”
“Not yet,” I said, a dark resolve settling over me. “Let her stew in her wedding dress for a few more minutes. I want her to realize that every single piece of her elaborate house of cards has just collapsed into dust.”
May you like
As I turned back toward the main house, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw an unknown number flashing on the screen, accompanied by a text message. I swiped it open. The message contained a single photograph taken from outside the estate gates—a picture of Lily standing by the East Wing window, watched by a shadowy figure holding a telephoto lens.
Beneath the photo was a text: “You have the flash drive, Daniel. But we have other ways of ensuring you stay quiet. Bring the drive to the south gate in ten minutes, or your daughter pays the price for your wedding day.”
