Chapter 5 - The Shadow of Suspicion and the Breaking Point
The private study smelled of cold ashes and stale coffee when Evelyn unlocked the door the following afternoon.
The heavy mahogany doors clicked shut behind her, sealing her off from the rest of the mansion, where Arthur and Margaret were currently engaged in a tense, hushed argument in the parlor.
Evelyn walked straight to the antique oak desk, her mind racing at a hundred miles an hour.
Victoria Vance.
The name echoed in her head like a persistent warning siren.
If Victoria was back, and if she was the architect behind the forged Westmorland document, then every single security measure in this house had been compromised.
Evelyn opened the velvet-lined mahogany box to look at the parchment once more, needing to verify a detail about the seal.
She froze.
The box was empty.
Her breath hitched in her throat, a cold wave of panic washing over her from head to toe.
She ripped the lid back further, her gloved fingers frantically searching the dark velvet interior.
Nothing.
The forged document was gone.
The sound of the study door unlatching made her blood run instantly cold.
Evelyn whipped her head around, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs like a trapped bird.
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Arthur stood in the doorway, his tall frame blocking the exit, his blue eyes entirely devoid of warmth.
In his right hand, casually dangling between his index and middle finger, was the yellowed, brittle piece of parchment.
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