Chapter 6 - The Man at the Gate
The police arrived with a convoy.
Not two patrol cars.
Six black SUVs.
A state police commander.
Two detectives.
And one man who did not wear a uniform.
Victor Ward.
Celeste’s father.
He walked through my parents’ front doors as if he owned the mansion.
Maybe, in some invisible way, he did.
Victor had spent thirty years in Washington. First as a federal prosecutor, then as a private attorney, then as the kind of consultant whose clients never appeared on his website.
He shook my father’s hand.
“Richard.”
My father did not shake back.
Victor looked at me.
“Ethan, difficult evening?”
I wanted to hit him.
Instead, I said, “Your daughter assaulted my son.”
Celeste rolled her eyes.
“I pulled him away from a broken glass.”
Anna, standing near the kitchen entrance, said, “That’s not true.”
Victor looked at her.
One glance.
That was all.
Anna’s face drained of color.
I noticed.
“You know him?” I asked.
She shook her head too fast.
Victor smiled.
“Ms. Reyes and I have met.”
“Where?”
“Employment screening.”
Anna whispered, “No.”
Victor turned toward the police commander.
“Perhaps we should separate witnesses.”
I stepped in front of Anna.
“No one separates anyone in my house.”
Victor glanced around.
“Your parents’ house.”
“Not the point.”
“It is always the point, Ethan. Ownership. Control. Documentation.”
He looked toward my father.
“Isn’t that right?”
The police took statements.
I showed Detective Lena Brooks the letter, the key, the video, and Emily’s ring.
Her expression changed at the ring.
“This was listed as missing personal property.”
“My father took it.”
She looked at him.
“That’s evidence tampering.”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
Victor stepped in.
“Detective, before we turn a domestic dispute into a circus, perhaps you should confirm chain of custody.”
Brooks stared at him.
“You don’t run my investigation.”
“No. But I understand investigations.”
She walked away.
I liked her immediately.
Then Anna pulled me aside.
“We need to leave.”
“What?”
“Now.”
“Why?”
Her eyes moved toward Victor.
“Because he isn’t here to protect Celeste.”
“Then why?”
Anna’s lips trembled.
“He came for me.”
Before I could ask another question, every light in the mansion went out.
Someone screamed.
A crash came from the kitchen.
I ran toward it.
May you like
By the time the emergency lights flickered on, Anna was gone.
And so was Noah.
