Chapter 7 - The Signature
Marcus went pale.
"I have never seen that form."
"Your signature is right there."
"It's digital. It can be copied."
Victoria pressed a hand to her chest. "Marcus, don't make this worse."
He rounded on her. "Did you file this?"
"I asked a specialist for advice after Elena wandered outside at three in the morning last week."
Elena stared. "I never wandered outside."
Victoria's voice stayed gentle. "You were barefoot by the fountain. Owen found you."
"Owen is missing."
"Because you accused him of poisoning you in front of police."
Every sentence was designed to sound reasonable. That was Victoria's gift. She could put a knife through someone and make the blood seem rude.
Marcus took the folder. "Who is the specialist?"
Victoria named Dr. Adrian Vale, a private psychiatrist who worked with wealthy families and valued discretion.
Elena laughed bitterly. "Of course he does."
Marcus pulled Elena into the library and locked the door.
"Listen to me," he said. "I didn't sign that."
"I want to believe you."
"Then believe me."
"You spent six months telling me your mother was controlling but harmless."
"I was wrong about harmless."
That was the first time he said it.
Elena's anger cracked, letting fear through.
"Marcus, I saw her attack me. I felt her hands. I felt the glass break. None of it happened. How do I trust what I see now?"
He took her face in both hands. "You trust patterns. Evidence. Me, if I earn it."
A phone rang inside the desk.
Not Marcus's phone. Not Elena's.
They found an old black cell taped beneath a drawer.
Marcus answered on speaker.
Owen's breathing filled the room.
"Mr. Blackwood," he whispered. "Your mother knows you found the cabinet."
"Where are you?"
"Don't say my name. Don't trust the house phones."
Elena leaned close. "What was in the pills?"
Silence.
Then Owen said, "Ask Victoria what happened to the first woman who took Aurelia."
A crash sounded on his end.
Owen gasped.
The call went dead.
Marcus stared at the screen.
May you like
On the desk computer behind him, a security camera window opened by itself.
Live video showed Owen tied to a chair in the estate greenhouse.
