Chapter 4 - The Woman in White
Daniel reached the nursery first.
The door was moving.
Not opening. Closing.
He shoved it hard and ran inside.
The room was empty.
The curtains moved beside an open window.
"Police!" Torres shouted from the hall. "Do not move!"
Daniel crossed to the window and looked down. Rain hammered the garden. A figure in a pale coat ran between the hedges toward the greenhouse.
"There!"
Torres and an officer took the back stairs. Daniel followed despite her order to stay inside.
The greenhouse door slammed ahead of them.
Inside, rows of orchids shook from the wind. Water dripped from the glass ceiling.
Daniel heard footsteps behind the potting tables.
"Stop!"
A woman burst through the far door.
For half a second Daniel thought it was Celeste.
Then lightning flashed.
The woman was younger, with dark hair tied beneath a white scarf.
Torres tackled her near the fountain.
"Don't hurt me!" the woman screamed. "I came to help!"
Her name was Nora Bell, a former night nurse Celeste had hired when Lily was born.
Rachel recognized her immediately.
"You disappeared after three weeks," Rachel said. "You told us your mother was sick."
Nora started crying.
"Mrs. Ashbourne made me leave."
"Why?"
Nora looked at Daniel. "Because I saw what she was doing."
The room went silent.
"Doing what?" Daniel asked.
"Giving Lily drops. Tiny doses. She said they were for gas. I checked the bottle after she left. It wasn't gas medicine."
Rachel's mouth fell open.
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"I tried. Celeste said she'd report me for stealing jewelry. She had one of her bracelets hidden in my suitcase before I even knew what was happening."
Torres asked, "Why come back tonight?"
"I heard about the gala. I knew she'd finally gone too far."
Nora pulled a flash drive from her coat.
"I copied something before I left. A video from the nursery."
Daniel's hands shook as he plugged it into a laptop.
The footage showed Celeste standing beside Lily's crib at 2:14 a.m., holding a medicine dropper.
Then another person entered the frame.
Rachel gripped Daniel's arm.
The second person was Martin Vale.
He handed Celeste a small bottle.
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And the audio caught him saying four clear words.
"The trust activates soon."
