Chapter 2 - Behind the Velvet Curtain
The guest room on the third floor was larger than Emily’s entire home back in her small hometown. Plush carpets swallowed her footsteps, and warm lighting cast soft shadows against ivory walls. Yet, sitting on the edge of the silk-covered bed, Emily felt smaller than ever.
She stared at her reflection in the gilded vanity mirror. The left side of her face was blotchy and swollen. The physical pain was sharp, but the emotional ache ran far deeper.
A gentle knock at the door startled her.
"Come in," she said weakly.
Daniel walked in carrying a small ice pack wrapped in a clean cloth. He walked over and handed it to her without the cold distance he usually projected in front of others.
"Hold this against your cheek," he said softly.
Emily took it, pressing the ice to her face with a quiet sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mr. Vance. And... thank you for playing the security tapes. If you hadn't..."
"If I hadn't, you would be in the back of a police cruiser right now," Daniel said, his eyes darkening as he leaned against the heavy wooden desk. "Vanessa knew exactly what she was doing. But what I need to know, Emily, is why. Did anything happen between you two before tonight?"
Emily shook her head rapidly. "Nothing! I swear, sir. I barely speak to Miss Vanessa. I clean her room when she asks, I fetch her tea, and I stay out of her way. She has always been cold, but never... never cruel like this."
Daniel frowned, pulling a thin leather folder from under his arm. "Vanessa didn't pick you at random, Emily. That diamond necklace wasn't just any piece of jewelry. It belonged to my late mother."
Emily’s breath caught in her throat. "The late Mrs. Vance?"
"Yes," Daniel said, opening the folder to reveal a faded photograph of a woman wearing the exact same extravagant diamond piece. "My mother left specific instructions regarding her estate before she passed ten years ago. That necklace wasn't supposed to be in Vanessa's possession in the first place. She took it from the master safe without my permission."
"Why would she do that just to plant it on me?" Emily asked, her mind racing.
Daniel leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a low, deliberate pitch. "Because the safe requires a dual-biometric scan. One is mine. The second belonged to my mother... until the estate lawyer transferred those rights to her heir."
"Her heir?" Emily blinked, confused. "Wouldn't that be you?"
"I inherited the company," Daniel said, looking directly into Emily's eyes. "My mother's personal collection, however, was willed to her goddaughter, whom we lost contact with twenty years ago. The only clue my mother left was a matching birthmark and a family heirloom."
Daniel reached down and gently pulled back the lace collar of Emily's uniform, revealing a distinct, crescent-shaped mark near her collarbone.
May you like
Emily froze. "How... how do you know about that?"
"Vanessa knew," Daniel whispered. "And she was trying to eliminate you before you realized who you actually are."
