The Video That Started Too Late
Chapter 02 - The Video That Started Too Late
Emily was taken to St. Matthew’s Hospital, where doctors discovered a powerful sedative in her bloodstream. She had also struck her head during the fall, but they expected her to recover.
Police questioned everyone who had attended the celebration. Claire admitted that she had argued with Emily earlier that evening, but refused to explain why. She also admitted opening Evelyn’s safe before the party.
That was enough to make Adrian doubt her.
The anonymous video spread online before midnight. Guests who had spent the evening praising the Hawthorne family were now sharing headlines about a jealous mother and an injured bride-to-be. The clip lasted only eleven seconds, but it looked devastating.
Adrian watched it until he noticed something strange.
The hallway clock showed 9:17, yet the estate’s main security system recorded the fall at 9:09. Eight minutes were missing.
He called Marcus Lane, his childhood friend and the chief financial officer of the Hawthorne Foundation. Marcus had managed the estate’s cameras for years. He claimed the system had suffered a power interruption and suggested Claire had deleted the earlier footage.
“Your mother never wanted Emily in this family,” Marcus reminded him. “Maybe she finally decided to stop the wedding herself.”
The words sounded reasonable, which made Adrian distrust them.
At the hospital, Emily woke but remembered only fragments: a bitter taste in her champagne, footsteps behind her, and someone demanding a key. When Adrian showed her the necklace, she began to cry.
“Your mother gave it to me tonight,” she said.
Adrian stared at her. “She said it was locked in the safe.”
“It was. She asked me to meet her in the library before the party. She apologized for judging me and said Evelyn would have wanted me to wear it at the wedding.”
Claire’s secrecy suddenly had another meaning. She had hidden the gift because she wanted to surprise Adrian.
Emily touched the bandage on her head. “The pendant isn’t just jewelry. Evelyn hid something inside it.”
Adrian examined the diamond setting and found a tiny mechanical latch. The pendant opened, revealing a narrow metal strip engraved with twelve numbers.
A safe-deposit code.
Emily explained that Claire had discovered irregular transfers from the Hawthorne Foundation. Evelyn had recorded evidence before her death and left instructions that the pendant should be opened only if the theft began again.
Adrian immediately thought of Marcus.
Then his phone rang.
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It was the hospital security desk. Someone using Claire Hawthorne’s identification had just entered Emily’s room.
But Claire was standing beside Adrian.
