He Threw Her Keys on the Floor—Then One Phone Call Brought the Entire Mansion to a Standstill

Chapter 08 - The Woman in the Red Dress

Celeste admitted she had taken the cottage key.

She stood near the fireplace, her red evening dress suddenly seeming too bright for the serious faces around her. "Adrian gave it to me last week," she said. "He said I could use the cottage after the gala."

"Where is it now?" Noah asked.

"In my purse."

The key was not there.

Celeste emptied the purse onto the table: lipstick, wallet, compact mirror, charger, and a folded hotel receipt. No key.

Adrian looked almost amused. "Maybe you lost it."

She stared at him. "You took it when you held my purse before dinner."

"No one saw me do that."

Nora cleared her throat. "The foyer camera did."

The footage showed Adrian removing the key less than an hour before Evelyn arrived. Another camera captured him giving it to his driver, who left through the service entrance.

Noah called the security team at the outer gate, but the driver had already departed.

Evelyn felt the evening tightening around them. Whatever was stored at the cottage mattered enough for Marcus to risk contacting Adrian after the scheme had been exposed.

"We should let investigators handle it," Samuel said.

"They're at least thirty minutes away," Evelyn replied. "The driver has a head start."

Noah stepped beside her. "Then we do not go alone."

Within minutes, two security vehicles left Halcyon House with Evelyn, Noah, Julia, and Celeste. Samuel remained behind with Nora and the board. Adrian was placed in a guest suite under guard, though no one had formally arrested him.

Rain began as they reached the wooded road. Celeste sat beside Evelyn in the back seat, twisting a ring around her finger.

"I hated you before I met you," she said.

Evelyn looked at her.

"Adrian said you were cold. He said you humiliated him, controlled the money, and left him when your father got sick. I wanted to believe him because it made what we were doing feel less terrible."

"And now?"

"Now I think he told each of us the version that made him look like a victim."

Evelyn appreciated the honesty, but forgiveness was not immediate. "You helped damage my name."

"I know. I'll correct every lie publicly."

"That will not erase it."

"No," Celeste said. "But it may stop the next lie from spreading."

At the lake road, they found Adrian's driver standing beside an abandoned car. He claimed a masked man had forced him off the road and taken the key.

Noah examined the undamaged vehicle. "He's lying."