Chapter 6 - THE DOCUMENT IN THE STUDY
The answer began with a document hidden in plain sight.
Elena Moretti found it while reviewing the files Camilla had tried to copy. It was a draft agreement that would have given Camilla temporary authority over Enzo’s voting shares, several properties, and the family foundation if two doctors declared him medically incapacitated. The document included a clause allowing the temporary manager to sell selected assets to a company controlled by the Ashford family.
Enzo read the clause twice.
“She wanted the power to move everything while I was unable to object.”
“Yes,” Elena said. “But the agreement was never signed, and the transfer would have faced legal challenges. The sedative may have been intended to create the appearance of incapacity, but we cannot assume that until the investigators establish it.”
Detective Price received a copy. She also received a timeline of Camilla’s access to the study, the stolen files, the disabled cameras, and the proposed agreement.
The next morning, Camilla’s lawyer contacted Enzo’s counsel. Camilla was willing to give a statement, but only if the police agreed not to arrest her at the estate and the press were kept away.
Enzo refused to negotiate with her directly. The police could decide the terms of any interview. He would not promise privacy in exchange for silence.
That afternoon, Camilla arrived at the station with her attorney. She denied adding anything to the wine and claimed she had only asked Sloane to “check a security vulnerability.” She admitted striking Adeline but described it as a moment of anger, not an assault she had planned.
The detective asked why she had disabled the cameras.
Camilla said she had wanted to avoid a scene if Enzo rejected the engagement.
“Why would you expect him to reject it?” Price asked.
Camilla stared at the table. “Because he had been distant.”
“And the medical file?”
“I wanted to understand his health.”
“The draft agreement?”
“I was worried about his business. He works too much. He could collapse at any time.”
“Then why use a sedative?”
“I didn’t.”
The interview ended without a confession. The evidence was still circumstantial on that point, and Price was careful not to claim otherwise. But Camilla’s own admissions established that she had arranged unauthorized access to the estate and assaulted Adeline. Additional records linked her to the purchase of the medication, though investigators still needed to establish who had placed it in the glass.
Outside the station, Richard Ashford confronted Enzo.
“You could have protected her,” he said.
“From accountability?”
“From a public disgrace.”
“She chose to strike someone in front of two hundred witnesses.”
“She is your fiancée.”
“She was.”
Richard’s face darkened. “You think you can replace us with your staff? They work for you because you pay them.”
“No,” Enzo said. “They work here because they deserve to be paid for their work. They do not owe me their silence.”
Richard looked as if Enzo had spoken a foreign language.
“You’re going to regret throwing away an alliance that could have made you untouchable.”
“I was never untouchable. I was simply surrounded by people who were afraid to tell me when I was wrong.”
Richard left.
That evening, Adeline returned to her duties after the doctor cleared her for light work. She was assigned to the library and guest wing, not to Camilla’s rooms, which had been closed. Mrs. Bell had adjusted the rota so Adeline could take breaks without explaining herself to every supervisor.
When Enzo passed through the library, he saw her dusting a shelf with one hand while keeping her bandaged wrist still.
“You could have asked for help.”
“I did. Mrs. Bell assigned someone to carry the heavy boxes.”
“Good.”
She set the cloth down. “I heard Miss Ashford gave a statement.”
“She did.”
“Did she admit she put something in the wine?”
“No. The police are still investigating that.”
Adeline nodded. “I hope they find the truth.”
“So do I.”
She looked at him for a moment. “You could have made this disappear. People like you can make things disappear.”
“I could have tried. But then you would have been the person left carrying the consequences.”
“And you?”
“I would have kept the comfort of not knowing what I had allowed.”
Adeline considered that, then returned to the shelf.
For the first time, Enzo understood that her trust was not something he could win with a coat, a job, or a promise. It would have to be earned in the ordinary moments after the dramatic ones.
May you like
At midnight, the detective called. A pharmacy employee had identified the person who collected the sedative: Camilla’s personal assistant, using a false authorization. The assistant had also received a transfer from Richard Ashford’s office.
The investigation had reached the family’s inner circle.
