A Girl the House Buried
Chapter 04 - A Girl the House Buried
The cassette tape was too fragile to play on ordinary equipment. Adrian sent it to a forensic audio specialist while Edmund ordered an independent review of every document connected to Blackwood Lodge.
Marcus responded publicly before they could confront him.
At a press conference, he called Clara’s claims “an emotionally manipulative fraud.” He said Margaret had stolen valuables after the fire and raised a child to believe she belonged to the Bellmont family. Vivienne stood beside him in a white suit, looking solemn rather than triumphant.
The story spread faster than the truth.
Clara’s clients canceled fittings. Strangers left messages accusing her of chasing an inheritance. A photograph of Vivienne cutting the dress was edited to make it appear that she had discovered the pouch after Clara planted it.
Edmund offered Clara a room at his estate for protection. She refused.
“I won’t move into the house before I know whether it buried me.”
Instead, she stayed in Adrian’s guest apartment above his law office. He gave her the only bedroom and slept on a narrow couch downstairs. He never called her an heiress. He asked what name she wanted used in legal papers, and when she answered “Clara Hart,” he wrote exactly that.
Two days later, the first DNA test came back inconclusive.
The laboratory reported contamination in both samples.
Adrian’s expression tightened. “That is nearly impossible under controlled collection.”
Clara stared at the result. “Someone changed it.”
A laboratory employee admitted that a courier had collected the samples earlier than scheduled. Security footage showed a man wearing the correct company uniform, but the courier service had no record of sending him.
Edmund demanded a second test under police supervision.
That night, Clara received an anonymous video. It showed Margaret leaving Blackwood Lodge carrying a bundled infant while flames rose behind her. A man stepped into view and opened a car door.
Marcus Laurent.
The clip ended before revealing whether he helped Margaret or threatened her.
A message appeared beneath it:
ASK EDMUND WHAT HE PAID TO KEEP THE CHILD GONE.
Clara confronted Edmund in his study.
The old man did not deny making a payment.
“Marcus told me Margaret was blackmailing the family,” he said. “I paid him to locate her and the baby.”
“How much?”
“Five hundred thousand dollars.”
“And what did he tell you?”
“That the child had died.”
May you like
Clara felt something colder than grief.
For twenty-four years, the Bellmont family had accepted her death because one trusted man delivered a receipt.
