The Price of Twenty-Four Years
Chapter 08 - The Price of Twenty-Four Years
Teresa’s disappearance changed the celebration into panic. Police searched the manor while guests were escorted out. Her coat remained in the cloakroom, and her phone was found beneath a chair near the service entrance.
Conrad insisted he knew nothing. Without proof that Teresa had been taken, officers could only detain him for questioning about the planted necklace and altered records.
Elena noticed Evelyn standing alone beside the empty porcelain box. The older woman looked smaller without the crowd around her.
“Teresa came because I asked her to,” Elena said. “You owe her more than an apology.”
“I owe all of you more than I can repay.”
Evelyn finally revealed the meaning of the missing earring left in Elena’s apartment. It had belonged to Daniel’s grandmother, Margaret. Years ago, Margaret had created a private trust for Daniel’s future children. The emerald necklace and earrings were listed in the trust as identifying heirlooms. If a direct descendant appeared, ownership of a controlling share in the foundation would transfer automatically.
Conrad had not framed Elena merely to discredit her. He needed her convicted of theft before she could establish a claim.
“And Teresa?” Elena asked.
“She witnessed the trust signing.”
Noah entered with a map pulled from the manor’s archives. Teresa’s phone had connected briefly to a tower near an abandoned Ashford greenhouse outside the city. The property had been managed by Conrad for years.
Evelyn insisted on going with them. Elena wanted to refuse, but she saw something new in the woman’s face—not authority, but responsibility.
Police reached the greenhouse before midnight. Teresa was found locked in an office, frightened but unharmed. She said Conrad’s driver had forced her into a car after the gala. The driver, abandoned by Conrad and terrified of taking the blame, surrendered and gave a full statement.
The necklace was recovered from his trunk.
At dawn, Conrad was arrested on charges tied to the framing, the abduction, and foundation fraud. Yet his emergency documents had already triggered a board vote. Until a court ruled, Evelyn was suspended from all authority, and the estate accounts were frozen.
She had spent her life believing money could solve every disaster.
Now she had no driver, no staff, and nowhere she was willing to go.
Elena opened the passenger door of Noah’s car.
“You can stay with us,” she said.
May you like
Evelyn stared at her. “After everything I did?”
“Not because you deserve it,” Elena replied. “Because I refuse to become you.”
