Chapter 5 - The Doctor Left Blood Behind
The blood changed everything.
Andrew wanted Victoria and Lily inside his study while security searched the mansion.
Victoria refused.
“I’m not hiding in a room while my sister is somewhere downstairs.”
“And somebody may be trying to frame me.”
“That doesn’t make Caroline guilty.”
“I didn’t say it did.”
“You’re thinking it.”
“I’m thinking somebody manipulated our daughter.”
Lily pressed her cheek against Victoria’s shoulder.
That ended the argument.
They went downstairs together.
Guests stood in anxious clusters beneath the chandeliers, dressed in black tie and evening gowns, whispering into phones that no longer had cellular service because Marcus had activated the mansion’s internal signal shield.
Victoria hated that feature.
Andrew’s father had installed it after a kidnapping threat decades earlier.
Tonight, it made the mansion feel like a sealed box.
Caroline hurried across the foyer.
“Victoria!”
Andrew stepped between them.
Caroline stopped.
She wore a dark green gown and looked genuinely frightened.
“Where were you?” Victoria asked.
“In the ballroom.”
“You said you were looking for Lily.”
“I was.”
“Then why were you in the ballroom?”
Caroline’s face tightened.
“I went back when I couldn’t find her.”
Andrew spoke.
“How did you know about the linen room?”
Caroline blinked.
“What?”
“On the phone. You said I dragged Lily toward the linen room.”
“I saw you.”
“There are six rooms in that hallway. How did you know which one she entered?”
Caroline looked at Victoria.
“He’s twisting this.”
“Answer him.”
“I saw the door.”
Andrew’s voice remained controlled.
“From where?”
“The staircase.”
“That’s impossible. The linen-room entrance isn’t visible from the staircase.”
Caroline went pale.
Victoria felt sick.
Before she could speak, Marcus approached.
He was a broad-shouldered former Maryland state trooper in his fifties, usually impossible to rattle.
Tonight, he looked rattled.
“We found Dr. Morris.”
“Where?” Andrew asked.
“In the garage.”
“Is she hurt?”
“She’s alive. Paramedics are checking her.”
Victoria exhaled.
“What happened?”
Marcus glanced at Lily.
“Maybe we should discuss it privately.”
Lily suddenly pointed toward Caroline.
“Aunt Carrie has the sparkly key.”
Every adult went silent.
Caroline looked down.
“What key?”
“The one from Daddy’s room.”
Andrew’s eyes sharpened.
“Lily, what do you mean?”
The child pointed at Caroline’s evening bag.
“The shiny one.”
Caroline clutched the bag instinctively.
Andrew noticed.
“So did Victoria.
“Open it,” Victoria said.
Caroline stared at her.
“You cannot seriously believe—”
“Open your bag.”
Caroline’s eyes filled.
“After everything I’ve done for you?”
Victoria’s voice cracked.
“Open it.”
Slowly, Caroline unfastened the clasp.
Lipstick.
A compact.
Tissues.
Her phone.
A silver key card.
Andrew recognized it immediately.
“That opens my study.”
Caroline shook her head.
“I’ve never seen that.”
Marcus put on gloves and removed it.
Andrew looked at his security chief.
“How many exist?”
“Three.”
“Mine?”
“You have one. I have one. The emergency card stays sealed in the security office.”
Marcus paused.
“I checked ten minutes ago.”
Victoria knew what was coming.
“It’s missing.”
Caroline stepped backward.
“Someone planted that.”
Andrew’s expression was unreadable.
“Maybe.”
Caroline looked surprised.
He continued.
“Which means we need evidence before accusing anyone.”
Victoria stared at him.
Despite everything, Andrew was defending the possibility that Caroline had been framed.
That mattered.
Marcus’s radio crackled.
A guard spoke rapidly.
Marcus listened, then looked toward Andrew.
“Dr. Morris is conscious.”
“Good.”
“She says somebody attacked her in the powder room.”
“Did she see who?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Yes.”
Victoria’s eyes moved to Caroline.
Caroline looked terrified.
Marcus continued.
“She says it was a woman.”
Caroline whispered, “I didn’t touch her.”
But Marcus wasn’t finished.
“The attacker was wearing a silver dress.”
Everyone turned.
May you like
Victoria looked down at herself.
Her gown was silver.
