Chapter 2: The Man at the Gate
Elena tried to stand, but another cramp forced her back against the table.
“Please,” she whispered.
“Something is wrong.”
Julian glanced toward the arriving guests.
“Then stop making a scene.”
Chloe leaned close enough for Elena to smell champagne on her breath.
“Your room won’t be yours much longer.
Julian promised it to me after tonight.”
Elena stared at her husband.
“What is she talking about?”
Julian reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded document.
“You signed control of the estate over to me this morning.”
“I signed a medical form.”
“You signed what I placed in front of you.”
As he returned the document to his pocket, a cream envelope slipped onto the path.
Elena recognized the dark seal immediately.
It was one of her father’s letters—but Julian had told her none had arrived in months.
“You’ve been hiding them,” she breathed.
Julian’s face tightened.
“Your father abandoned you.
I protected you from his lies.”
Suddenly, the estate’s security alarm sounded.
A frightened guard hurried across the lawn.
“Mr.
Vance,” he called, “six black cars are at the gate.
The man in front says he’s Elena’s father—and he knows what you made her sign.”
Julian’s champagne flute slipped from his hand.
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Why had Elena’s father come now, and what did he know about Julian’s papers?
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