Chapter 3 - The Housekeeper Who Knew Too Much
Margaret Hail stood with perfect posture, hands folded in front of her.
"Sir."
"Come in."
She entered.
Her eyes went immediately to Elena.
Then to Valentine.
Then back to Elena.
A tiny reaction.
Almost invisible.
Valentine noticed anyway.
"Margaret."
"Yes?"
"Where is my mother's emerald bracelet?"
Margaret's expression did not move.
"I believe it was stolen."
"By whom?"
"We assumed Elena."
Elena flinched.
Valentine watched Margaret.
"You assumed?"
"The circumstances were suspicious."
"Interesting."
Margaret said nothing.
"Where were you the night my mother died?"
"At the estate."
"Where?"
"In the west wing."
"Who saw you?"
"Several staff members."
"Names."
Margaret's eyes flickered.
"Sir?"
"Names."
She gave them.
Valentine already knew two were dead.
One had disappeared.
The fourth had moved to Florida.
He had Luca verify the names.
Five minutes later Luca returned.
"Three are unavailable."
Valentine looked at Margaret.
"You've changed your story."
"No."
"Then explain why two people who allegedly saw you that night have been dead for years and the third disappeared without telling anyone."
Margaret's face tightened.
"You think I killed your mother."
"I think you know what happened to her."
Margaret looked toward Elena.
"She is filling your head with stories."
Valentine stepped forward.
"You fired her yesterday."
"Because she stole."
"Where is the evidence?"
"The bracelet."
"You said the bracelet was stolen seven years ago."
Margaret went silent.
Elena whispered, "That's what I told you."
Valentine stared at Margaret.
"You said she stole it."
"I believed she had."
"But the bracelet disappeared seven years ago."
Margaret's mouth opened.
Closed.
For the first time, she looked old.
"Sir, your mother was ill."
"She was poisoned."
The words came from Elena.
Margaret turned sharply.
Elena's face was pale.
"What did you say?"
"Your mother told me the tea tasted strange."
Valentine looked at Elena.
"You didn't tell me that."
"I was afraid."
Margaret stared at her.
"What else did she say?"
Elena backed away.
"She said someone changed her medicine."
Margaret's expression collapsed for one second.
Just one.
But it was enough.
Valentine saw it.
"So you know."
"I know nothing."
"Get out."
Margaret blinked.
"Sir?"
"Leave the estate."
Her composure shattered.
"You can't do this."
"I just did."
She stared at him.
Then she whispered something that made Elena gasp.
"You're making a mistake."
Valentine walked toward her.
"What mistake?"
"Trusting her."
Margaret pointed at Elena.
"That woman is not who she says she is."
Valentine looked at Elena.
Margaret continued.
"Her name isn't Elena Bell."
Elena went rigid.
Valentine's eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
Margaret looked almost relieved.
"Ask her who her father was."
Valentine turned toward Elena.
She couldn't speak.
"Elena."
Silence.
"Who was your father?"
Her eyes dropped.
Then she whispered,
"Michael Bell."
Valentine's face hardened.
"Michael Bell?"
Luca's voice came from the doorway.
"Sir."
Valentine looked at him.
Luca held a phone.
"Michael Bell was one of your father's former attorneys."
Valentine's attention returned to Elena.
"How do you know my family?"
Elena began to cry.
"My father worked for your mother."
"Doing what?"
"Investigating."
"Investigating what?"
"The people inside this house."
Valentine stared at her.
"Why did you come to work here?"
"Because my father disappeared."
"Seven years ago?"
"Three months before Mrs. Moretti died."
Valentine felt the pieces shifting.
"Did my mother know your father?"
"Yes."
"Did she know he disappeared?"
"Yes."
"Did she ask you to stay here?"
Elena nodded.
"Why?"
"She wanted me close."
"For protection?"
"To watch."
"Watch whom?"
Elena's voice cracked.
"Margaret."
Margaret stepped forward.
"You see?"
She pointed at Elena.
"She came here to spy on us."
Valentine looked at her.
"Then why did you fire her?"
"I found out who she was."
"Yesterday?"
"Yes."
"Seven years late."
Margaret said nothing.
Valentine walked to the desk.
He picked up the brass key Elena had given him.
"Let's go to my mother's study."
He turned to Elena.
"You come too."
Margaret's face went white.
They walked into the old study.
Valentine inserted the key into Isabella's desk.
The first drawer opened.
Empty.
Second.
Empty.
Third.
A hidden panel clicked.
Inside was a stack of letters.
One envelope carried Elena's name.
She stared.
"My mother wrote that?"
Valentine opened it.
The first sentence read:
Elena, if you're reading this, your father was right.
Below it was a date.
Two weeks before Isabella's death.
The letter explained everything.
Michael Bell had discovered that someone was stealing money from the Moretti family's legitimate businesses.
He had also discovered that members of the house staff were being bribed.
Isabella had planned to expose them.
But before she could, Michael vanished.
She believed he had been killed.
Then she wrote:
I suspect the person orchestrating this is someone Valentine trusts absolutely. If I die, do not confront them alone.
Valentine stopped reading.
His face had gone cold.
Elena whispered, "What did she say?"
Valentine looked at her.
"My mother knew your father."
"Yes."
"She trusted him."
Elena closed her eyes.
"Then my father was telling the truth."
A crash came from the hallway.
Luca ran in.
"Sir, Margaret is gone."
Valentine stood immediately.
"Lock the gates."
"Already done."
"Search every room."
Luca hesitated.
"There's more."
"What?"
"The security footage shows Margaret entering the old chapel fifteen minutes ago."
Valentine looked at Elena.
They both knew the chapel had been sealed since Isabella's death.
They went there together.
Inside, candles were burning.
Margaret stood before Isabella's old memorial.
A gun was in her hand.
But she was not pointing it at Valentine.
She was holding it to her own head.
Valentine stopped.
"Margaret."
She laughed softly.
"Don't come closer."
Elena started crying.
"What did you do to my father?"
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't kill him."
"Then who did?"
Margaret looked at Valentine.
"The same person who killed your mother."
Valentine's voice was quiet.
"Who?"
Margaret lowered the gun.
"The man standing behind you."
Valentine turned.
May you like
Luca stood there.
His gun was already drawn.
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