Chapter 8 - THE SILENT WOMAN
A shadow moved behind Daniel.
A flash of blond hair in the moonlight.
It was Elena.
She was pale,
shaking,
and she was holding a heavy bronze trophy from the boathouse wall.
Before Daniel could reach me,
she swung it with all her strength.
The blow caught him on the back of the head.
Daniel crumpled to the dock,
unconscious.
Elena stood over him,
her chest heaving.
She looked at me,
tears streaming down her face.
“He was going to kill you,”
she whispered.
“Just like he killed the man on the boat.”
My breath stopped.
“The man on the boat?”
Elena nodded,
dropping the trophy.
“It wasn't an empty boat,
Natalie.”
“It was a drifter.”
“Daniel found him in the harbor.”
“He drugged him and put him in the cabin.”
“Then he set the fire.”
“He’s a murderer.”
I looked down at Daniel,
the man I had slept beside for years.
I felt a wave of nausea so strong I had to lean against the wall.
He hadn't just faked his death.
He had committed cold-blooded murder to facilitate it.
“And Margaret?”
I asked.
“She planned it all,”
Elena said.
“She’s been holding me prisoner at Cedar Vale.”
“She told me you were dead.”
“She said the baby was the only thing left of the family.”
“But I saw you yesterday.”
“I saw the way he looked at you.”
“I realized everything was a lie.”
Elena reached into her pocket and pulled out a small digital recorder.
“I’ve been recording Margaret for months.”
“Everything is on here.”
“The murder,
the fraud,
the theft of your identity.”
“She’s coming here now,
Natalie.”
“She has the security team.”
“We have to go.”
I looked at the house.
The lights were coming on.
The wolves were waking up.
“The baby,”
I said.
“He’s in the car,”
Elena said,
pointing to a small sedan parked in the trees.
“I took him when the guards were distracted.”
We didn't wait.
We dragged Daniel into the boathouse and locked the door.
We ran for the car.
As we pulled away,
I saw Margaret standing on the balcony of the main house.
She looked like a queen watching her kingdom burn.
But she was too late.
The evidence was out.
May you like
The truth was screaming.
And the dead were finally coming home.
