Chapter 2: The Woman in the Yellow Dress
Chapter 2: The Woman in the Yellow Dress
By nightfall, the Vane estate was surrounded by police cars.
The helicopter had been sealed as evidence.
The mechanic, terrified and shaking, confessed before midnight.
Savannah had paid him five hundred thousand dollars to make Malcolm’s death look like a mechanical failure. The helicopter would explode minutes after takeoff, over the cliffs beyond the estate. There would be no body to question. No witnesses. No suspicion.
Only a grieving young widow in a yellow dress.
But Savannah had not planned for Eli.
She had not planned for a stable hand who noticed things no one else cared to see.
At the hospital, Eli woke to the sound of Malcolm’s voice.
“You’re safe.”
Eli blinked slowly. His head was bandaged. His ribs burned with every breath.
“Did she run?”
“No,” Malcolm said. “She’s in custody.”
Eli closed his eyes in relief.
“I tried to tell them sooner.”
“I know.”
Malcolm placed a small leather folder on the bedside table.
Eli frowned.
“What’s that?”
“Your future.”
Eli stared at him.
Malcolm continued, “You risked your life for mine. Most men with power around me stayed silent. You didn’t.”
“I just did what was right.”
“That’s rare.”
Eli looked away, uncomfortable.
“I don’t want money.”
Malcolm gave the smallest smile.
“I wasn’t offering charity.”
Inside the folder was a contract.
A full scholarship.
A home for Eli’s younger sister.
And a permanent position managing Vane’s racing stables once he recovered.
Eli’s eyes filled, but he held the tears back.
“My sister?”
“I know your parents died last year,” Malcolm said. “I know you took this job to keep her out of foster care.”
Eli swallowed hard.
“You looked into me?”
“I look into everyone close to my estate. I should have looked closer at my wife.”
For a long moment, neither man spoke.
Then Malcolm stood.
“There’s one more thing.”
He turned on the television mounted in the corner.
Savannah appeared on the screen, being led from the police station while reporters shouted questions.
Her yellow dress was wrinkled now.
Her perfect hair had fallen loose.
Her diamond earrings were gone.
“Mrs. Vane! Did you try to murder your husband?”
“Was there another man involved?”
“Did you plan to inherit the company?”
Savannah kept her head down.
Then one reporter shouted, “Did the stable hand expose you?”
She stopped.
For one second, she looked straight into the cameras.
Her face twisted with pure hatred.
May you like
And Eli knew.
Even behind bars, Savannah was not finished.
