Chapter 2: Secrets Beneath the Vineyard
At midnight, the Whitlock Estate finally grew quiet.
Guests drifted toward luxury guest houses scattered across the vineyards.
Nora couldn't sleep.
The text message replayed in her mind.
She quietly left her room and walked through the silent mansion.
A faint light glowed beneath a study door.
Voices.
Caleb.
His father Richard.
Nora froze outside.
"...the merger cannot fail," Richard said.
"The wedding keeps the nonprofit under our control," Caleb answered calmly.
"And the prosecutor?"
"She'll be gone tomorrow."
Nora's heartbeat slowed instead of racing.
Fear clouded judgment.
Calm collected evidence.
She activated the voice recorder on her phone.
Richard continued.
"If Ivy talks—"
"She won't."
"You sound confident."
"I've made sure she depends on me for everything."
Silence.
Then Caleb laughed softly.
"Bruises heal."
Those two words chilled Nora more than any scream ever could.
A floorboard creaked beneath her shoe.
Inside the room, the voices stopped instantly.
The doorknob turned.
Nora walked away without running, disappearing around the corner just as Caleb stepped into the hallway.
His eyes scanned the darkness.
He smiled.
May you like
But now Nora knew.
The smile was a weapon.
