Chapter 7 - THE FIRST PIECE OF PROOF
Ronan remembered the courthouse.
He remembered the rain.
He remembered being twenty-two and furious at a father who had summoned him without explanation.
He remembered signing a witness log at 8:17 in the morning.
What he had not remembered until he saw the photograph was the date.
October seventeenth.
The morning Celeste Lancaster died.
Ivy stood across the abandoned print shop with Dorian's jacket clutched against her chest.
"Explain."
Ronan lowered the photograph.
"My father called me there."
"For what?"
"A sealed hearing."
"About my mother?"
"I didn't know her name."
"You keep saying that like it makes everything better."
"It doesn't."
Ronan stepped closer.
Ivy moved away.
He stopped.
"The hearing concerned a whistleblower petition involving one of our medical import companies."
Ivy's face changed.
"Halcyon?"
"The name was not disclosed to me."
"What did Gideon want?"
Ronan swallowed.
"He wanted me to certify that a shipment had been legally authorized."
"Was it?"
"I didn't know."
"Did you certify it?"
The silence answered.
Ivy's eyes filled with disgust.
"You signed."
"Yes."
"Without knowing?"
"Yes."
"Because your father told you to."
"Because he told me if I refused, my cousin Daniel would be charged with embezzlement."
Ivy laughed bitterly.
"There is always a reason."
Ronan flinched.
"Yes."
The honesty made her angrier.
"What happened to the petition?"
"Dismissed."
"That day?"
"By noon."
Ivy stared at him.
"My mother crashed at four thirty-seven."
Ronan closed his eyes for one second.
"I know."
"Now you know."
"Yes."
A sound came from the rear hallway.
Ronan raised his weapon.
"Stay behind me."
"No."
"Ivy."
"Dorian may be back there."
Ronan did not argue twice.
They moved together.
The hallway ended at a loading dock.
The back door stood open.
Outside, tire marks cut through the wet gravel.
Too late.
Again.
Ivy slammed her fist against the metal wall.
Pain shot through her injured shoulder.
She did it anyway.
"They're playing with us."
Ronan looked at the printed photographs.
"No."
"Then what is this?"
"They're separating us."
Ivy stopped.
"Explain."
"Every clue makes you distrust me more."
"Maybe because you're untrustworthy."
"Maybe."
Ronan's voice remained steady.
"But if the person who took Dorian wanted us dead, we would be dealing with bullets instead of photographs."
Ivy stared at him.
"They want me to leave you."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because together we can connect your mother's evidence to my family's records."
"And separately?"
"You have half a story."
Ronan held up the photograph.
"So do I."
Headlights appeared outside.
Declan's teams arrived.
He entered with three officers.
"Building clear?"
"They moved him," Ronan said.
Declan examined the rope and jacket.
"We found a camera outside."
"Working?"
"Local storage."
"Get it."
One of the officers approached Ivy.
"Miss Lancaster?"
"Yes."
"Someone is asking for you at Blackwood House."
"Who?"
"Mia Torres."
Ivy's pulse quickened.
The catering assistant had been released from the ballroom an hour earlier under escort.
"Why did she come back?"
The officer held out a small flash drive.
"She says she lied."
They returned to Blackwood House before dawn.
Mia sat in the kitchen wrapped in a blanket.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
When Ivy entered, she stood immediately.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
Mia looked at Ronan, then at Declan.
"I had my phone recording."
Ronan's expression sharpened.
"In the ballroom?"
"Before."
Mia pulled her phone from her pocket.
"My mom told me to record my first big event because she wanted to see the room."
Her voice shook.
"I forgot it was recording in my apron when Mr. Vane talked to me."
Ivy sat beside her.
"What did he say?"
Mia pressed play.
The video showed mostly darkness and fabric.
But the audio was clear.
Elias Vane's voice came first.
"At eight thirty, take the soup past Miss Hale."
Mia replied.
"That's not my section."
"It is tonight."
"Why?"
A pause.
Then Vivienne's voice.
"Because I want Lancaster near my table."
Ivy's stomach tightened.
On the recording, Mia asked another question.
"Did she do something?"
Vivienne laughed.
"She forgot she was invisible."
Another male voice entered.
Augustus.
"Do not overdo it."
Vivienne answered.
"I know how to handle staff."
Augustus's tone became colder.
"I said create a scene."
Silence filled the kitchen.
Then the recording continued.
Augustus said five words that changed the entire night.
"We only need twelve minutes."
Ronan paused the audio.
Nobody spoke.
Ivy looked at Mia.
"What happened next?"
"Mr. Vane told me to go prepare the tray."
"Did you know they were going to hurt anyone?"
"No."
Mia began crying again.
"I swear."
Ivy squeezed her hand.
"I believe you."
Mia looked at her injured shoulder and cried harder.
Ronan resumed the recording.
Vane's voice returned.
"Security cameras are handled."
Augustus answered.
"And the north gate?"
Vane replied.
"The borrowed credential will work once."
Ivy felt cold all over.
Dorian's credential.
The fake Blackwood badge.
This was the first direct proof.
Not suspicion.
Not a photograph.
Not a memory.
Augustus Hale had known about the gate credential.
Vivienne had knowingly created the ballroom distraction.
Ronan stopped the recording.
"Celia."
The attorney looked up.
"Preserve copies in three separate locations."
"Already doing it."
"Send one to federal counsel."
Augustus's voice came from the doorway.
"You might want to reconsider that."
Everyone turned.
He stood with two attorneys behind him.
Vivienne was beside him wearing a black coat over the white silk dress.
Ronan's security moved forward.
Augustus raised one hand.
"No need for theater."
Ronan stared at him.
"You should be under guard."
"Your guard released me to my counsel."
Declan frowned.
"Who authorized that?"
A new voice answered from behind them.
"I did."
Alistair Blackwood entered the kitchen.
Ronan's expression changed.
"You ran."
"I went to retrieve my lawyer."
"During a fire alarm."
"Bad timing."
Ivy stood.
"We have your friend's voice on a recording."
Augustus looked at Mia's phone.
"Then I assume you also have the part after Miss Torres left."
Mia went pale.
"What part?"
Augustus smiled.
"Exactly."
Ronan stepped closer.
"You arranged the distraction."
"I arranged a scene."
"Why?"
"To test security."
Ivy stared at him.
"You expect anyone to believe that?"
"I don't care what you believe."
Augustus turned to Ronan.
"I care what a court can prove."
His attorney placed a document on the kitchen island.
"And while we are discussing proof, Mr. Blackwood, perhaps you should read this."
Ronan glanced down.
It was a complaint filed with the state financial crimes bureau.
The named suspect was Ivy Lancaster.
She laughed in disbelief.
"What is this?"
Augustus smiled.
"A report documenting repeated transfers from Blackwood household accounts into accounts connected to your family."
Ivy's face drained.
"That's impossible."
"Is it?"
Celia grabbed the pages.
Her expression darkened as she read.
"These transfers exist."
Ronan turned sharply.
"How much?"
"Three hundred and twelve thousand dollars over eleven months."
Ivy could not speak.
That was exactly how long she had worked in Blackwood House.
Augustus looked almost sympathetic.
"A maid with hidden access."
He shrugged.
"A brother who steals financial records from cars."
Then he looked at Ronan.
"And a frightened young server who suddenly produces a convenient recording."
Ivy understood the trap.
They had not begun framing her tonight.
May you like
They had begun eleven months ago.
The same day she walked into Blackwood House.
