CHAPTER 5 — The Secret Witness
That afternoon, Arthur sat alone in the garden greenhouse.
Emma found him watering roses.
“Grandpa,” she whispered.
“They’re going to say you’re crazy.”
Arthur did not look surprised.
He simply placed the watering can down.
“I know.”
Emma’s eyes filled with tears.
“Aren’t you scared?”
Arthur smiled gently.
“Sweetheart, I planned for greed.”
He opened a wooden box hidden beneath the workbench.
Inside was a small recorder.
Then another.
Then dozens more.
Emma stared.
Arthur said softly, “For seven years, I let them speak when they thought I was gone.”
His voice became heavier.
“I heard every lie.”
“Every insult.”
“Every plan.”
“And every time they refused to help someone they thought was beneath them.”
Emma swallowed hard.
“Even Grandma?”
Arthur’s face darkened.
“Especially your grandmother.”
Before Emma could ask what he meant, a black car pulled into the driveway.
A woman stepped out wearing a navy suit and carrying a leather briefcase.
Arthur stood.
“Emma, I want you to meet Margaret Hale.”
Emma blinked.
“Who is she?”
Arthur’s eyes softened.
“The only lawyer your grandmother was never able to buy.”
Margaret opened her briefcase and placed one sealed envelope into Arthur’s hand.
“The court hearing is tomorrow morning.”
Arthur nodded.
“And the second file?”
Margaret hesitated.
“It will destroy Eleanor.”
Arthur looked toward the mansion.
May you like
“No.”
“It will reveal her.”
