Chapter 2 - The Uninvited Guests
Kevin glared at me, his hand instinctively tightening around his wine glass. "If this is one of your stupid stunt deliveries, Sarah, I swear to God—"
"Just open the door, Kevin," I repeated, my voice steady, carrying an authority he had never heard from me before.
Suspicious and visibly annoyed, Kevin stormed past me into the foyer. Barbara and Susan exchanged judgmental looks, setting their glasses down to follow him. They couldn't resist a spectacle, especially if it involved exposing my supposed incompetence.
Kevin grabbed the brass doorknob and yanked the heavy oak door open. "Look, whatever you're selling, we're not—"
The words died in his throat.
Standing on our porch were four people. In the front were two police officers in full uniform, their expressions grim and unyielding. Behind them stood an older couple, dressed elegantly but looking utterly devastated.
It was Arthur and Eleanor Vance.
Arthur Vance was the founding senior partner of Vance, Sterling & Croft—the prestigious law firm where Kevin worked. He wasn't just Kevin’s boss; he was the man who held Kevin’s entire future in his hands. And Eleanor Vance was a legendary philanthropist, a woman whose good opinion Kevin had spent the last two years desperately trying to court.
"Mr. Vance? Mrs. Vance?" Kevin stammered, his face instantly draining of color. His posture shifted from aggressive tyrant to groveling employee in a fraction of a second. "Officers? I... I don't understand. What's going on? Is there an emergency?"
Barbara pushed her way forward, her face instantly morphing into her best country-club smile. "Oh, Eleanor! What a surprise! Please, come inside, it’s freezing out there. Kevin, where are your manners? Take their coats!"
Neither Arthur nor Eleanor moved. They looked at Kevin with a mixture of profound disgust and horror.
"We're not here for a social visit, Kevin," Arthur Vance said. His voice was like cracked ice. He didn't look at Kevin; his eyes shifted past him, searching the foyer until they landed on me.
I stepped into the light of the hallway.
The moment Eleanor Vance saw me, she gasped, covering her mouth with a gloved hand.
I hadn't moved the dishcloth. The left side of my face was swollen, a stark, angry red handprint blooming across my pale skin. A thin trickle of dried blood was visible at the corner of my lower lip. My hair was disheveled, and my knees were covered in dark dust from when I had been slammed onto the floor.
"Oh, my dear child," Eleanor whispered, her eyes filling with tears. She bypassed Kevin completely, stepping into the house and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. "Are you alright? We came as fast as we could."
"I'm okay, Eleanor," I whispered back, letting her hold me. "Thank you for coming."
Kevin stood frozen, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He looked from Eleanor holding me, to his boss’s furious face, to the two police officers who were now stepping across the threshold, their hands resting casually near their utility belts.
"Wait... what is this?" Kevin yelled, his panic finally breaking through his shock. "Sarah, what did you do? Why did you call my boss? Why are the police here?!"
"Mr. Hamilton," the taller of the two officers said, stepping between Kevin and me. "We received a distress call from this address regarding a domestic disturbance. Furthermore, we were intercepted en route by Mr. and Mrs. Vance, who provided us with live audio evidence of an assault taking place inside this residence."
Kevin’s head snapped toward me, his eyes wide with a sudden, terrifying realization.
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"The phone," he whispered. "You... you were recording?"
"I was always recording, Kevin," I said softly, stepping out of Eleanor's embrace. "But tonight wasn't the first time. It was just the last time."
