CHAPTER 6 — THE ACCIDENT THAT WAS NEVER AN ACCIDENT
Sarah's breathing stopped.
Her hands began shaking uncontrollably.
She whispered only one word.
"No..."
The detective looked confused.
"You knew?"
Sarah slowly closed her eyes.
"I always knew."
I grabbed her shoulders.
"What are you talking about?"
Tears rolled down her face.
"Last year..."
"...the staircase."
I frowned.
"What staircase?"
Mother suddenly shouted,
"Don't listen to her!"
The detective silenced her immediately.
Sarah finally looked at me.
"You remember when your mother told you I fell down the stairs because I was careless?"
I nodded slowly.
"She said you broke your arm."
Sarah lifted her sleeve.
A long scar stretched across her shoulder.
"I didn't fall."
The detective placed a photograph on the table.
It showed broken wooden steps.
Fresh saw marks.
Clean cuts.
Someone had deliberately weakened them.
"Forensic engineers examined the staircase after an anonymous complaint."
The detective continued.
"The support beams had been partially cut."
I couldn't breathe.
"They wanted her to fall."
Sarah nodded through tears.
"I was carrying Jamie."
I looked at my son.
His little fingers instinctively wrapped around mine.
Sarah continued.
"When I reached the top..."
"...the stairs collapsed."
"I threw Jamie forward."
"I landed underneath."
The detective quietly added,
"If she'd fallen one second differently..."
"...both mother and child would have died."
My knees nearly gave out.
I slowly turned toward Mother.
She refused to meet my eyes.
Instead...
she stared at the floor.
That silence...
was all the answer I needed.
The detective spoke again.
"There's something else."
She handed me an evidence bag.
Inside...
was a small digital voice recorder.
"We recovered this from one of the former housekeepers."
She pressed play.
Static filled the ballroom.
Then voices.
Mother.
Prudence.
Clear as day.
Prudence laughed.
"If Sarah dies, nobody will question it. She's weak anyway."
Mother answered coldly.
"As long as the boy survives until Daniel signs the inheritance papers."
Another pause.
Then the sentence that turned every guest pale.
"If the boy becomes a problem later..."
"We'll deal with him too."
The recording ended.
Complete silence.
My mother slowly looked up at me.
For the first time in my life...
she realized she had lost everything.
But before the police could place handcuffs on her wrists—
the front doors of the mansion burst open.
A black luxury SUV screeched to a stop outside.
A distinguished man in an expensive suit stepped inside, surrounded by bodyguards.
The moment he saw Sarah...
his face changed completely.
He whispered in disbelief,
"Sarah..."
"...I've finally found you."
Sarah stared at him with tears filling her eyes.
May you like
Then she uttered words that stunned everyone in the room.
"Father?"
