Chapter 2 - Shadows in the MansionSirens wailed in the distance, cutting through the damp night air outside the sprawling Sterling Estate. Inside, the grand foyer had been transformed into a sterile crime scene of flashing red and blue lights. Police officers rushed back and forth, their heavy boots echoing against the marble floors.
Detective Vance stepped into the study, tossing his wet trench coat onto an antique armchair. He eyed Ethan, who sat rigidly in a leather wingback chair wrapped in a foil emergency blanket.
"Mr. Sterling," Vance began, his voice raspy from decades of smoking. "Your security team tells me the cameras in the east wing experienced a 'glitch' right around the time Miss Vance went over the railing. Quite a convenient technical malfunction, wouldn't you say?"
Ethan kept his expression a mask of calculated calm. "The security system is outdated, Detective. My father installed it a decade ago. I’ve been meaning to upgrade it."
"Right. Outdated cameras, a missing step-mother, and a fiancée who nearly drowned after a very public altercation," Vance said, leaning forward. "Let’s talk about that altercation, Mr. Sterling. Witnesses heard Eleanor tell Claire she 'should never have come back here.' Why would Eleanor say that? What is Claire hiding from?"
Ethan’s jaw tightened. He knew Vance was fishing, testing his reactions. What Vance didn't know—what no one could ever find out—was that Claire wasn't just Ethan’s fiancée. She was the ghost of a past Ethan had spent five years trying to bury.
"My family has always attracted drama, Detective," Ethan replied smoothly, standing up to tower over the investigator. "If you want answers about Eleanor, I suggest you find her. But if you’re asking me to air my family's dirty laundry while Claire is recovering in the medical wing, you'll need a warrant."
May you like
Vance smirked, unimpressed. "You're a smooth talker, Ethan. But bodies have a funny way of surfacing in this town. And something tells me Eleanor isn't running from the police—she's running to finish what she started."
As Vance walked away, Ethan pulled his phone from his pocket. He typed a single, cryptic message to an unknown number: The bird has flown. Secure the vault.
