Chapter 5 - THE SNAKE IN THE GRASSTwo days later, Emily was released from the hospital. I brought her to my private home—a secluded, heavily guarded estate nestled deep in the coastal pine forests, far away from the prying eyes of the press.
She sat on the sofa, a thick blanket wrapped around her small frame, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows into the misty woods. The swelling on her face had begun to subside, revealing the sharp, beautiful features of her mother.
“I was so stupid, Dad,” she murmured, her voice hollow. “I thought he loved me. I thought Judith was just… traditional. I let them isolate me. They took my car keys, they took my old phone… they told me if I left, they would ruin you.”
I sat beside her, gently taking her bruised hand in mine. “You weren't stupid, Emily. You were kind. You looked for the good in people who had none. That is not a flaw. That was their vulnerability, not yours.”
“What’s going to happen now?” she asked, looking at me with wide, frightened eyes. “Brandon’s lawyer filed for emergency bail this morning. They’re claiming the surveillance video was edited.”
“Let them claim whatever they want,” I said firmly. “Judith filed a counter-claim claiming I kidnapped you from their property.”
Suddenly, the house’s security alarm chimed twice—a soft notification indicating someone had crossed the outer perimeter gate.
I checked the monitor mounted on the wall. A sleek black SUV was idling outside the front iron gates. A woman stepped out of the passenger side, wearing a pristine white trench coat and large sunglasses.
It wasn't Judith.
It was Clara Sterling—Brandon’s ex-fiancée, a woman who had mysteriously vanished from the social scene three years ago after breaking off her engagement with Brandon.
I tapped the intercom. “Can I help you?”
“Mr. Vance,” Clara’s voice came through the speaker, crisp and urgent. “My name is Clara Sterling. I know what Brandon did to your daughter. And I know what he’s planning to do tonight. If you want to keep Emily alive, you need to open this gate right now.”
Emily gasped, clutching my arm. “Dad… Clara went to the mental institution three years ago. Everyone said she had a psychotic break!”
I narrowed my eyes at the monitor. “Let her in,” I ordered the security team.
Clara walked into the living room three minutes later. She didn't look insane. She looked like a survivor of a war zone—her eyes sharp, focused, and terrified.
She pulled a thick manila envelope from under her coat and threw it onto the table.
“Brandon didn't try to frame Emily just for the money, Mr. Vance,” Clara said, taking off her sunglasses, revealing a faint white scar running from her temple down to her jaw. “He framed her because she discovered the truth about his father’s death.”
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Emily froze. “Julian Vale? He died of a heart attack!”
“He didn't die of a heart attack,” Clara said, her voice dropping to a icy whisper. “Judith and Brandon poisoned him. And they are planning to make sure Emily never lives to testify in court.”
