CHAPTER 7 — The House of Lies
Rain hammered against the windshield as Emily's black sedan rolled through the iron gates of the Carter Estate.
The mansion had once been filled with laughter.
Tonight, it looked like a prison.
Every light was on.
Every curtain was closed.
Richard's last words echoed in her mind.
"Don't go in alone."
She ignored them.
Emily stepped out, carrying only the silver key and the black key.
The massive front door creaked open before she could knock.
Standing inside was Margaret Hale.
The woman who had raised her after her parents died.
The woman Emily had called Mom for nearly twenty years.
Margaret smiled gently.
"You've grown into your mother."
Emily's voice was cold.
"You lied to me."
Margaret stepped aside.
"Come in."
The mansion was strangely quiet.
No servants.
No security.
No family portraits.
Only a fire burning in the grand fireplace.
Emily held up the documents.
"Did you sign the false accident report?"
Margaret closed her eyes.
"...Yes."
Emily felt as if the floor had disappeared beneath her.
"Why?"
Margaret whispered,
"Because they gave me a choice."
"They told me if I refused... they would kill you too."
Emily stared at her in disbelief.
"They?"
Margaret slowly looked toward the staircase.
"They're already here."
A slow clap echoed through the mansion.
One...
Two...
Three...
A man stepped out of the shadows.
Expensive suit.
Perfect smile.
Late forties.
Emily's blood turned to ice.
"Dylan..."
Dylan Carter.
Her late father's younger brother.
The uncle who had disappeared overseas after the funeral.
The man everyone believed had died in a boating accident fifteen years earlier.
He was very much alive.
"Surprised?" Dylan asked with a smile.
Emily could barely speak.
"You... were dead."
Dylan laughed.
"Dead people don't inherit companies."
He descended the staircase, never taking his eyes off her.
"Charles was useful."
"Vanessa was useful."
"But they were never the mastermind."
He spread his arms.
"I was."
Margaret lowered her head in shame.
Emily clenched both keys.
"You murdered my parents."
Dylan shrugged.
"They refused to sell me control of Hamilton."
"So I removed the obstacle."
Emily lunged toward him in fury.
But armed guards emerged from every doorway.
More than twenty.
Dylan smiled.
"You still haven't learned."
"This was never about revenge."
"It was about ownership."
He pointed at the silver key.
"Give me the Founder Keys."
Emily looked around the room.
Outnumbered.
No escape.
Then Dylan said something that made her heart stop.
"If you don't..."
"The little boy dies."
Emily froze.
"What little boy?"
Dylan smiled wider.
May you like
"You really don't know..."
"Do you?"
