Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN IN THE GOLD DRESS
By two in the morning, police had arrived at the estate, but Sebastian controlled the flow of information with the precision of a man who had spent his life surviving scandals.
He gave them the threatening phone, the forged clinical report, the empty medicine bottle, and the details of Brennan's disappearance.
He did not give them the Mercer Trust files.
Evie noticed.
She also noticed Daniel watching his father notice her noticing.
No one trusted anyone completely anymore.
The officers separated the household for interviews.
Evie asked to be questioned away from Daniel.
For the first time in her marriage, saying that aloud made her feel stronger rather than disloyal.
Afterward she returned to the drawing room and found Lauren alone near the fireplace.
A female officer stood just outside the door.
Lauren had changed out of the gold dress and into a gray sweater someone had lent her.
Without the satin and jewelry, she looked younger.
More ordinary.
Evie almost hated that.
Cruelty was easier to understand when it wore something glamorous.
Lauren looked up.
“You should sit down.”
“Don't tell me what I should do.”
“Fine.”
Evie remained standing.
“Are you sleeping with my husband?”
Lauren's mouth tightened.
“Do you actually want the answer now?”
“I wanted it before he hit me.”
Lauren glanced toward the door.
“Yes.”
The answer hurt even though Evie already knew.
“How long?”
“Eight months.”
Evie laughed softly in disbelief.
“I've been pregnant seven.”
“I know.”
That was worse.
“You knew and kept seeing him.”
Lauren's face hardened.
“You think Daniel told me the truth about your marriage?”
“He married me.”
“He said the marriage was already over.”
“He slept in my bed last night.”
Something passed through Lauren's expression.
Not jealousy.
Calculation.
Evie caught it.
“You don't love him.”
Lauren gave a humorless smile.
“Do you?”
Evie refused the distraction.
“You're afraid of the trust.”
Lauren's eyes flicked toward her stomach.
There it was again.
“You know what happens when the baby is born.”
Lauren said nothing.
“Daniel told you.”
“He tells me many things.”
“Did he tell you he was having a doctor create a fake psychiatric record?”
For the first time, Lauren looked genuinely surprised.
“No.”
Evie watched her closely.
“Did he tell you about the pills?”
Another pause.
“What pills?”
Evie did not answer.
Lauren leaned forward.
“What pills?”
The fear in her voice seemed real.
Evie felt a new unease.
“What did you think the plan was?”
Lauren's expression closed.
“There was no plan.”
“You're a terrible liar when you're not smiling.”
Lauren looked toward the officer outside again.
Then she lowered her voice.
“Daniel said he needed evidence that you were erratic.”
Evie's pulse sped up.
“What kind of evidence?”
“Arguments.”
“Go on.”
“Public scenes.”
“Go on.”
“He wanted you angry.”
Evie's skin crawled.
Lauren continued reluctantly.
“He said if the marriage ended before the baby came, the board would panic about the trust structure.”
“And then?”
“He said his father would negotiate.”
Evie stared at her.
“You thought this was a corporate pressure tactic.”
Lauren's silence answered.
“You slept with my husband to make me lose control.”
Lauren's jaw tightened.
“You make it sound simpler than it was.”
“It is exactly that simple.”
“I was promised something too.”
“What?”
“A seat on the executive committee.”
Evie almost admired the honesty of the ugliness.
“You traded my marriage for a promotion.”
Lauren flinched.
“You don't know what I traded.”
“Then tell me.”
Before Lauren could answer, Daniel appeared in the hall with an officer beside him.
His face changed when he saw them talking.
“Lauren.”
It sounded like a warning.
Lauren looked at Evie.
Then, deliberately, she said one word.
“Reeve.”
Daniel went white.
The officer looked between them.
Evie understood that Lauren had just chosen to betray him.
Daniel understood too.
“You stupid—”
He moved forward.
The officer blocked him.
Lauren stood.
“You told me this was leverage.”
Daniel's voice went low.
“Stop talking.”
“You said nobody would get hurt.”
“Stop.”
“You said your father had done this before.”
The room changed.
Evie turned slowly toward the hall.
Sebastian had arrived behind Daniel.
For the second time that night, he looked like someone had struck him.
Lauren saw him and seemed to realize she had gone too far.
Evie did not let her retreat.
“What did Daniel say his father had done before?”
Lauren swallowed.
Sebastian spoke first.
“Lauren.”
His warning was colder than Daniel's.
Evie looked at him.
“No.”
She stepped between Sebastian and Lauren.
“You said we were going to find out what my husband has been doing to me.”
Her voice shook with fury.
“Now we find out what you did.”
Nobody spoke.
Lauren's eyes moved from father to son.
Then she whispered the name Evie had never expected to hear.
“Your mother.”
Evie's breath stopped.
Lauren continued.
“Daniel said Sebastian made people believe your mother was unstable too.”
Evie turned to Sebastian.
He did not deny it.
The baby moved beneath her hand.
The room seemed to close around her.
Her mother had died when Evie was eight years old.
The official story was an overdose after years of depression.
Evie had spent her entire life believing the tragedy was private and unavoidable.
Now Lauren's words opened a door to something monstrous.
“What did you do to my mother?”
May you like
Sebastian's answer was barely above a whisper.
“I helped destroy her credibility.”
