CHAPTER 2 — The Call She Never Expected
CHAPTER 2 — The Call She Never Expected
For exactly seven seconds, no one moved.
The old grandfather clock at the end of the hallway ticked with unbearable precision.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
The blonde woman—Vanessa Holloway—still wore tears on her cheeks.
Only now they looked less convincing.
"...Detective?" she whispered.
The pregnant woman didn't answer.
She simply kept the phone against her ear while breathing through the sharp pain spreading across her abdomen. Every inhale burned. Every heartbeat reminded her that she had landed hard.
But she never looked away from Vanessa.
Not once.
The elderly caretaker, Martha, hurried halfway down the staircase before stopping again.
"Miss Evelyn," she pleaded. "Please... let me help you up."
Evelyn finally spoke.
"No."
One word.
Quiet.
Controlled.
It carried more authority than shouting ever could.
"I'll stay exactly where she pushed me."
Vanessa's face twitched.
"What are you talking about? You slipped!"
"You were dizzy."
"You lost your balance!"
"You've been emotional for weeks!"
Each sentence came faster than the last.
Too fast.
Too rehearsed.
Martha frowned.
Something about the explanations sounded wrong.
Nobody had even asked what happened.
Yet Vanessa already had four different versions.
Across the phone, Detective Daniel Ruiz's calm voice came through.
"Evelyn, are you conscious?"
"Yes."
"Any bleeding?"
"I don't know yet."
"Can you still feel the baby moving?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
A tiny flutter.
Small.
Weak.
But there.
Relief washed over her for exactly one second.
"I can."
"Good."
Ruiz's tone sharpened.
"My officers are already outside the estate."
Vanessa's head snapped toward the enormous front windows.
Outside?
Already?
A chill crawled across her spine.
"Why would police already be here?" she demanded.
Evelyn looked at her almost with pity.
"Because I invited them."
Silence.
"...What?"
"I've been inviting them for three weeks."
Vanessa laughed.
A forced laugh.
"You've gone insane."
"Have I?"
Evelyn slowly removed another object from her coat pocket.
Not a weapon.
Not documents.
A tiny silver remote.
She pressed one button.
A soft electronic beep echoed somewhere upstairs.
Then another.
Then another.
Martha frowned.
"What was that?"
"The house security system," Evelyn answered.
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
Every luxury home had cameras.
Everyone knew that.
But Richard Holloway—the billionaire owner of Holloway Manor—had always insisted that indoor cameras invaded privacy.
He refused to install them.
Vanessa knew that.
She had made absolutely certain before moving in.
"There aren't cameras inside," she said confidently.
"There weren't."
Evelyn's eyes never blinked.
"There are now."
Vanessa felt her stomach drop.
"No..."
"You installed cameras?" Martha gasped.
Evelyn nodded.
"Temporary investigation cameras."
"With Richard's written permission."
"No!" Vanessa shouted.
"You're lying!"
Am I?
Evelyn reached into her handbag.
This time she pulled out a folded envelope.
Martha accepted it with shaking hands.
Inside...
A signed authorization.
Richard Holloway's unmistakable signature.
Permission granted to Detective Daniel Ruiz and licensed forensic specialists to install temporary surveillance equipment inside Holloway Manor due to suspected criminal activity involving repeated accidents directed toward Mrs. Evelyn Holloway.
Martha read it twice.
Then three times.
Her hands began trembling.
Repeated accidents.
The words echoed inside her mind.
Repeated.
Accidents.
Her memories rushed back all at once.
The chandelier that had nearly fallen.
The mysterious brake failure on Evelyn's car.
The sleeping medication mixed into tea.
The loose balcony railing.
The sudden gas leak.
Each incident had been dismissed as unfortunate coincidence.
Until now.
Vanessa took one shaky step backward.
"This..."
"...this is fake."
The front doors burst open.
"Police!"
Four officers entered the foyer.
Detective Daniel Ruiz walked in last.
Tall.
Calm.
Expression unreadable.
His eyes landed first on Evelyn lying on the floor.
Then on Vanessa standing above her.
Exactly where Evelyn had predicted she would be.
Ruiz spoke quietly.
"Nobody moves."
Vanessa immediately pointed at Evelyn.
"She attacked me!"
Ruiz didn't even turn his head.
Instead he asked one question.
"Officer."
A younger detective stepped forward carrying a black evidence case.
"Did the cameras upload successfully?"
"Yes, sir."
"And the backup?"
"Already stored off-site."
Vanessa's breathing stopped.
Off-site?
No one could erase them.
No one.
Not even Richard.
She lunged forward.
"I want my lawyer!"
Ruiz finally looked directly at her.
"You may certainly call one."
His voice remained polite.
"But first..."
He nodded toward the staircase.
"...I'd like to watch what happened five minutes ago."
The color drained from Vanessa's face.
She suddenly realized something horrifying.
She remembered pushing Evelyn.
She remembered looking around afterward.
She remembered making sure nobody important had seen.
But she had forgotten one thing.
People look for visible cameras.
Not hidden ones.
Martha slowly covered her mouth.
"Oh... my God."
Vanessa turned toward the second floor.
Every decorative vase.
Every picture frame.
Every smoke detector.
Every antique clock.
Every carved wooden eagle.
They all suddenly looked different.
Watching.
Recording.
Waiting.
"No..."
She whispered the word almost to herself.
Ruiz gestured toward one officer.
"Escort Miss Holloway to the library."
"I'm not under arrest!"
"No."
"Not yet."
The two words hit harder than handcuffs.
As officers led Vanessa away, she caught Evelyn watching her.
No hatred.
No satisfaction.
Only certainty.
That frightened Vanessa more than anything.
Ruiz knelt beside Evelyn.
"You knew she'd do it today."
Evelyn nodded once.
"I knew she'd become desperate."
"Why today?"
Evelyn looked toward the massive portrait hanging above the staircase.
Richard Holloway.
Smiling.
Powerful.
Admired.
"Because Richard signed the inheritance amendment this morning."
Ruiz's expression changed.
"The one making the baby sole heir?"
"Yes."
"So if you and the baby died..."
Evelyn finished the sentence.
"Everything would have gone to Vanessa."
Ruiz slowly stood.
The entire hallway suddenly felt colder.
This had never been about jealousy.
It had never been about love.
It had been about billions.
And if that was true...
Then one terrifying question remained.
Ruiz looked toward Evelyn.
"Where's Richard?"
Evelyn's eyes filled with something she hadn't allowed herself to feel until now.
Fear.
Real fear.
"He was supposed to be home an hour ago."
At that exact moment—
Ruiz's phone rang.
He answered.
His face hardened instantly.
"What?"
The officers nearby turned toward him.
Ruiz lowered the phone slowly.
Then looked directly at Evelyn.
"We just found Richard Holloway's car."
A long pause.
May you like
"It was abandoned."
"And there's blood inside."
