CHAPTER 3 — THE WOMAN WITHOUT THE RING
Catherine stared at her bare hand.
For years, she had worn the emerald ring their mother left her. It had appeared in family photographs, business interviews, and charity events.
Now it was missing.
Michael stepped toward her.
“Where is it?”
“I left it at home.”
“You live here.”
“In my bedroom.”
“Then we’ll find it.”
Catherine blocked the doorway.
“No one searches my room.”
George’s voice was calm.
“Move.”
For the first time, Catherine looked frightened.
Michael and Andrew went upstairs while the others remained in the study.
They returned ten minutes later with a small velvet jewelry box.
It was empty.
Michael placed it on the desk.
“The ring isn’t there.”
Catherine looked at Eleanor.
Eleanor lowered her eyes.
George noticed again.
“You two met before the accusation.”
Eleanor whispered, “No.”
“Then why do you keep looking at her?”
Catherine’s control broke.
“She’s lying to protect herself.”
Eleanor looked up.
“You told me no one would be hurt.”
The room went silent.
Michael stared at his sister.
“You contacted her.”
Catherine shook her head.
Eleanor stepped forward.
“You sent the photograph of the accident.”
“No.”
“You knew about Mulholland Drive because I told you three years ago.”
Catherine’s eyes narrowed.
“You were drunk when you told me.”
“But you remembered.”
Victor watched the exchange without surprise.
George turned toward him.
“You already knew.”
The attorney closed his briefcase.
“I suspected.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I did not know how far the plan went.”
Michael pointed at the backup drive.
“Who sent you the video?”
Victor hesitated.
“That is the problem.”
He removed a printed email.
The message had come from George’s private account.
George read it.
SEND THE BACKUP TO THE FAMILY. DO NOT TRUST CATHERINE.
“I never sent this.”
“I know,” Victor said. “Your account was accessed while you were in the living room.”
Andrew examined the email header.
“The same administrator token used to delete the video.”
George looked at Catherine.
She laughed nervously.
“You have already decided I’m guilty.”
“You stole from the foundation,” George said.
“You tried to frame me.”
“And you blackmailed Eleanor.”
“I did none of those things.”
Michael picked up the phone.
“I’m calling the police.”
“Wait,” Victor said.
Everyone looked at him.
“There is another problem with the recording.”
He replayed the video.
Eleanor entered.
George followed.
The gloved hand with the emerald ring appeared near the edge of the frame.
Victor paused the image.
“The timestamp reads 3:05.”
“So?” Michael asked.
“At 3:05, Catherine was photographed in the garden.”
He placed a printed photograph beside the laptop.
It showed Catherine standing with two guests beneath the pergola. A digital camera timestamp confirmed the exact minute.
Catherine seized the photograph.
“You see?”
George remained unconvinced.
“Someone could have altered the timestamp.”
“Or someone wanted us to believe Catherine entered the room,” Victor said.
Michael looked at the emerald ring on the screen.
“Who else had access to it?”
Catherine’s face changed.
“My ring disappeared yesterday.”
“Why didn’t you report it?”
“I thought I had misplaced it.”
Eleanor looked toward Victor.
The attorney noticed.
“What?”
She stepped away from him.
Michael saw the fear in her face.
“Eleanor?”
She pointed at Victor’s briefcase.
“That leather strap.”
Everyone looked down.
A faint green scratch marked the brass clasp.
Victor closed the briefcase quickly.
George’s voice hardened.
“Open it.”
“There is nothing inside.”
“Open it.”
Victor remained still.
Michael took the briefcase from him.
Victor tried to stop him, but Andrew stepped between them.
Michael emptied the contents onto the desk.
Legal files.
A fountain pen.
The portable drive.
A set of keys.
And Catherine’s emerald ring.
No one spoke.
Victor’s face became pale.
Catherine grabbed the ring.
“You planted this.”
Victor looked genuinely shocked.
“I have never seen it before.”
George studied him.
“Your administrator credentials could delete the footage.”
“So could yours.”
“You knew Catherine was being removed from the trust.”
“I wrote the documents.”
“You knew Eleanor’s accident had been buried.”
Victor said nothing.
Michael moved closer.
“You had access to every secret in this family.”
Victor’s composure returned.
“That does not make me guilty.”
“No,” George said. “But the ring in your briefcase does.”
Victor looked around the study.
Then he began to smile.
“You are all behaving exactly as expected.”
Michael frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Victor reached slowly into his jacket.
Andrew seized his arm.
Victor did not resist.
He removed a small audio recorder and placed it on the desk.
A red light blinked.
“This conversation has been recorded from the moment I entered.”
George stared at him.
“Why?”
“To prove that every member of this family would accuse the nearest convenient suspect without waiting for the truth.”
Michael looked at his father.
The words struck both of them.
Victor continued.
“First Eleanor accused George.”
“Then George accused Catherine.”
“Now all of you accuse me.”
Catherine held up the emerald ring.
“It was in your briefcase.”
“Yes.”
“But I did not put it there.”
“Who did?”
Victor looked toward the hallway.
“Someone who entered this study before any of us.”
Footsteps sounded outside.
A woman appeared in the doorway.
Rebecca Brooks.
George’s younger sister.
She had remained almost invisible throughout the afternoon—quiet, polite, and apparently uninvolved.
Now she held a second security drive in one hand.
In the other was Michael’s missing study key.
George stared at her.
“Rebecca?”
She looked at Victor.
“You weren’t supposed to find the ring yet.”
Victor’s face lost all color.
Michael moved toward her.
“What have you done?”
Rebecca stepped backward.
“Protected what should have belonged to me forty years ago.”
Then she pressed a button on the security drive.
A recording began playing through the laptop speakers.
May you like
It was George’s voice.
“If Rebecca ever learns the truth about the trust, she will destroy this family.”
