Chapter 16 - ELEANOR SETS HER OWN TRAPThe earlier forged will divided the estate between Rebecca and Nathaniel.
Clara remained included.
Rebecca helped create it willingly.
Later, Nathaniel secretly replaced it with a second forgery favoring himself.
That was why Rebecca said, “That wasn’t the agreement.”
My daughter had not merely witnessed paperwork under pressure.
She helped design the first theft.
She believed half the castle was better than the life interest offered in my real will.
Nathaniel then decided half was too much to share.
“Where is the first forgery?” I asked.
Rebecca looked toward the library.
“Behind George’s portrait.”
Police searched the wall.
A narrow compartment held the document.
My signature was forged.
The notary stamp false.
Clara’s witness signature copied.
Rebecca’s was genuine.
I read every page.
My daughter watched me.
“I was afraid the foundation would erase us.”
“The foundation carries my name.”
“Not the family.”
“I am the family.”
She began crying.
I did not raise my voice.
“We are not preserved by keeping stones.”
“These stones are our history.”
“Our history includes attempted murder tonight.”
Rebecca flinched.
The truth was brutal.
But a castle could not be saved by sacrificing the person who owned it.
The police suggested removing me to a secure hotel.
I refused.
The suspects were in custody.
The remaining evidence was being processed.
I wanted to understand whether any participant had concealed an emergency plan.
Nathaniel expected the party to continue until the toast.
If the plan failed before then, what would he do?
Victoria’s messages contained one instruction:
If Grandmother suspects anything, lights out and recover the papers.
The castle electrical system could be controlled remotely.
Police had Nathaniel’s phone but not every access device.
I proposed leaving the dining hall prepared while officers monitored the system.
Detective Cross objected.
“You are not bait.”
“I am not proposing to drink anything.”
“You are ninety.”
“I was also ninety when they selected me as a target.”
Clara supported the plan reluctantly.
Rebecca was moved to another room with an officer.
At nine the following evening—my actual birthday—we returned to the dining hall.
The cake was a replacement.
The crystal glasses were clean.
The dangerous evidence remained in police custody.
Snow sat on Clara’s shoulder.
Plainclothes officers waited behind the service doors.
I wore my dark-blue velvet dress again.
The gold balloons remained above us.
Clara lit the candles.
Ninety small flames.
The moment should have felt beautiful.
Instead, every shadow looked deliberate.
A replacement silver clock sat inside the gift box.
The genuine recorder remained with police.
We needed whoever controlled the electrical system to believe the plan could still be recovered.
At nine precisely, Nathaniel’s remote account attempted to access the castle network.
The login came from an unknown device inside the house.
Someone had remained hidden for twenty-four hours.
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Then one crystal glass near my place shifted.
A gloved hand withdrew behind the curtain.
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