“What happens to the company?”
Marian answered, “The board will appoint new management. The criminal case will take time. The families will have a voice in the settlement.”
“And my mother?”
“She will answer for what she did.”
Elena looked toward the hallway.
For the first time since entering the Sterling estate, she felt no need to monitor Victoria’s footsteps.
The silence outside no longer belonged to fear.
It belonged to the end of fear.
CHAPTER 5 – Home
By dawn, the rain had stopped.
The river below the balcony had turned silver beneath a pale sky. Police vehicles lined the drive, but their lights were off. The estate stood quiet, its windows reflecting the first thin color of morning.
Elena stepped outside wearing Julian’s coat over her wedding dress.
The balcony railing was cold beneath her hand.
Julian joined her carrying two cups of tea. He had changed out of his jacket, but the red mark on his cheek remained.
“I asked the kitchen for something that didn’t taste like champagne,” he said.
She accepted the cup.
“Did anyone sleep?”
“Marian slept in a chair for eleven minutes. Thomas is with the investigators. Nora went to the hospital to see her mother.”
“And you?”
“I spent an hour sitting on the floor outside the room where they took my mother.”
Elena turned toward him.
“Did she say anything?”
“She asked whether I would testify.”
“Will you?”
“Yes.”
He looked at the river.
“She said I would regret destroying the family.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That she destroyed it when she decided the family mattered more than the people inside it.”
Elena took a sip of tea. It was too strong and slightly bitter.
