Chapter 4 - THE WITNESS IN THE SHADOWS
I spent the rest of that night in the study. Alone. Going over everything Vivienne had said. Checking names. Checking timelines. Checking the staff records from the day Elena died.
By dawn, I had a list. Three names. Three men who had been absent that evening. All of them had resigned within weeks of Elena’s funeral. All of them had vanished without a forwarding address.
It was not proof. But it was enough to terrify me.
I stood and walked to the window. The sun was rising pale and grey over the grounds. I thought of Vivienne. Threatening. Blackmailing. But she was not smart enough to invent all of this. Which meant… someone had told her. Someone had fed her these facts. Someone wanted me to know. Or someone wanted to manipulate me.
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts. The door opened. My brother stood there. He looked exhausted.
“Leo is awake,” he said quietly. “He is asking for you. The staff is whispering. The guests have departed. But everyone knows something happened.”
“Let them whisper,” I said. “Better they whisper the wrong thing than know the truth.”
He stepped fully inside and closed the door. “What did Vivienne tell you?”
I repeated everything she had said. When I finished, his face had hardened into stone.
“She is playing you,” he said. “This is exactly what a blackmailer does. Drop a fragment of truth… then demand payment for the rest.”
“Or she is telling part of the truth and hiding the rest,” I countered. “Think. Why would three men vanish? Why were their resignations accepted so quickly? Who signed those papers?”
We stared at each other. A terrible thought settled between us.
“Your father signed them,” he said slowly. “Before he passed away.”
“Exactly.” I leaned back against the desk. “Which means either Father protected a killer… or he was protecting me. Or he knew something he chose to take to his grave.”
My brother walked to the fireplace. He stared into the cold ashes.
“There is another possibility,” he said. “What if Vivienne was there that night? What if she knows because she was part of it?”
The words hit me like a blow. I had not considered that. Vivienne had been in the house that evening. She had been visiting a distant cousin. She had claimed she left before sunset. But what if she had stayed? What if she had followed Elena?
“If she was involved,” I said, “then this blackmail is also a confession. She is terrified I will find out the truth. So she threatens me first.”
“Then do not pay,” he said. “Call her bluff. Go to the police. Report what happened last night. Report the threats.”
“And risk the truth coming out before I know what it is?” I shook my head. “If she names someone innocent… or plants false evidence… Leo’s name will be dragged through the mud. The Harrington reputation destroyed. Elena’s memory tarnished. I cannot risk it.”
“Then what do you do?”
I looked at him. “I find the witnesses Vivienne claims to have spoken to. I find the three men who vanished. And I learn the truth before she can use it against me.”
“And Vivienne?”
I thought of her standing at the railing. I thought of my son falling. I thought of Elena, laughing by the river only hours before she died.
“She remains here,” I said. “Under guard. Under observation. Until I know the truth… she stays exactly where I can watch her.”
My brother frowned. “That is dangerous, Adrian. She tried to kill Leo.”
“She also claims to hold the key to Elena’s death,” I said. “And until I know whether she is ally or enemy… she does not leave my sight.”
He opened his mouth to argue. Then he closed it. He knew me well enough to know my mind was set.
“Very well,” he said. “But I will post two men outside her door at all times. If she so much as walks toward the nursery… they arrest her. Immediately.”
“Agreed.”
He turned to leave. At the door, he paused. “Adrian… be careful. If someone killed Elena… and Vivienne knows… she is playing a very dangerous game. And she may not be the only threat inside this house.”
I nodded. I already knew. If there was a killer still free… they were close. They were watching. And they had been for a very long time.
Later that afternoon, I walked to Vivienne’s quarters. I knocked once. She opened the door. She looked tired. Dark circles marred her skin. She stepped back, allowing me inside.
“Well?” she asked. “What is your answer?”
I stood in the center of her sitting room. I did not sit.
“You may stay,” I said. “You will remain in these quarters. Guards will be posted. You will have no contact with Leo. No contact with the staff beyond what is necessary. And you will speak to no one outside this house.”
Vivienne exhaled. Relief softened her features. “Thank you, Adrian. I knew you would see reason. Once I explain—”
I held up a hand to silence her.
“You may stay,” I repeated. “But you do not get the truth until I have verified what you have already told me. If you lie… if one single detail proves false… I will have you arrested for what you did to my son. Do not mistake my restraint for weakness.”
She paled slightly. But she nodded. “Fair enough. Check the facts. When you see I speak truth… you will listen to the rest.”
“I am listening now,” I said. “Tell me the name of the man who met Elena by the river.”
Vivienne hesitated. She looked toward the window. “Not yet. One step at a time. Prove I am honest first. Then I give you the name.”
She was holding back. Protecting her source. Or protecting herself.
“Very well,” I said. “I will check the staff departures. If your dates match… if the names match… we speak again.”
I walked to the door. My hand touched the handle.
“Adrian?” she called softly.
I paused without turning.
“Elena knew,” Vivienne said. “Before she died… Elena knew someone was watching her. She was afraid. She told me so.”
I turned slowly. “Why did she tell you?”
Vivienne met my eyes steadily. “Because she trusted me. Once. Before everything went wrong.”
May you like
I left the room without answering. But her words lingered. Elena had been afraid. She had known danger. And she had told Vivienne. Which meant Vivienne truly had been close to her. Which meant… Vivienne might truly know the truth.
But was she protecting Elena’s killer? Or me?
