Chapter 5 - THE FIRST NAME
I spent the next three days investigating quietly. I could not use police resources—I could not risk rumors spreading. So I hired a private investigator I had trusted for years. Discreet. Thorough. Bound by silence.
By the fourth morning, reports began arriving on my desk.
Three names. Exactly as Vivienne had hinted.
First: Thomas Hale. Footman. Resigned abruptly the morning after Elena’s death. Left no forwarding address.
Second: Margaret Carter. Head housemaid. Resigned two weeks later. Moved north, then vanished.
Third: Julian Rivers. Head groundskeeper. Resigned the very day Elena was buried. Disappeared entirely.
And beneath each name, in my investigator’s neat handwriting: All three were questioned privately by family counsel within hours of Mrs. Harrington’s death. All three were paid substantial sums. All three told never to return.
I leaned back in my chair. Cold rage settled in my chest. My father had paid them off. He had silenced witnesses. He had buried the truth.
Why? To protect the family name? Or to protect the killer?
I stood and walked to Vivienne’s quarters. I knocked. She opened the door almost immediately, as if she had been waiting. She saw the paper in my hand. Her expression shifted from wariness to something closer to satisfaction.
“You found them,” she said.
“Three names,” I confirmed. “Thomas Hale. Margaret Carter. Julian Rivers. Paid off and silenced.”
Vivienne stepped back, allowing me to enter. She closed the door.
“Julian Rivers,” she said. “That is the name. He was the groundskeeper. He was the one who met Elena by the river.”
I stared at her. “Julian? He had worked here for twenty years. He was practically family. Why would he argue with Elena? Why would he hurt her?”
“Because she found out,” Vivienne said quietly. “She caught him stealing. Embezzling from the estate funds. Using his position to siphon money for years. She confronted him that evening. Walked down to the river to speak with him privately. She wanted to give him a chance to confess before telling you. Instead… he killed her.”
The words hit me hard. I sank into a chair. Julian. Quiet, loyal Julian. Who had taught me to ride a horse. Who had planted every rose bush Elena loved. It was unthinkable. And yet… the motive existed. The opportunity existed. And he had vanished the moment she died.
“Why did my father pay him?” I asked, my voice rough. “Why not call the police?”
Vivienne hesitated. “Because Julian threatened to expose something in return. Something about your father. Something terrible. Julian told him—arrest me… and everyone learns the truth. So your father paid him. To disappear. To stay silent.”
“What truth?” I demanded. “What could Julian have held over my father?”
“I do not know,” Vivienne admitted. “Elena never told me the details. Only that Julian was dangerous. That he had threatened her. That she intended to handle it herself.” She paused. “And then she died.”
I stood up. I began to pace. Everything fit. And yet… none of it fit. If Julian killed Elena… why threaten my father afterward? Unless… unless there was a secret so large my father had been willing to trade his own daughter-in-law’s justice to protect it.
“Where is Julian now?” I asked.
Vivienne shook her head. “I do not know. Elena told me she suspected he had fled to Canada. But I have no proof. No address. No way to confirm.”
I stopped pacing. I looked at her. “And why did you hold this back? Why threaten me with blackmail instead of telling me all of this from the start?”
Vivienne went pale. She walked to the window. She spoke without turning.
“Because I was afraid,” she said quietly. “Afraid of what your father did. Afraid of what Julian might do if he learned I spoke. And… because I wanted to matter. I wanted you to need me. If I gave you everything freely… you would have cast me aside anyway. As soon as I was no longer useful. So I held something back. To protect myself.”
Her honesty stung. Because I knew it was true. I had never fully trusted her. I had never given her security. She had grasped for control in the only way she knew how.
But that did not excuse what she had done to Leo.
“You nearly killed my son,” I said.
Vivienne flinched. She turned to face me. Tears glistened in her eyes.
“I know. And I will carry that guilt forever. I was jealous. I was broken. I saw him as Elena’s child… not yours. Not ours. I lost myself in my hatred. But I did not let him fall, Adrian. I swear it on my life. The blanket slipped. I would never have truly harmed him.”
I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe it had been an accident. But I could not be certain. Not yet.
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“I will find Julian,” I said. “I will learn the truth. And until then… you remain here. Under guard. If what you have told me proves true… I will consider leniency. If it proves false… or incomplete… you will answer for every lie.”
Vivienne bowed her head. “Fair enough. Find him. And ask him what truly happened that evening. But be careful, Adrian. Because if Julian killed Elena to keep his secret… he will kill again to keep it buried.”
