Chapter 1 - THE SOUND BEFORE THE SCREAM
“Tell me where the key is, or I'll make you wish you'd never hidden it.”
Arthur Sterling heard those words before he saw his fiancée strike his grandmother.
He stood inside the front doors with a bouquet of red tulips in one hand. He had expected a quiet dinner. Now Evelyn Sterling lay on the white marble, her silver-handled cane beyond her reach. Diana, beautiful Diana, lifted her hand again.
“Diana!”
She spun around. Her burgundy dress swayed. For a heartbeat she looked more irritated than afraid.
“Arthur. You're early.”
The flowers fell. Arthur reached her before she could turn back toward Evelyn. He caught her arm, shoved her away from his grandmother, and blocked the staircase. When Diana swung at him, his fist connected once with her jaw. She stumbled onto the runner. He stepped back, shaken.
“Don't touch her again.” His voice didn't sound like his own.
“You hit me!” Diana cried.
“And I called 911,” he said, taking his phone out with shaking fingers. “You can tell the officers exactly why.”
Evelyn tried to push herself upright. Arthur knelt, supporting her shoulders without moving her head. She smelled faintly of lavender soap. Her fingers were cold.
“Are you hurt?”
“Don't let her into the study,” Evelyn whispered.
Diana got to her feet, pressing a hand to her face. “She's lying. She attacked me when I found your father's records.”
“My father died thirteen years ago.”
“His debts didn't.” Diana smiled through her anger. “Ask her how many families she bought off.”
Evelyn tightened her grip on Arthur's sleeve. “There was no fortune. Your father hurt people. I tried to pay them back.”
“Then why hide the safe key?” Diana snapped.
Arthur stared from one woman to the other. For months Diana had urged him to clear out the study.
From inside that locked room came a sharp electronic beep.
May you like
Then a man's voice, thin through the door, said, “Diana, did you get it?”
