Chapter 4 - The Arrest
Arthur Prescott arrived twenty minutes later.
He drove his own Mercedes through the private gates.
He hurried up the front steps, expecting to find his daughter crying over a ruined dress or a lovers’ quarrel.
Instead, the massive front doors were opened by Julian’s security team.
Arthur stepped into the foyer.
It was empty.
No guests.
No music.
Only Julian, standing at the bottom of the grand staircase.
“Julian,” Arthur said, breathless. “Where is Camille?”
“She’s in the library.”
Arthur started toward the hallway.
“Stop,” Julian said.
Arthur paused.
He noticed the tone.
He noticed the guards blocking the exits.
“What is going on here?” Arthur demanded, trying to summon his usual authority.
Julian walked slowly toward him.
He held up the photograph of the handwritten letter.
Arthur looked at it.
For three seconds, the billionaire patriarch of the Prescott family did not move.
He forgot to breathe.
He forgot to blink.
“Where did you get that?” Arthur whispered.
“From the girl you missed,” Julian said.
Arthur’s eyes darted toward the stairs.
Nora was standing on the landing.
Still wearing her maid’s uniform.
Still bruised.
Arthur’s face twisted into a mask of pure terror.
He realized exactly what had happened.
Eighteen years of lies.
Eighteen years of looking Julian in the eye and shaking his hand.
It was all over.
Arthur turned toward the front door.
He reached for the handle.
The doors opened before he could touch them.
Six federal agents and four local police officers stepped inside.
“Arthur Prescott,” the lead agent said. “You are under arrest for fraud, embezzlement, and the murder of Helena Hawthorne.”
Arthur didn’t fight.
He didn’t scream.
He simply collapsed inward, his knees buckling as the handcuffs closed around his wrists.
Camille was brought out of the library a moment later.
She watched her father being led away.
She looked at Julian.
“Julian, please,” she begged. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.”
“But you knew she was a maid,” Julian said coldly. “And you thought that gave you the right to break her.”
He turned his back on her.
“Get her out of my house.”
Camille was escorted out into the cold night.
The police cars drove away.
May you like
The flashing red and blue lights faded down the long driveway.
Alderwyn Estate was quiet again.
