Chapter 7: The Fire That Was Supposed to Erase Me
The smoke was already thick when I reached the archive room.
“Madison, STOP!””
Elise grabbed the back of my champagne-colored dress, but I pulled free.
Behind the narrow glass window, flames were crawling up the wooden shelves. Old photographs, design sketches, and decades of family records were disappearing in seconds.
And somewhere inside that room was the original recording of my biological mother's final conversation with Victoria.
“I can't leave it!”” I shouted.
“You can't save anything if you're dead!””
Elise was right.
I knew she was right.
But I also knew my mother had spent twenty-six years making sure the truth never reached me.
I wasn't going to let her burn it a second time.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and called emergency services while Elise grabbed a fire extinguisher from the corridor.
The first blast of white foam barely touched the flames.
The smoke alarm continued screaming.
Then a man's voice came from behind us.
“What the hell is happening?””
Richard Reed.
Nathan's father stood at the end of the corridor wearing a dark suit. His silver hair was perfectly combed, but his expression changed when he saw the smoke.
“Get away from that door!”” he ordered.
I turned toward him.
“Your former fiancée's recording is inside.””
His face went pale.
For a second, he looked less like a wealthy businessman and more like a frightened old man.
“What did you say?””
“Caroline's recording. The one Victoria doesn't want anyone to hear.””
He walked toward me.
“Give me the device.””
“No.””
“Madison, you don't understand what you're holding.””
“I understand that my mother set this fire.””
Richard looked toward the archive.
Then he did something unexpected.
He ran toward the burning room.
“RICHARD!”” Elise screamed.
He forced the door open just far enough to reach the shelves.
A section of burning wood collapsed.
He stumbled backward, coughing violently.
I caught his arm before he fell.
“Are you insane?””
He looked at me through watering eyes.
“There's another copy.””
I froze.
“What?””
“Caroline made two recordings. One was for Eleanor. The other was for me.””
“Where is it?””
He looked toward the staircase.
“Victoria took it.””
The first sirens sounded outside.
Within minutes, estate security and firefighters arrived. The guests who had begun gathering for the rehearsal were escorted across the lawn.
I stood beneath the stone archway, coughing into my sleeve, while firefighters worked inside.
Richard sat on a bench, holding a damp towel against his face.
I approached him.
“Tell me what happened the night Caroline died.””
He stared at the ground.
“Your mother came to my office three days before the accident.””
“Victoria?””
He nodded.
“She told me Caroline was planning to transfer the design rights into a trust. She said it would destroy our business partnership.””
“Was that true?””
“Yes.””
“Why did you care?””
“Because I had invested money in the company.””
I folded my arms.
“So you helped Victoria take Caroline's money.””
“I thought we could resolve the disagreement privately.””
“That's not an answer.””
He looked up.
“Caroline discovered that Victoria had been moving royalty payments into an account controlled by her husband. She threatened to report it.””
“And then she died.””
Richard closed his eyes.
“I wasn't there when the accident happened.””
“Who was?””
He hesitated.
“Victoria.””
My stomach twisted.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“Then why didn't you tell anyone?””
He looked at me with something resembling shame.
“Because I was afraid of what would happen if the police investigated the financial records. I had signed documents I shouldn't have signed. I was protecting myself.””
I stepped away.
“You let an innocent woman die without telling the truth.””
“I didn't know she was going to die.””
“But you knew something was wrong.””
He didn't deny it.
A firefighter approached us.
“Sir, we're going to need you to move farther away.””
Richard stood.
Before leaving, he reached into his jacket and handed me a business card.
“Call this number. It's a private storage facility. Your aunt moved something there before she died.””
“What?””
“The original company ledger. The one Victoria couldn't find.””
I took the card.
“Why are you helping me now?””
His eyes moved toward the estate entrance.
“Because I heard what my son told you. And because I can't spend another day pretending Caroline was simply unlucky.””
He walked away.
I watched him disappear through the crowd.
Then Elise returned, holding a small metal object.
“Look what I found near the piano.””
It was the silver clasp from the hidden compartment.
The heat had damaged its outer casing, but the memory chip remained intact.
“Is the recording still there?”” I asked.
Elise examined it.
“I don't know. But I know someone who can.””
My phone rang.
Nathan.
I answered.
“Where are you?””
“Outside Bellamere. Madison, listen. My father just called me. He says Victoria is leaving with the original recording.””
“I know.””
“She's heading to the hotel where Brittany is getting ready.””
I looked toward the estate's main entrance.
“Then we need to get there first.””
“Madison, there's something else.””
“What?””
Nathan's voice shook.
“My father finally told me who was driving Caroline's car the night she died.””
I gripped the phone.
“Who?””
He took a breath.
“Victoria wasn't driving.””
I waited.
“It was my mother.””
The call ended.
May you like
And suddenly, the fire at Bellamere no longer looked like an attempt to destroy old family documents.
It looked like someone trying to erase the evidence of a crime that had involved two families.
