Chapter 3:The Man In The Study
653 Words
The room fell silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The terrified maid stood frozen in the doorway, pointing toward the staircase.
“There’s someone in Mr. Carter’s study,” she repeated.
“He says he has proof of who killed Richard Carter.”
A wave of shock swept through the room.
The detective immediately signaled to two officers.
“Move!”
The officers rushed upstairs.
Everyone else remained downstairs.
Everyone except me.
“Ava, wait!” the lawyer called.
But I was already running.
My father’s study.
The place where he had spent most of his life.
The place where he had supposedly died only hours ago.
The place where a stranger was now claiming to know his killer.
I had to know the truth.
The staircase seemed endless.
Behind me I heard Olivia following.
Then the detective.
Then several officers.
By the time we reached the second floor, the study door was standing open.
The room was empty.
My stomach dropped.
“What?” the detective muttered.
The officers immediately searched every corner.
Nothing.
No stranger.
No evidence.
No sign that anyone had been there.
Then one of the officers spoke.
“Sir.”
Everyone turned.
He was pointing toward the desk.
Something rested in the center.
A black envelope.
The detective carefully approached.
Across the front were four words written in silver ink.
FOR AVA CARTER ONLY
My pulse quickened.
The detective looked at me.
“Do you recognize the handwriting?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He handed me the envelope.
My fingers trembled.
Somehow, I already knew this wasn’t going to be good.
I opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
The moment I saw it, the world stopped.
“No…” I whispered.
The photo slipped from my hands.
Olivia picked it up.
Her face drained of color.
“Oh my God.”
The room erupted with confusion.
The detective grabbed the photograph.
His expression changed instantly.
Because the picture showed something impossible.
It showed our father.
Richard Carter.
Alive.
Standing beside a man.
A man I had never seen before.
The photograph had been taken yesterday.
Twenty-four hours before his death.
Which meant someone had lied.
Because according to everyone, my father had spent the last week alone.
Yet here he was.
Meeting someone in secret.
Then I noticed something written on the back.
The detective read it aloud.
“If anything happens to me…”
The room went still.
“…trust no one.”
A chill ran through my body.
But there was more.
Below those words was a name.
A single name.
The name of the man standing beside my father.
Damien Blackwood.
The moment Olivia heard it, she gasped.
I turned toward her.
“What?”
Her eyes widened.
Nothing.
Then she quickly looked away.
And that was all the answer I needed.
She knew who Damien Blackwood was.
And she didn’t want anyone else to know.
The detective noticed it too.
“Miss Carter,” he said sharply.
“Do you know this man?”
Olivia swallowed.
“No.”
A lie.
A terrible lie.
I could see it on her face.
The detective could too.
Before he could question her further, another officer burst into the room.
“Sir!”
Everyone turned.
The officer looked pale.
“We found security footage.”
The detective frowned.
“From tonight?”
The officer nodded.
“Yes.”
“What does it show?”
The officer hesitated.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then he looked directly at Olivia.
And said five words that changed everything.
“It shows her entering the study.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
My heart nearly stopped.
Olivia’s face turned white.
“No,” she whispered.
The detective stared at her.
“What time?”
The officer swallowed.
“Ten minutes before Richard Carter died.”
My blood ran cold.
Because for the first time that night…
My sister looked guilty.
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