Chapter 5 - The Setup
The silence in the dining room grew heavy as Audrey processed Lenora’s slip of the tongue.
Julian shifted uncomfortably in his chair, suddenly realizing the massive mistake his mother had just made.
He quickly tried to change the subject, loudly asking Audrey about her upcoming doctor’s appointment.
Audrey carefully lowered her fork, pretending she hadn’t noticed the slip at all.
“The doctor says everything is progressing perfectly,” Audrey smiled, turning her attention back to Julian.
Lenora visibly relaxed, taking a slow sip of her sparkling cider as the danger seemingly passed.
But Audrey’s mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour.
If Lenora had been inside the house three years ago, it meant her father had lied about when the affair ended.
The betrayal ran much deeper and much closer to home than Audrey had ever imagined.
After dinner, Julian walked his mother out to her car parked in the circular driveway.
Audrey stood by the window, watching them argue in hushed, aggressive whispers under the streetlights.
She knew she couldn't rely on the private investigator alone anymore; she needed answers directly from the source.
The next morning, Audrey drove her sports car to the exclusive assisted living facility on the edge of the city.
Her father, Richard Bellamy, had been living there for two years after a severe stroke left him partially paralyzed.
Audrey walked into his luxurious private suite, finding the old man sitting in his wheelchair by the window.
Richard looked up, his face lighting up with genuine joy at the sight of his only daughter.
Audrey didn't return the smile.
She locked the door behind her and pulled up a chair directly in front of him.
“When was the last time Lenora Voss was in our house?” Audrey asked, her voice cold and demanding.
Richard’s face drained of all color, his shaking hands gripping the armrests of his wheelchair.
He tried to stutter out a denial, claiming that dark chapter of his life was closed decades ago.
Audrey slammed her hand onto the table, making the old man jump in shock.
She told him everything about Julian, the ruined wedding, and Lenora's terrifying presence in their lives.
Tears began to stream down Richard’s weathered face as the crushing weight of his sins finally caught up to him.
He confessed that the affair had never actually stopped.
Lenora had been secretly coming to the mansion for years whenever Audrey’s mother was out of town.
But the final confession was the one that made Audrey’s stomach turn completely upside down.
Richard admitted that three years ago, he had secretly given Lenora the master combination to his private wall safe.
He claimed it was only so she could take some cash to support herself after he got sick.
Audrey didn't wait to hear another word.
She ran out of the facility, jumped into her car, and broke every speed limit racing back to the Bellamy mansion.
She stormed into her father’s old study, tore a classic painting off the wall, and quickly spun the dial on the hidden safe.
The heavy steel door clicked open with a soft thud.
Audrey reached inside, fully expecting to find her father's emergency cash reserves completely drained.
Instead, the safe was completely empty except for a single, crisp manila folder lying in the center.
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Audrey opened the folder with trembling hands.
Inside was a highly confidential DNA paternity test report, clearly bearing Julian Mercer’s name.
