Chapter 2 - The Hidden Safe
I stared at the security footage in absolute horror.
My beautiful, sophisticated fiancée had blood on her hands the night my housekeeper died.
Vivienne lunged forward to grab the phone, but I easily pushed her back.
“You were in her room,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
“It is not what it looks like, Damian,” she cried, tears finally breaking through her composed mask.
“Then explain the blood.”
She shook her head wildly, refusing to look me in the eye.
“I went in there to confront her about stealing from us, and I found her dead on the floor.”
“And your first instinct was to steal a worthless platinum ring off her corpse?”
Vivienne covered her face with her hands and began sobbing loudly.
I did not believe a single word she was saying.
I left her crying in the library and locked the heavy door from the outside.
I walked briskly down the silent hallway toward the servant quarters.
The air inside Sofia’s old bedroom felt unusually cold and stale.
I remembered little Rosie’s words about a wooden box by the bed.
I knelt beside the modest nightstand and pulled out the bottom drawer.
There was a simple, handcrafted wooden jewelry box tucked in the back corner.
I opened it, but it was completely empty.
I ran my fingers along the inside of the box and felt a slight ridge on the bottom panel.
Pressing down firmly, I heard a quiet click as a false bottom popped open.
Inside the hidden compartment was a single, folded legal document.
I pulled it out and turned on the small bedside lamp to read the fine print.
It was a massive life insurance policy taken out on Sofia’s life just two months ago.
The payout was for ten million dollars.
My eyes scanned down to the bottom of the final page to find the primary beneficiary.
The name printed on the line was my own.
Right next to my typed name was my personal, authorized signature in blue ink.
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I had never seen this document before in my entire life.
Someone was meticulously framing me for the murder of my own housekeeper.
