Chapter 2 - The Stained Marble
Eleanor stared at the crimson stain spreading across the white stone.
Her heart hammered in her chest as the freezing wind whipped her hair.
“Maya!” she screamed into the darkness of the sprawling estate.
Only the sound of rustling branches answered her.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel behind her.
She turned to see Victoria standing with the chief of police, who had been a guest at the gala.
“It seems there was a violent intruder on the grounds,” Victoria said with a fake sigh.
“Arrest her!” Eleanor demanded, pointing a trembling finger at Victoria.
The police chief did not move toward the woman in emerald.
Instead, he pulled a pair of steel handcuffs from his belt.
He stepped toward Eleanor with a grim expression.
“Eleanor Sterling, you are under arrest for the suspected murder of your daughter, Maya,” the chief said.
Eleanor backed away in absolute shock.
“What are you talking about?” she gasped.
Victoria stepped forward, holding up a bloody kitchen knife wrapped in a silk napkin.
“We just found this in your private study, Eleanor,” Victoria lied smoothly.
“You paid him to do this!” Eleanor yelled, realizing the depth of the conspiracy.
The chief grabbed Eleanor’s wrists and forced them behind her back.
“You won’t get away with this, Victoria,” Eleanor vowed as the cold metal locked around her skin.
Victoria smiled, a wicked gleam in her eyes.
“I already have, mother-in-law.”
The police chief dragged Eleanor toward a waiting squad car.
Eleanor frantically searched the crowd of onlookers for the little girl.
She spotted the child being dragged into a black van by Victoria's personal bodyguards.
The little girl locked eyes with Eleanor, tears finally streaming down her face.
Before Eleanor could scream for help, the heavy van doors slammed shut.
The vehicle sped off into the night, taking her only remaining family away.
As Eleanor was pushed into the police car, she noticed a piece of folded paper shoved into her coat pocket.
She managed to unfold it with her restricted fingers.
May you like
The note was written in fresh blood.
It read, "If you want the child to live, sign over the entire Sterling fortune by midnight."
