Chapter 6 - The Second KeyCharles insisted he had nothing to do with the break-in.
Sophie followed.
By the time they reached the main staircase, security alarms were sounding through the mansion.
One of Alexander’s guards shouted from below.
“Stay upstairs!”
Alexander ignored him.
“What happened?”
“Someone entered through the west service corridor.”
Sophie’s face changed.
“That’s near Lily’s room.”
She ran.
Alexander caught up.
They reached the staff suite to find the door open.
Sophie screamed Lily’s name.
The little girl sat upright in bed, crying.
A security officer stood beside her.
“She’s okay.”
Sophie gathered Lily into her arms.
Alexander looked around.
The window was open.
Curtains moved in the night air.
On the floor lay a broken jewelry box.
“Was anything taken?”
Sophie stared at the dresser.
Then touched her neck.
“The key.”
Alexander understood immediately.
Margaret’s brass key.
Gone.
“But the box is already open,” he said.
Sophie shook her head.
“Maybe the key opens something else.”
Security found no intruder.
A camera near the service corridor had mysteriously stopped recording for eleven minutes.
Alexander ordered the entire house locked down.
Then he called Reed Global’s chief security officer, Marcus Shaw.
Marcus arrived forty minutes later.
Former federal agent.
No patience for wealthy people’s drama.
One of the few men Alexander trusted completely.
Marcus listened to everything.
The box.
The tape.
The missing key.
Richard Vale’s message.
Then he asked, “Who knew Sophie had the key?”
Alexander thought.
“Everyone in the library.”
“Charles.”
“Evelyn.”
“Sophie.”
“And me.”
Marcus glanced toward the hallway.
“Staff?”
“Possibly.”
Marcus turned to Sophie.
“Did anyone ever ask about the necklace?”
“No.”
“Anyone compliment it?”
She thought.
“Mrs. Delaney did.”
Alexander frowned.
“My estate manager?”
“She asked about it a few months ago.”
Marcus wrote the name down.
“Anyone else?”
Sophie hesitated.
“Mr. Vale.”
Alexander stared.
“When?”
“Christmas party. He came into the kitchen looking for you. Lily was playing with the key. He asked what it opened.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“That I didn’t know.”
Marcus looked at Alexander.
“That’s a start.”
The next morning, Alexander suspended Richard Vale from all Reed business pending review.
Richard called within minutes.
Alexander answered.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“That seems to be everyone’s favorite sentence this week.”
“Your mother’s death was investigated.”
“By authorities who relied heavily on information your office provided.”
“Be careful what you accuse me of.”
“I haven’t accused you of anything.”
“Not yet.”
Alexander’s expression hardened.
“Why are you afraid of a twenty-eight-year-old cassette tape?”
Silence.
Then Richard said, “Because grief makes intelligent men stupid.”
He disconnected.
Alexander stared at the phone.
Marcus, sitting across the desk, said, “He’s scared.”
“Good.”
“Scared people get dangerous.”
Alexander looked through the glass doors.
Outside, Lily was chasing soap bubbles across the garden while Sophie watched.
“You think they should leave?”
“I think they should go somewhere secure.”
Alexander shook his head.
“If someone wants what Sophie has, sending her home makes her easier to reach.”
Marcus nodded reluctantly.
“Then increase security.”
Alexander did.
For the first time in decades, Reed House became less like a mansion and more like a fortress.
But the greatest threat arrived legally.
At noon, Sophie received a call.
Her face went pale.
Alexander found her in the sitting room.
“What happened?”
She held up her phone.
“Child Protective Services.”
Alexander stared.
“What?”
“Someone reported that I bring Lily into an unsafe workplace. That I leave her unsupervised around dangerous equipment.”
The iron.
Alexander felt rage rise through him.
“Someone used what happened yesterday.”
Sophie’s eyes filled.
“They said a caseworker is coming.”
“We’ll handle it.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand someone is attacking you to frighten you.”
“No, you don’t.”
Sophie’s voice broke.
“When you’re rich, an accusation is something your lawyers make disappear. When you’re me, an accusation can take your child.”
Alexander stopped.
She was right.
His instinct had been to solve it with power.
Money.
Attorneys.
Connections.
Sophie lived in a world where institutions could look at a single mother working long hours and decide struggle was evidence of failure.
He lowered his voice.
“What do you need?”
The question surprised her.
Not What should I do?
What do you need?
Sophie wiped her eyes.
“I need the truth documented. Security footage showing Lily wandered off. My employment schedule. Proof I had arranged childcare.”
“You’ll have all of it.”
“And I need you not to intimidate the caseworker.”
Alexander almost looked offended.
“I don’t intimidate people.”
Sophie stared.
He sighed.
“Fine.”
For the first time that day, she laughed.
The caseworker came that afternoon.
Alexander stayed out of the meeting except when asked questions.
He answered plainly.
Yes, Lily had picked up an iron.
No, Sophie had not left it plugged in.
The appliance had been in his dressing room because his valet had been preparing clothes.
Yes, he had shouted.
No, Lily had not been injured.
And no, he did not believe Sophie was neglectful.
“What do you believe?” the caseworker asked.
Alexander looked through the glass toward Sophie and Lily.
“I believe she is a mother doing everything she can.”
Sophie’s eyes lifted to his.
The case was not closed immediately, but the caseworker left without removing Lily.
That night, Sophie found Alexander in the kitchen.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t owe me thanks.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No. You work in my home. The incident happened in my home. Telling the truth is not a favor.”
Sophie studied him.
“You’re different than I thought.”
Alexander leaned against the counter.
“Better or worse?”
“The jury is still out.”
He smiled.
Actually smiled.
Sophie noticed.
“So you can do it.”
“Do what?”
“Smile.”
“Rarely.”
“Maybe practice.”
Their eyes held for a moment.
Then Lily appeared wearing pajamas and carrying her stuffed rabbit.
She looked at Alexander.
“Alex.”
Both adults froze.
Alexander blinked.
“What did you call me?”
Lily climbed onto a chair.
“Mommy calls you Alexander. Too long.”
Sophie covered her face.
“I’m sorry.”
Alexander surprised them both.
“Alex is fine.”
Lily nodded, satisfied.
Then she pointed at his shirt.
“You wear bird.”
Alexander looked down.
He was.
The five-thousand-dollar white shirt.
Blue patch and all.
“I told you not to remove it.”
Lily smiled proudly.
The moment felt almost peaceful.
Then Marcus walked into the kitchen.
His expression destroyed it.
“We found who disabled the camera.”
Alexander straightened.
“Who?”
Marcus looked at Sophie.
“Mrs. Delaney.”
Sophie gasped.
Alexander’s estate manager had worked for the Reed family for fourteen years.
“Where is she?”
“Gone.”
“When?”
“Two hours ago.”
Marcus placed a photograph on the table.
It was security footage from a gas station.
Mrs. Delaney was climbing into a black sedan.
The driver’s face was partially visible.
Alexander recognized him.
Richard Vale.
May you like
And seated in the back was another man.
Charles Reed.
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