Chapter 6 - THE MAN I CALLED UNCLE RICHARDRichard Vale had taught me how to ride a bicycle.
He'd bought me my first pair of ice skates.
When I was fourteen, he'd driven three hours through a snowstorm to watch me perform in a school play.
After the fire, when I could barely function, he arranged the funerals, handled the attorneys, and told me I could always depend on him.
I'd called him Uncle Richard since childhood.
Now Gideon was telling me he might be the architect of my family's destruction.
I shook my head.
"No."
Gideon didn't argue.
"He loved my father."
"I know that's what you believed."
"He was Dad's best friend!"
"Sometimes betrayal comes from the people who know exactly where to hurt us."
I stared at the photograph.
Richard stood beside my father, one hand resting on his shoulder.
Both men were smiling.
I remembered taking that picture from our family album after the fire.
Richard had asked for a copy.
He'd said it reminded him of happier days.
"Where is he now?" I asked.
"According to the most recent information I obtained, he's at his Manhattan apartment."
"Have you contacted him?"
"No."
"Does he know about the ledger?"
"He knows it exists. Whether he knows I recovered it is another matter."
I looked at the photograph again.
For eight years, Richard had reassured me that my parents' deaths were accidental.
He'd advised me against reopening the investigation.
He'd insisted I needed to focus on rebuilding my life.
And when Theron proposed, Richard had been delighted.
He walked me down the aisle.
The realization hit me so hard I nearly staggered.
"He encouraged me to marry Theron."
Gideon nodded.
"Yes."
"He told me Theron would protect me."
"I remember."
I turned away.
If Richard had arranged the marriage, then every important decision I'd made since my family's death might have been manipulated.
My husband.
My finances.
My home.
Even the friendships Richard had encouraged or discouraged.
I'd thought I was rebuilding my life.
Instead, I'd been living inside a carefully constructed cage.
"Why didn't my father warn me?" I whispered.
Gideon looked toward the narrow staircase.
"He tried."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"Three days before the fire, your father wrote you a letter. He intended to give it to you when you returned from Boston."
"Where is it?"
"In the clock."
I suddenly understood Sophie's message.
"The grandfather clock."
"Yes."
"Where is it now?"
"Your father donated it to a restoration workshop shortly before the fire. He told the craftsman not to release it without a particular authorization."
"Why?"
"Because he suspected someone was searching his house."
My pulse accelerated.
"Then why didn't he tell the police?"
"He had already contacted federal investigators. He was waiting for confirmation that they could protect you and Sophie."
"But they came too late."
Gideon nodded.
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.
"Where's the clock?"
"Philadelphia."
"How far?"
"Approximately two hours by car, depending on traffic."
"Then we're going."
"Not tonight."
I glared at him.
"Gideon—"
"Miss Elise, listen to me. Your husband assaulted you. You're injured, and someone inside this house has a firearm. We need to get you somewhere safe before anything else."
I wanted to argue.
But he was right.
I could barely stand.
And Sophie needed me alive.
We reached the greenhouse.
Beyond the glass walls, rain lashed the gardens.
Gideon opened a narrow service door leading toward the rear driveway.
A black sedan waited beside the gate.
Its headlights were off.
"Who is that?" I whispered.
"Detective Bennett's colleague."
A woman stepped from the driver's seat.
She wore a dark coat over a gray sweater and held a badge.
"Mrs. Ashworth?"
I nodded.
"Detective Nora Bennett. We spoke briefly on the phone three days ago, through Mr. Price."
I remembered.
Gideon had introduced Nora as an attorney's investigator.
Apparently, he hadn't been ready to reveal her true position.
Nora glanced at my bruised face.
Her expression hardened.
"Who did this?"
"My husband."
"Do you need an ambulance?"
"Yes," Gideon answered before I could argue.
Nora opened the back door.
"Then that's our first stop. I've arranged for officers to meet us at the hospital."
I climbed inside.
The warmth made me suddenly aware of how cold I'd become.
Nora slid behind the wheel.
Gideon sat beside me.
As we pulled away, I looked back at Ashworth Manor.
Lights had returned to the upper floors.
Theron's office window glowed.
Somewhere inside that enormous house, my husband and his mistress were probably arguing over money stolen from my father.
They didn't know I was leaving.
They didn't know Gideon had recovered the ledger.
And they certainly didn't know Sophie was alive.
For the first time in six years, I felt something stronger than fear.
Determination.
We had traveled less than a mile when Nora's radio crackled.
She listened to a dispatcher.
Then her expression changed.
"Repeat that."
A burst of static.
"Are you certain?"
She glanced at me in the rearview mirror.
"What happened?" I asked.
Nora switched off the radio.
"There's been an incident at Ashworth Manor."
My heart accelerated.
"What kind of incident?"
"A shooting."
Gideon leaned forward.
"Who was shot?"
Nora hesitated.
"The initial report says one male victim. Security personnel are requesting emergency medical assistance."
I thought of Theron standing in his office.
Vivienne holding the pistol.
Then something else occurred to me.
"Who called the police?"
"The victim's wife."
I stared at her.
"His wife?"
Nora nodded.
"The caller identified herself as Mrs. Elise Ashworth."
Silence filled the car.
Gideon turned toward me.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"That's impossible."
"I know," Nora replied.
She pressed the accelerator.
"Someone is impersonating you."
My phone began ringing.
Theron.
I stared at the screen.
Nora held out her hand.
"Put it on speaker."
I answered.
For a moment, there was only harsh breathing.
Then Theron's voice came through.
"Elise?"
I swallowed.
"What happened?"
He sounded panicked.
"Where are you?"
"Somewhere safe."
"Listen to me. Someone's been shot."
"Who?"
"One of the guards. He's alive, but he's losing blood."
I closed my eyes.
"Who shot him?"
Theron hesitated.
"Vivienne."
"Why?"
"I don't know. She said someone was stealing documents from my office."
I looked at Gideon.
His expression remained unreadable.
"Elise," Theron continued, "I need you to come back."
"No."
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
"Please. I think Vivienne is trying to frame you."
I stared out at the rain.
"Why would she need to do that? You've already spent the evening accusing me of crimes I didn't commit."
He said nothing.
Then his voice dropped.
"Because she told the police you attacked the guard."
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Vivienne had been preparing the next lie.
She'd already convinced Theron that I pushed her down the stairs.
Now she was trying to turn me into a violent criminal.
But this time, I had witnesses.
I had Gideon.
I had Detective Bennett.
And I had the recording.
"Theron," I said quietly, "did Vivienne tell you I stole something from your office?"
A long pause.
"Yes."
"What?"
"Documents."
"What kind?"
"I don't know."
"Did she mention a ledger?"
The silence on the other end changed.
He wasn't simply hesitating.
He was frightened.
"Elise," he whispered, "how do you know about the ledger?"
I looked directly at Gideon.
"Because my father left it to me."
Theron inhaled sharply.
"Listen to me. Whatever Gideon told you, don't trust him."
My heart skipped.
"Why?"
"Because he worked for Richard Vale."
I glanced at the elderly butler beside me.
Gideon didn't move.
Theron continued desperately.
"Gideon has been lying to you for years."
"About what?"
"Your father's death."
I tightened my grip on the phone.
"Explain."
"Not over the telephone."
"Tell me now."
His voice trembled.
"There's a reason your father left him that ledger."
"What reason?"
"Because Gideon was supposed to destroy it."
I stared at him.
Then Theron said something that made every instinct in my body scream.
"Elise, Gideon Price was inside your family's house the night it burned."
The call disconnected.
I turned slowly toward the man beside me.
Gideon had gone pale.
"Is that true?" I whispered.
He lowered his head.
"Yes."
I felt my heart crack.
"You were there?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
"Because I'm ashamed of what happened."
Nora glanced at us in the mirror.
"What exactly happened?"
Gideon stared down at his hands.
Then he said the words I would never forget.
"I was supposed to save your entire family that night, Miss Elise. But when the fire started, I made a choice."
I could barely breathe.
"What choice?"
May you like
His voice broke.
"I saved your sister. And I left your father behind."
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