Chapter 4 - THE CONFRONTATION
I drove to the inn before the sun cleared the horizon.
Elara had begged me not to go alone. She had promised to call the police. But something burned inside me—hot, sharp, unquenchable. A father’s rage. I needed to see Jared’s face. I needed to hear him admit it. And if he had any intention of finishing what he started… I would end it first.
Room 17.
I stood outside the door for three heartbeats, then kicked it open.
Jared sat on the edge of the bed, stuffing clothes into a bag. He looked up, eyes widening when he saw me. He stood quickly, hands raised.
“Adrian—wait—let me explain—”
I crossed the room in two strides and drove him backward against the wall. My hands locked around his collar.
“You unlocked that brake,” I snarled. “You handed Vivian the remote. You sent my son tumbling down those stairs.”
Jared paled. He did not deny it.
“It was supposed to be harmless!” He struggled to free himself. “Just scare him! A little tumble, nothing serious! Vivian got carried away! I told her just to tip it! She pushed it!”
Rage blinded me. I slammed him harder against the wall.
“My son could have died.”
“I know! I know, and I’m sorry—but listen to me—Vivian planned it. She wanted him dead. She promised me fifty thousand if I helped her get access. Said you had it coming. Said Ethan stood in the way of everything she was owed.”
I froze. “Owed?”
“Your father changed his will,” Jared said, breathing hard. “Right before he died. Left everything to you and your firstborn. If Ethan had died… and you had no other children… everything defaults to Vivian. That was her plan. She used me to get in and disable the safety features. I swear, Adrian—I never knew she would try to kill him.”
I released him, stepping back, mind reeling.
My father’s will. A secret clause. Vivian as sole beneficiary if Ethan perished. It made perfect, hideous sense.
“Why tell me this now?” I asked.
Jared looked down, ashamed. “Because I saw her face on that stairwell, too. I realized she meant murder. And if she tries again… she won’t fail.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s hiding at the summer cottage by the lake. She’s leaving the country tonight. She told me once she gets the money… she vanishes.”
I pulled out my phone to call the police. Then Jared said something that stopped my breath.
“Adrian… there’s something else. Your father didn’t die of a heart attack.”
I looked at him. “What are you saying?”
“He was murdered. Vivian poisoned him. That’s why she needs Ethan gone. Because the truth is buried in that will… and in his medical records. She’s been covering it up for months.”
The room tilted. My father’s sudden, unexpected death six months earlier. The private funeral. Vivian rushing the paperwork. All the pieces fit together in a nightmare picture.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked quietly.
“Because she promised me money and gave me nothing,” Jared said bitterly. “Because I helped her destroy the will’s original copy. And because Elara… Elara doesn’t deserve to be dragged into this when it all unravels.”
He reached into his bag and tossed something onto the bed. A folded document.
“The copy I kept hidden. The one that names you and Ethan. And the one that accuses Vivian if both of you die without heirs.”
I stared at it, then at him.
“You helped her try to kill my son to steal my inheritance,” I said, voice low. “And now you hand me this like it makes us even?”
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“I’m trying to fix it!” Jared shouted. “I made a mistake, Adrian. A stupid, greedy mistake. But I never wanted anyone dead. Vivian is the monster. And she’s not finished. She knows you found the footage. She knows I might talk. She’s desperate.”
I picked up the paper. “Then let’s go finish this.”
