Chapter 10 - Beneath Briar House
Briar House stood dark against the rain when Mara returned with Nia, Rhea, and two detectives. Theo remained with Nia’s sister, who had installed a temporary lock and promised not to let anyone inside. Mara hated leaving him, but the house held answers that could keep him safe.
The police searched every room before allowing Mara to enter. The security system had been reset. Furniture had been overturned, drawers emptied, and the master bedroom mattress cut open. The blue robe lay on the floor beneath a broken lamp.
Mara stood in the doorway and imagined Theo seeing Jennifer there. She did not let the image become a weapon against herself. The shame belonged to the adults who had made the room unsafe. Rhea followed a trail of muddy footprints toward the basement.
“Someone came through the rear door.” “Solomon?” Mara asked.
“The prints are larger.” They descended with flashlights. The metal filing cabinet had been dragged aside, exposing a square seam in the concrete floor.
Mara remembered the loose floorboard beneath the furnace and knelt beside it. Her father had hidden a brass key beneath the board. The key opened a narrow metal hatch. Inside was a watertight case containing a cassette recorder, a stack of papers, and a small black notebook.
The title of the trust appeared on the first page. The Ellison Protective Trust. Nia read quickly.
“The trust was established to hold evidence and property until Mara reached thirty-five.” Mara checked the date. Her thirty-fifth birthday was two weeks away.
“Why that age?” Rhea asked.
“Because my father believed Roane would stop searching if he thought the documents were inaccessible.” Nia lifted the black notebook.
“There’s a second beneficiary.” Mara looked at the page. Elise Ellison.
Her mother had not been excluded. Gideon had built the trust to protect both of them, even while keeping them apart. The cassette recorder held one tape. Rhea placed it in a portable player.
Static filled the basement, followed by Gideon’s younger voice.
“If this recording is found, Caleb Roane has either returned or someone has opened the trust before its scheduled date.” A second voice answered. Mara recognized Victor.
“Gideon, the money trail is not only through Northbridge. Someone inside Brightwell is still redirecting payments.” “Who?” “I don’t know yet.” The recording skipped.
A woman spoke next. Charlotte.
“Victor, please.
If you go to the police, Solomon will be destroyed.” Victor answered, “Solomon is not the one who needs saving.” The tape clicked, and Roane’s voice emerged.
“You have one night to decide whether your family matters more than the truth.” Mara felt Rhea’s hand settle near her shoulder. The final portion of the recording was muffled, but one sentence came through clearly.
“The person inside Brightwell is not Solomon.” The tape ended. Jennifer’s name had been attached to the missing account.
Solomon had confessed to signing transfers. Yet Victor had specifically said the person inside Brightwell was not Solomon. Nia looked at Mara.
“Jennifer may have been framed.” “She still had the affair.” “Both can be true.” Mara remembered Jennifer’s fear whenever Solomon mentioned Roane. She remembered Jennifer saying she loved what she thought Solomon could help her recover, not Solomon himself.
The affair had been selfish, but perhaps it had begun as an investigation. A noise sounded above them. Rhea raised her weapon.
“Stay here.” The basement lights flickered. The camera panel on the wall showed a figure entering the kitchen.
His face was hidden by a raincoat. Mara recognized the way he walked. Solomon. Rhea and the detectives moved upstairs.
A crash followed, then a shout. Mara stayed beside the open hatch until the house fell silent. Solomon appeared at the top of the basement stairs with blood on his cheek. His hands were empty.
“The officers are alive,” he said.
“I didn’t hurt them.” “Where is Roane?” “Inside.” The basement door slammed behind him. Solomon descended slowly.
“I came to get you out.” “You came for the trust.” “I came because Roane has decided he doesn’t need me anymore.” “You helped him.” “I tried to stop him.” “After you forged my signature and used our son to hide your affair.” Solomon’s face tightened.
“I know what I did.” “Do you?” He stopped two steps away.
“I thought if I found the ledger, I could pay him and make him leave. Jennifer found the camera footage first.
Charlotte helped us because she believed Roane would kill my mother. I thought I could manage it.” “You thought you could manage a murderer.” “I was wrong.” The floor above them creaked. Solomon looked toward the ceiling.
“He’s in the house.” Mara closed the hatch.
“Then we call the police.” “The signal is jammed.” Her phone showed no service. Solomon reached into his coat and pulled out a small metal object.
“He knows about the recording.” Mara backed away.
“How did you get in?” “Jennifer gave me the code.” “Why would she trust you?” “She didn’t.” He placed a second memory card on the floor.
“She told me to give you this if she was arrested.” Mara picked it up. The label was written in Jennifer’s hand.
Solomon is not the person who betrayed you most. A slow scrape sounded from above the hatch. Then a man’s voice traveled through the floor.
May you like
“Mara Ellison,” Caleb Roane called.
“Your father built a house over my life. Tonight, I’m going to take it back.”
