The morning sun streamed into the Maynard estate's living room, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. It was a peaceful scene, except for Elayne standing in the center of the room, still wearing her torn dress, clutching the broken shoe.
Calhoun sat on the sofa, sipping coffee. Judith was arranging white lilies in a vase.
"It was attempted assault," Elayne's glare communicated. She slammed the shoe onto the coffee table. "Look at the drill hole. That is an industrial tack. It was planted."
Calhoun didn't look up from his iPad. "Are you still on this? You made a fool of yourself, Elayne."
"I didn't! Look at the evidence!" Elayne pointed a shaking finger at the shoe. "I keep these shoes in the downstairs closet. Only one person has the key besides family."
She spun around to face Mrs. Gable, who was dusting the mantlepiece. The old housekeeper froze.
"Mrs. Gable," Elayne pleaded with her eyes. "Tell him. Tell him who went into the closet yesterday. Was it Bianca?"
Mrs. Gable gripped her duster. Her eyes darted to Judith.
Judith cleared her throat softly. She twisted the massive diamond ring on her finger.
Mrs. Gable flinched. She dropped to her knees, bursting into tears.
"I'm so sorry, sir," the housekeeper sobbed.
"See!" Elayne's eyes flashed, a brief surge of triumph running through her. "She admits it!"
"I... I was sweeping up after the repairs in the dining room," Mrs. Gable stammered, looking at the floor. "There were tacks on the floor. I must have... I must have swept one into the shoe closet by mistake. I didn't know it got stuck in Mrs. Maynard's shoe."
Elayne stared at her. "What? No. That's impossible. It was embedded in the heel. You can't sweep a tack into a heel!" she thought furiously.
"Oh, Elayne, stop it," Judith sighed. She walked over and put a hand on Calhoun's shoulder. "Can't you see? She's bullying the staff now. It's paranoia, Calhoun. Pure and simple."
"She's lying!" Elayne's mind screamed. "You paid her off! Or you threatened her!"
Calhoun stood up, throwing his iPad onto the cushion. "Enough! You sound insane, Elayne. You are accusing an old woman of conspiracy because you can't walk in heels?"
"I'm not insane!" she projected with every fiber of her being.
"You need help," Calhoun said coldly. "You are acting like a paranoid narcissist. Go to your room. Pack your things. I want you out of my sight until you can learn to apologize."
Elayne looked at Mrs. Gable. The housekeeper was still crying, but she wouldn't meet Elayne's eyes. She was terrified. She was protecting her pension, her livelihood.
Elayne realized then that truth didn't matter here. Truth was a commodity, and she was bankrupt.
"Fine," Elayne conceded with a final, dead look. The fight drained out of her. "I'll go. This house makes me sick."
She turned and ran up the stairs. She burst into her bedroom and grabbed her suitcase. She threw clothes in haphazardly.
She went to her wall safe. She punched in the code.
The door swung open.
It was empty.
Her birth certificate. Her passport. The bearer bonds her grandfather had left her. And most importantly, the sapphire necklace that had belonged to her mother-the only thing she had left of the woman who died when she was five.
Gone.
Elayne ran to the landing. "Where are my things?" she screamed down the stairs, the sound trapped in her throat.
Judith looked up, smiling sweetly. "If you are leaving the family, Elayne, then family property stays here. We're keeping it safe. You know, since you're so... unstable right now."
"That necklace was my mother's!"
"And she was not a Maynard. It stays."
Elayne felt a scream building in her chest, but she swallowed it. If she stayed one more minute, she would kill someone, or they would lock her up.
She grabbed her purse. She had her burner phone. That was enough.
She ran down the back stairs, through the kitchen, and out to the garage. She ignored the fleet of luxury cars and slipped out a side door, her destination the service road at the bottom of the long, winding driveway.
She ran, desperate to put miles between her and the people who shared her name.
