Chapter 2: The Woman Who Wasn't Supposed to Fall
The hospital smelled of disinfectant and expensive perfume.
Nathaniel had arrived before Eleanor's stretcher, pacing outside the emergency department with his wedding jacket thrown over one shoulder.
His white shirt was stained with his mother's blood.
I sat in a plastic chair nearby while a nurse wrapped my hands.
“Six stitches across your palm,” she explained.
“You've also bruised your ribs. You need an X-ray.””
“I'll do it later.””
The nurse gave me a disapproving look.
“People who say that usually end up coming back in worse condition.””
Before I could answer, Nathaniel approached.
“She's right. Get the X-ray.””
“Mr. Callaway, your mother—”
“My mother is with the best trauma team in the city. You're not helping her by pretending you aren't injured.””
I lowered my eyes.
He pulled out the chair opposite mine.
“Tell me exactly what you saw.””
I hesitated.
He noticed.
“Rose, I won't punish you for telling the truth.””
I looked toward the double doors.
“Your mother was standing near the railing. Victoria approached her from behind.””
Nathaniel's face tightened.
“Did you see physical contact?””
“Yes.””
“What kind?””
I swallowed.
“Your mother turned around. They argued. Then Victoria put both hands against her shoulders and pushed.””
Nathaniel stared at me.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Finally, he asked, “Did my mother fall immediately?””
“No. She caught the railing for a moment.””
“And Victoria?””
I remembered the white wedding dress, the diamond bracelet, the expression on Victoria's face.
“She looked down at her. She didn't reach for her.””
Nathaniel closed his eyes.
A muscle moved in his jaw.
“Are you certain?””
“I wish I weren't.””
He stood and walked toward the windows.
His phone vibrated.
The screen displayed Victoria's name.
He declined the call.
It rang again.
He declined it a second time.
Then a message appeared.
Your mother was unstable. Don't let that maid turn you against me.
Nathaniel read it twice.
“Unbelievable,” he muttered.
I looked down at my bandaged hands.
“Sir, there's something else.””
He turned.
“What?””
“Mrs. Callaway told me earlier that she was worried about the wedding.””
“Why?””
“She asked whether you were absolutely certain about marrying Victoria.””
His expression changed.
“When did she say that?””
“About thirty minutes before the ceremony.””
Nathaniel sat down again.
“What exactly did she say?””
I tried to remember the conversation.
Eleanor had been standing in her private dressing room, fastening a pearl bracelet around her wrist. She'd looked at herself in the mirror for a long time before speaking.
“Rose, have you ever felt that someone was smiling at you while secretly waiting for you to turn your back?””
I'd laughed nervously.
“Not that I know of, ma'am.””
She hadn't laughed.
“Be careful with people who are too interested in what they stand to inherit.””
At the time, I thought she was talking about business.
Now, the memory made my stomach turn.
Nathaniel rubbed his forehead.
“My mother never liked Victoria.””
“Did she tell you why?””
“She said Victoria was interested in my money.””
I waited.
He continued.
“I thought she was being unfair. Victoria came from a wealthy family. She had her own business, her own apartment, her own investments. I thought my mother was simply afraid of losing her place in my life.””
“Maybe she knew something you didn't.””
He looked at me.
“That's what I'm beginning to think.””
A doctor finally emerged.
“Mr. Callaway?””
Nathaniel jumped to his feet.
“Yes. How is she?””
“Your mother is stable. She has several fractures and a concussion, but we don't believe her injuries are immediately life-threatening.””
Nathaniel exhaled.
“Can I see her?””
“In a few minutes.””
Then the doctor glanced at me.
“And you should get that X-ray before leaving.””
Nathaniel nodded.
“I'll make sure she does.””
While he accompanied the doctor, I went to the restroom to wash the dried blood from my wrists.
My phone buzzed.
An unknown number.
You need to stop talking.
I stared at the message.
Another arrived.
Your brother's treatment is expensive, isn't it, Rose?
My fingers went cold.
Nobody at the Callaway estate knew much about Daniel except that he was receiving long-term treatment at a rehabilitation center after a serious spinal injury.
I had never discussed the details with Victoria.
Never.
I typed:
Who is this?
The reply came almost immediately.
Someone who knows how much you need this job.
Then a photograph appeared.
It showed Daniel sitting in his wheelchair outside the rehabilitation center.
The picture had been taken that morning.
I gripped the sink.
Someone had been watching my brother.
I rushed out of the restroom and found Nathaniel speaking with his security director, Marcus Reed.
“Mr. Callaway!””
Both men turned.
Nathaniel immediately noticed my expression.
“What happened?””
I showed him the messages.
He read them in silence.
Marcus took the phone and examined the number.
“It's a prepaid account,” he said.
“We'll trace what we can.””
Nathaniel's voice became dangerously quiet.
“Someone is threatening my employee?””
“I think so.””
“Because she witnessed my mother's fall?””
Neither of us answered.
Nathaniel handed my phone back.
“Marcus, arrange protection for her brother. Immediately. No one gets near that facility without authorization.””
“Understood.””
Then Nathaniel looked at me.
“Rose, I need you to understand something. Whatever happened on that rooftop, you are not facing it alone.””
I wanted to believe him.
But then the hospital room doors opened.
A nurse appeared.
“Mr. Callaway? Your mother is awake. She keeps asking for Rose.””
Nathaniel frowned.
“Me?””
The nurse nodded.
“She says there's something she needs to tell you. But she insists the maid must be present.””
I followed Nathaniel down the corridor.
Eleanor looked terribly small beneath the hospital blankets.
Her hair was disheveled. A bandage covered part of her forehead, and an IV line ran into her arm.
But her eyes were alert.
When she saw me, she reached out.
“Rose…”
I gently took her hand.
“I'm here, Mrs. Callaway.””
Nathaniel pulled a chair closer.
“Mom, what happened?””
Eleanor looked toward the closed door.
“Is Victoria here?””
“No,” he replied.
“She's at the estate.””
Eleanor closed her eyes.
“Good.””
She struggled to turn her head toward her son.
“Nathaniel, listen carefully. The woman you married isn't who you think she is.””
“I know you don't trust her, Mom.””
“No. You don't understand.””
Her breathing became uneven.
“She didn't push me because of an argument. She pushed me because I found something.””
Nathaniel leaned forward.
“Found what?””
Eleanor looked at me.
Then she whispered a sentence that made my blood run cold.
“The money your father left you was never where you thought it was.””
Nathaniel froze.
“What money?””
Eleanor's fingers tightened around mine.
“The original trust documents. Victoria found out I had them.””
“Where are they?””
She tried to answer.
But the heart monitor suddenly began beeping faster.
A nurse rushed inside.
“Ma'am, please relax. Your blood pressure is rising.””
Nathaniel stood.
“Mom, tell me where the documents are.””
Eleanor's lips trembled.
Then she looked directly at me.
“Rose… the blue room…”
Her eyes closed.
The nurse asked us to step outside.
Nathaniel remained motionless until the door shut.
Then he turned toward me.
“What blue room?””
I swallowed.
“I don't know, sir.””
But I remembered something.
At the Callaway estate, there was one room nobody was allowed to enter.
A locked room on the third floor.
The former study of Nathaniel's father.
May you like
And earlier that evening, before the wedding ceremony, I'd seen Victoria coming out of it.
She had been carrying a small blue envelope.
