Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN WHO HEARD HER MOTHER'S LAST WORDS
“Your mother survived the crash.”
Niko's words seemed to freeze the air.
Ava gripped the back of the chair.
“Then why did everyone tell me she died instantly?”
“Because the official report was altered.”
The following morning, Ava traveled with Niko to a quiet Connecticut neighborhood.
Margaret Ellis answered the door herself.
She was seventy-three, with silver hair and gentle eyes.
When she saw Ava, her hand flew to her mouth.
“Oh, sweetheart.”
Ava nearly broke.
Margaret invited them inside and placed a small cardboard box on the table.
“I've kept this for twenty years.”
Inside was a hospital identification bracelet.
ELEANOR MONROE.
Ava touched it carefully.
“Tell me what happened.”
Margaret sat opposite her.
“Your mother was brought into the emergency department after the crash. She was injured, but she was conscious.”
“Did she speak?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Margaret’s eyes filled with tears.
“She kept asking for you.”
Ava pressed her fist against her lips.
“She said someone had tried to force her off the road. She wanted the police. She specifically asked that Richard Whitmore not be allowed into her room.”
Niko leaned forward.
“Was that request documented?”
“I wrote it in her chart. Later, the statement disappeared.”
“Who removed it?”
“I don't know. But a hospital administrator instructed me to leave the ward. When I returned, Eleanor had been transferred.”
“Transferred where?” Ava asked.
Margaret shook her head.
“There was no receiving hospital listed.”
Ava stared at her.
“Then how did she die?”
“I never saw her death certificate until it appeared in the newspaper.”
Niko’s expression grew grim.
Margaret opened the box again.
“Before they moved her, your mother handed me something. She said if anyone ever came asking about her daughter, I should give it to them.”
She produced a small silver pendant shaped like a black rose.
Inside was a folded slip of paper.
Ava unfolded it.
Four words.
The second will is real.
Niko studied the message.
“Samuel told us Eleanor prepared a revised trust. Richard may have suppressed it.”
Margaret nodded.
“I was afraid to speak back then. I had two children, and men came to my house telling me to forget what I'd seen.”
Ava reached across the table.
“Thank you for keeping this.”
Margaret squeezed her hand.
“Your mother fought for you. I want you to know that.”
As they stood to leave, Margaret stopped them.
“There's another detail.”
Niko turned.
“What is it?”
“One of the people who arranged Eleanor's transfer came to the hospital wearing a security badge.”
“Do you remember his name?”
Margaret nodded.
“Thomas Vale.”
Ava looked at Niko.
“Who is that?”
Niko's face went cold.
“Richard Whitmore's current head of security.”
At that exact moment, Dante called.
“Boss, we have a serious problem.”
“What happened?”
“Someone just accessed Ava's old bedroom at the Whitmore mansion. Security footage shows Thomas Vale carrying out a metal lockbox.”
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Then Dante added the words that changed everything.
“And Bianca Whitmore is following him.”
