Chapter 4 - The Woman Upstairs
Ava pulled the door open.
Two uniformed officers stood on the porch.
Behind them was Detective Lena Morales, the financial-crimes investigator Ava had spoken with that morning.
“Ava Reynolds?” one officer asked.
“Yes.”
“Are you injured?”
“No. But they locked me inside and tried to take my bank card.”
Margaret immediately stepped forward.
“This is a family misunderstanding.”
Officer Grant raised one hand.
“Stay where you are.”
Ethan forced a nervous smile.
“My fiancée is emotional. She’s pregnant, and we’ve been under wedding stress.”
Ava felt something inside her go still.
He was already building his defense.
Not denying the locked door.
Not denying the demand.
Blaming her pregnancy.
Detective Morales entered and looked directly at Ava.
“Did you activate the emergency upload?”
“Yes.”
“Good. We received the audio.”
Margaret’s lips parted.
Then came another sound from upstairs.
A floorboard creaked.
Officer Grant looked toward the staircase.
“Is anyone else in the home?”
“No,” Margaret answered too quickly.
Ava turned to her.
“You said your housekeeper was off today.”
“She is.”
The second officer moved toward the stairs.
Margaret stepped into his path.
“You cannot search my home without a warrant.”
Detective Morales studied her.
“You’re right. But if someone upstairs may be in danger, the officers can conduct a protective sweep.”
“Nobody is in danger.”
A woman’s voice floated weakly from above.
“Help me.”
Margaret’s face collapsed.
Officer Grant drew his radio and rushed upstairs with his partner.
Ethan stared at his mother.
“Who is that?”
Margaret said nothing.
Seconds later, the officers returned with a thin gray-haired woman wearing a hotel housekeeper’s uniform.
Her left wrist was red.
Her eyes filled with tears when she saw Ava.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I tried to leave.”
Ava recognized her.
Rosa Delgado had served dinner at nearly every Parker family event for the past year.
Margaret called her the housekeeper.
But Rosa did not live there.
She worked at the hotel where Ethan and Ava’s wedding reception was supposed to take place.
Detective Morales stepped closer.
“Ma’am, were you being held upstairs?”
Rosa nodded.
“Mrs. Parker took my phone. She said I couldn’t leave until I signed the statement.”
“What statement?”
Rosa looked at Margaret.
“The one saying Miss Ava authorized all the payments.”
Ethan backed away from his mother.
“You told me Rosa had already signed it.”
Every head turned toward him.
Ava’s stomach tightened.
May you like
Ethan had just admitted he knew about the false statement.
👉 Ethan’s panicked sentence connected him directly to the scheme he claimed not to understand.
