Chapter 7 - The Fire in the Study
Taylor and Sarah reached the mansion within twenty minutes.
Smoke curled from the stone chimney, though it was a warm June morning.
Inside the study, Tabitha stood beside the fireplace.
Papers burned behind the iron screen.
Colin was near the desk, holding a brass key.
“What did you burn?” Taylor demanded.
Tabitha turned calmly.
“Personal letters.”
Sarah moved toward the fireplace.
Tabitha blocked her.
“You have no right to be here.”
“I own half this house,” Sarah said.
Tabitha laughed.
“You own nothing.”
Taylor lifted her phone.
“The county records disagree.”
For one second, fear appeared in Tabitha’s eyes.
Then she slapped the phone from Taylor’s hand.
It struck the rug.
Colin stepped forward.
“Mom!”
Tabitha spun toward him.
“Give me the key.”
“No.”
Her face changed.
“Colin.”
He closed his fingers around it.
“You said Taylor would be safe if I stayed quiet.”
Taylor looked at him.
“You made a deal with her?”
Colin’s shame answered before his words did.
Tabitha had threatened to release private medical information about Taylor’s mother unless Colin abandoned the trust investigation.
He believed silence would protect Taylor.
Instead, his silence gave Tabitha power over everyone.
Taylor picked up her phone.
“You should have told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“So was I.”
She turned toward the fireplace.
“But I still stood alone.”
Sarah pointed toward the desk.
“The safe.”
Colin inserted the key.
Inside was a sealed envelope, an old cassette tape, and a second notebook bound in dark green leather.
Tabitha lunged.
May you like
Sarah slammed the safe door shut before she could reach it.
👉 The black notebook contained the rules—but the green notebook contained the crime that created them.
