Chapter 2 - The Envelope Evelyn Wouldn't Release
"Give me the envelope."
My voice barely sounded like mine.
My eyes felt as if sand and fire had been pressed beneath my eyelids, but I could finally make out shapes.
Julian was crouched beside his father.
Arthur's chest moved.
That was all I needed to see.
He was alive.
Evelyn stood near the staircase with the blue envelope pressed against her side.
Her face had changed completely.
The woman who had smiled while I screamed on the floor was gone.
Now she looked cornered.
"This has nothing to do with you," she said.
Arthur coughed.
His fingers moved against the marble.
"Everything..." he rasped. "Everything in that envelope has to do with her."
Julian looked up sharply.
"Dad, stop talking."
Arthur's eyes found him.
Even from several feet away, I saw the disgust there.
"You told them I couldn't speak."
Julian froze.
Arthur tried to sit up.
His left hand trembled violently, and for one frightening second I thought he might collapse again.
I crawled toward him.
Julian grabbed my arm.
"Don't."
I ripped away from him.
"Touch me again and I swear I'll break your wrist."
Something flickered across his face.
Not remorse.
Calculation.
That frightened me more.
A few minutes earlier, he had been out of control.
Now he was thinking.
Evelyn moved toward the hallway.
Arthur pointed at her.
"Stop her."
Julian stepped between us.
"Nobody is stopping anybody."
"What's in the envelope?" I asked.
Evelyn's jaw tightened.
"Private Vance business."
Arthur gave a weak laugh.
"No, Evelyn. That's what you've been telling people for six months."
Julian's shoulders stiffened.
I heard it.
Six months.
Julian and I had been engaged for five.
Arthur shifted his gaze toward me.
"Sophia, when did Julian first ask you about Sterling Point?"
My stomach turned.
Sterling Point was sixteen acres of riverfront land outside Charleston that had belonged to my father.
After he died, ownership passed to me.
I had never lived there.
I had never developed it.
Until recently, it had been nothing more than a tax bill and a locked gate.
Three months into our relationship, Julian had casually mentioned that Vance Holdings might someday be interested in neighboring property.
At the time, I'd thought he was making conversation.
"Why?" I whispered.
Arthur closed his eyes.
"Because he knew who you were before you met him."
The foyer seemed to tilt.
Julian rose.
"He's confused."
Arthur opened his eyes again.
"Am I?"
Evelyn's voice sharpened.
"Arthur, your doctors were very clear about stress."
"My doctors?"
His laugh was bitter.
"You chose the doctors."
Julian looked at me.
"Sophia, he has vascular dementia."
Arthur's face changed.
Not confusion.
Rage.
"That's the lie you settled on?"
My heart began pounding.
Evelyn stepped closer to Julian.
"He doesn't know what he's saying."
Arthur pointed toward the blue envelope.
"Then open it."
Nobody moved.
"Open it, Evelyn."
She clutched it tighter.
Julian lowered his voice.
"Mom."
It was warning, not comfort.
Evelyn looked at him.
Then at me.
Then toward the fireplace at the far side of the foyer.
I understood one second before she moved.
"Evelyn!"
She ran.
I tried to stand, but my legs tangled in my wedding dress.
Julian caught my shoulder.
Arthur shouted.
Evelyn reached the fireplace, grabbed the iron poker, and hooked the edge of the envelope toward the flames.
I screamed, "No!"
Arthur pushed himself onto one knee.
Julian released me and rushed toward his mother.
For a moment, I thought he was going to stop her.
Instead he grabbed the envelope from her.
Arthur stared at his son.
"Don't."
Julian looked down at the blue paper.
Then he looked directly at me.
"You should've signed when I asked you."
My breath stopped.
He tore the envelope in half.
Arthur made a broken sound.
I lunged forward.
Julian tore it again.
Papers scattered.
Evelyn bent down, scooped up one sheet, and threw it into the fireplace.
I reached the pile first.
My fingertips closed around one surviving page.
There was a legal heading at the top.
I could barely focus through the chemical haze.
But I could read my own name.
SOPHIA ELIZABETH STERLING.
Underneath it were the words:
SPOUSAL CONSENT AND IRREVOCABLE PROPERTY AUTHORIZATION.
And at the bottom was my signature.
May you like
Except I had never signed it.
📖 Read what I discovered beneath my forged signature—and why Julian needed me married before the document could be used in CHAPTER 3. 👇
