Chapter 9
The next few weeks were a blur of police statements, legal battles, and breathless headlines.
The Chicago press had a field day with the “Sterling Poison Plot.” Arthur, Marcus, and Delaney were denied bail, sitting in federal lockup awaiting trial for conspiracy and murder.
But inside the Sterling mansion, a profound, healing quiet had settled.
The engagement table was gone. Delaney’s red dresses and modern art pieces were boxed up and thrown away.
Instead, Nathan had the cedar room permanently unlocked.
One sunny Tuesday afternoon, I sat in the sunroom, stitching a new hem onto one of Sophie’s school skirts. I didn’t have to sew anymore—the trust Rebecca left me had cleared instantly—but the familiar rhythm of the needle calmed my nerves.
Sophie ran into the room, wearing her mother’s yellow cashmere coat. It dragged on the floor behind her, but she refused to take it off.
“Eleanor! Dad says we can order pizza for dinner!” she beamed.
Nathan walked in behind her, wearing jeans and a simple sweater. The billionaire armor was completely gone. He looked ten years younger, the heavy burden of Delaney’s gaslighting finally lifted from his shoulders.
“Only if you finish your math homework first,” Nathan teased, ruffling her hair.
Sophie groaned and ran off toward the library.
Nathan sat in the armchair opposite me. He poured two cups of tea, handing one to me.
“How are you holding up, Eleanor?” he asked kindly.
“Better,” I smiled. “It feels like the darkness has finally left this house.”
Nathan nodded, looking out at the gardens. “I spoke with the board of directors today. Arthur’s removal caused a panic, but when I showed them Rebecca’s original mandate, they backed down. The company is stable.”
“I’m glad,” I said.
Nathan set his teacup down. He looked at me, a serious expression crossing his face.
“There’s one loose end we haven’t discussed, Eleanor.”
I paused my sewing. “What is it?”
“The courier,” Nathan said.
I frowned. “The young man who ran out the door the night of the party? The police never caught him.”
“No, they didn’t,” Nathan said, pulling a manila folder from his side table. “But my private security did. We tracked him down to a motel on the South Side yesterday.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Did he have more of Rebecca’s things?”
“No. Delaney really did send the rest of the boxes to be shredded. The dress was the only thing left.” Nathan opened the folder. “But the courier wasn’t just a random driver Delaney hired.”
He slid a photograph across the coffee table.
It was a picture of the young courier, looking bruised and terrified, sitting in an interrogation chair.
“His name is Leo Vance,” Nathan said quietly.
I stared at the name. Vance.
“He’s Marcus’s son,” I breathed, the realization chilling my blood. “Rebecca’s half-brother.”
Nathan nodded. “Marcus didn’t just abandon your sister, Eleanor. He had a whole second family he abandoned a decade later. Leo was desperate for money to pay for his mother’s medical bills. Marcus promised him a cut of the estate if he helped Delaney smuggle the flash drive out of the house in the wedding dress.”
“Did he know they murdered Rebecca?” I asked, feeling a strange pang of pity for the boy.
“He swears he didn’t,” Nathan said. “He thought it was just a corporate embezzlement scheme. When he found out Arthur poisoned her, he ran because he knew Arthur would kill him next to tie up loose ends.”
“Where is he now?”
Nathan leaned forward. “He’s sitting in a police station. But he offered me a deal. He says he knows where Arthur hid the original, unaltered will that proves Rebecca left everything to Sophie.”
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