Chapter 5 - The Envelope on the Desk
The heavy mahogany door of the private library clicked shut behind them, muttering the chaotic sounds of police radios and flashing lights into a dull murmur. Jax set Lily down on the plush leather sofa, handing her a small wooden puzzle to keep her occupied while he searched for her favorite blanket. The room smelled of old paper, aged leather, and a faint hint of cedar.
As Jax turned back toward the large oak desk, something caught his eye. Resting right in the center of the blotter was a thick, cream-colored envelope sealed with a heavy red wax stamp bearing the Vance family crest—a wolf intertwined with a thorny vine.
Jax frowned. He hadn't seen that envelope earlier today when he reviewed the quarterly shipping logs.
“Daddy, what’s that?” Lily asked, pointing a small finger at the desk while successfully snapping two puzzle pieces together.
“Just an old letter, sweetie,” Jax said, walking over slowly. He picked it up, feeling the substantial weight of heavy parchment paper inside. The address wasn't written; instead, his full name—Jax Vance—was embossed directly into the paper fibers using a vintage typewriter font.
He broke the wax seal with his thumb, sliding out a folded document that bore a notary seal dated just two days prior. His dark eyes scanned the dense legal text, and as he read the opening paragraph, the blood drained entirely from his face.
It wasn't a corporate document, nor was it a threat from his mother. It was a confidential medical amendment regarding his late father’s autopsy report, buried deep within the private vault of the estate’s legal counsel.
Cause of death: Acute potassium chloride toxicity administered via red wine.
Jax gripped the paper so hard his knuckles turned white, the tattoos on his hands stretching against the taut skin. His father hadn't died of natural heart failure as Eleanor had claimed at the extravagant funeral three years ago. He had been murdered, using the exact same method they had just attempted to use on him tonight.
“Daddy?” Lily called out softly, noticing the sudden rigidity in his posture. “Are you okay? You look sad.”
“I’m fine, angel,” Jax managed to say, his voice strained as he forced a reassuring smile. But his mind was racing at a dangerous speed. If his mother killed his father for control of the shipping conglomerate, she hadn't acted alone. There was a third name listed at the bottom of the legal amendment as the witness to the original, suppressed autopsy—a name Jax hadn't heard in over a decade.
Marcus Hayes.
Suddenly, the front door of the library rattled violently. Before Jax could turn around, the heavy wooden panels swung inward, revealing the lead police officer with a grim expression on his face.
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“Mr. Vance,” the officer said urgently. “You need to come down to the station immediately. Your mother just made a counter-statement, and she dropped a name that changes everything.”
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