Chapter 2
The silence that settled over the backyard was heavier than the humid July air, broken only by the rhythmic hum of the pool filter trying vainly to suck the black sludge from the deep end. Elena kept her grip on the heavy vacuum hose, using it as a makeshift barrier between herself and Marcus, who stood motionless by the patio furniture with a look of absolute dread in his eyes.
"You heard me," Elena said, her voice dropping from a frantic shriek to a cold, level timber that demanded answers. "The lawyer called this morning. The amendment dividing the estate was signed three days before your father went into the hospital, but the signature isn't his. It’s a clumsy forgery, Marcus, and the handwriting analysis points straight to you."
Marcus let out a dry, humorless laugh that lacked any warmth, running a hand through his short dark hair as he paced a small circle on the flagstones.
"You think I forged my own father's signature to cut you out?" Marcus asked, shaking his head in disbelief as he turned to face her fully. "After I spent the last two years wiping his forehead and managing his medical debts while you took extended trips to Florida?"
"My trips were for my mother's chemotherapy, and you know it," Elena snapped back, stepping closer to the pool's edge. "And don't try to turn this around on my absence. Someone accessed the safe in the study last Tuesday. The security log shows your fingerprint code at 2:14 AM."
Marcus stopped pacing. The color drained entirely from his face, leaving him looking far older than thirty-five. He didn't deny the log entry, which made Elena's stomach drop with a sickening lurch.
"I accessed the safe," Marcus admitted quietly, looking down at his blue jeans. "Because my father asked me to get his service revolver before the nurses saw it. He was paranoid, Elena. He thought someone was trying to poison his medication."
May you like
Elena narrowed her eyes, watching the micro-twitches in his jaw. "Poison his medication? Your father was coherent until the very last night."
"Was he?" Marcus muttered, looking up with a chilling gleam in his eyes. "Ask the hospice nurse who was on duty when the security cameras mysteriously went offline for four hours."
