Chapter 4 - The Federal Seal
Julian walked briskly toward the grand foyer, leaving Eleanor standing alone in the hallway with her thoughts. He pulled the heavy front door open, the morning chill rushing in to meet him. The courier, a tired-looking man in a dark uniform, extended the clipboard and the thick envelope without a word. Julian signed quickly, took the package, and closed the door with a heavy thud. He tore open the heavy paper seal right there in the entryway. Inside lay a single sheaf of official documents bearing the letterhead of the Department of Justice.
Eleanor joined him moments later, her footsteps silent on the rug. She peered over his shoulder, her breath catching as she read the bold header at the top of the page. It was a formal notice of a reopened federal investigation into the Vance Enterprises factory fire from two decades ago.
“This is impossible,” Eleanor whispered, her hands flying to her mouth. “The inquiry was closed twenty years ago. The settlement was finalized, the insurance paid out, and the files were sealed by a federal judge.”
“Nothing stays buried forever, Eleanor,” Julian said, his voice dangerously quiet as he scanned the legal jargon. “Someone petitioned the court to unseal the records. Someone with legal standing and a very good reason to dig up the past.”
“Clara,” Eleanor realized aloud, her eyes widening in sudden, panicked realization. “Her father was the night shift supervisor when the building went up in flames. She’s not just a maid, Julian. She’s the daughter of the man they blamed for the explosion.”
Julian nodded slowly, folding the documents back into the envelope. “Which means her presence in our home was no coincidence. She planted herself here, working beneath our roof, waiting for the right moment to strike.”
“And you just sent her down to the kitchen,” Eleanor snapped, panic finally piercing her polished exterior. “She could be calling her lawyer right now. Or worse, the press.”
“She doesn’t have a phone on duty,” Julian replied coldly. “And she’s not going anywhere until I find out who is funding her campaign.”
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Julian turned on his heel and strode toward the servant quarters, but as he reached the service staircase, he noticed something strange on the second-step landing: a small, modern flash drive resting innocently on the wooden rail.
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