Chapter 6 - A Game of Chess
Arthur stopped dead in his tracks, the distance between him and Elena shrinking to a mere three paces in the narrow hallway.
"Where is she, Elena?" Arthur demanded, his voice dropping into a harsh, dangerous register as he took a menacing step forward.
"What have you done with my daughter?"
Elena did not flinch, nor did she retreat an inch; instead, a faint, pitying smile touched the corners of her lips.
"You always were too quick to jump to conclusions, Arthur, just like you were the night Sarah drove off into the storm," she replied, her voice dangerously calm.
The mention of Sarah’s name acted like a physical shockwave, freezing Arthur in mid-stride and draining all the color from his face.
"Don't you dare bring Sarah into this," Arthur hissed, his chest heaving as a cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
"You don't know anything about that night."
"I know everything, Arthur," Elena whispered, taking one deliberate step closer to him, closing the gap until he could smell the faint scent of jasmine and rain on her sweater.
"I know that the police report was missing a page, I know that the brake lines on her sedan were severed three days before the accident, and I know who held the insurance policy."
Arthur’s breath hitched, the room seeming to spin violently around him as decades of buried guilt and grief threatened to drag him under.
"That was an accident," he choked out, his voice cracking with sudden, overwhelming vulnerability.
"The coroner ruled it an accident."
"Coroners can be convinced, especially when a grieving architect with architectural debt needs a fresh start," Elena said smoothly.
"Just like you are being convinced right now that your daughter is in danger."
"Where is Lily?" Arthur repeated, his voice desperate now, all pretense of anger replaced by raw terror.
Elena raised her right hand slowly, opening her palm to reveal the heavy silver locket that Lily had accused her of throwing in the trash.
"She went looking for proof, Arthur," Elena said quietly.
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"And she found the storm cellar under the garage."
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