Chapter 2 - My Five Brothers Came Through the Gate
The first person through the ballroom doors was Noé.
He didn’t run.
Noé Sterling never ran.
He walked.
That somehow made everyone more frightened.
My oldest brother was forty-five, broad-shouldered, silver beginning to appear at his temples. He wore a dark suit without a tie, and behind him came two members of his corporate security team.
Léo entered next.
Then Julien.
Marc.
Caleb.
Five brothers.
Five completely different men.
One expression.
They saw me.
And stopped.
For several seconds, nobody said anything.
Noé’s eyes moved from the marks on my wrists to my damaged gown.
Then to the rope.
Then to the riding crop in Isaac’s hand.
“Put that down,” he said.
Isaac scoffed.
“This is my house.”
Noé looked at him.
“I didn't ask whose house it was.”
“Noé,” I said.
His attention immediately returned to me.
“I’m okay.”
He looked at my arms.
“No, you’re not.”
“I will be.”
That mattered.
His jaw tightened.
Julien walked directly to me and removed his suit jacket.
“May I?”
I nodded.
He carefully placed it around my shoulders.
Unlike Isaac, my brothers never treated protection as ownership.
“Do you need a hospital?” Julien asked.
“I need evidence preserved first.”
Marc stared at me.
Then something close to a smile touched his face.
“There’s our sister.”
Isaac laughed nervously.
“This is ridiculous.”
Caleb turned toward him.
He was the youngest of my brothers and the quietest.
“You should probably stop talking.”
“Get out of my house.”
Julien sighed.
“As an attorney, I’m going to recommend that you stop issuing commands until you understand your situation.”
“My situation?”
“Yes.”
Julien glanced at the guests.
“Fifty witnesses.”
Isaac’s face changed.
He finally looked around.
The audience that had made him feel powerful ten minutes earlier had suddenly become a liability.
Arthur stepped forward.
“This was a private family matter.”
“No,” Julien said. “It became something else the moment you decided to perform it in front of witnesses.”
Valérie snapped, “Flora agreed to—”
“No, I didn’t.”
Everyone looked at me.
Valérie went pale.
I continued.
“I never agreed to any of it.”
Julien nodded once.
“Thank you.”
Arthur turned toward Isaac.
“Call our attorneys.”
Isaac pulled out his phone.
Caleb watched him.
“You might want to call more than attorneys.”
Isaac stared at him.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
Caleb took his own phone from his pocket.
“It’s advice.”
A siren sounded in the distance.
Then another.
Isaac looked toward the windows.
“What did you people do?”
“I called the police,” the young caterer said.
Every head turned.
She stood near the wall, terrified but determined.
Isaac took a step toward her.
Noé immediately moved between them.
That stopped him.
“Her name?” Julien asked.
The caterer swallowed.
“Emma.”
“Emma, did you witness what happened?”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
She nodded.
Julien handed her a business card.
“Keep this.”
Arthur laughed bitterly.
“You think one frightened waitress is going to destroy this family?”
“No,” Marc said.
He had been staring at Arthur since entering.
“I suspect you’ve done a remarkable job of that yourselves.”
Arthur froze.
It lasted only a fraction of a second.
But I saw it.
So did Caleb.
My brothers communicated without speaking.
Marc had noticed something.
“Flora,” Caleb said, “where’s your laptop?”
“Upstairs.”
Isaac’s head snapped toward me.
“Why does he need your laptop?”
Caleb smiled faintly.
“Interesting question.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“Later.”
Police vehicles stopped outside.
Guests began whispering.
Arthur pulled Isaac aside.
I couldn’t hear everything, but I heard enough.
“…control yourself…”
“…attorneys…”
“…nothing on the company…”
Nothing on the company.
There it was.
Caleb heard it too.
His expression sharpened.
Police entered the ballroom.
The next hour became a blur of statements, photographs, questions and stunned whispers.
I gave my account.
So did Emma.
Then three guests volunteered.
Then seven.
Once the first person spoke, courage became contagious.
Isaac was furious.
Chloé cried.
Valérie insisted everything had been misunderstood.
Arthur made phone calls.
My brothers stayed.
At one point Noé crouched beside me.
“You knew about the affair.”
It wasn’t a question.
“Three weeks.”
“Why didn’t you call us?”
“I wanted proof.”
“You didn’t need proof for us to believe you.”
“I know.”
That nearly made me cry.
I squeezed his hand.
“I needed it for myself.”
He understood.
When the initial interviews were finished, I was allowed upstairs with an officer to collect personal belongings.
Caleb accompanied us.
My bedroom looked untouched.
That angered me more than if Isaac had destroyed it.
Six years of marriage.
Six years reduced to a perfectly made bed.
I opened my closet.
Caleb went to the desk.
“You said your laptop was here?”
“Yes.”
“It isn’t.”
I turned.
“What?”
The desk was empty.
My laptop was gone.
So was the external drive I kept beside it.
I immediately understood.
“Isaac.”
“Maybe.”
Caleb examined the desk without touching anything.
“What was on the drive?”
“Personal files. Photos. Household documents.”
“Anything connected to Isaac?”
“I copied some of the evidence of his affair.”
Caleb looked at me.
“What else?”
I hesitated.
“A few weeks ago, I accidentally received an email intended for Isaac.”
“What kind?”
“Construction invoices.”
Marc appeared in the doorway.
Caleb looked at him.
“Perfect timing.”
I explained.
One invoice had bothered me because the numbers seemed absurdly high for ordinary subcontracting.
I had asked Isaac about it.
He became angry and told me never to interfere with company business.
That reaction had made me save a copy.
Marc’s face became completely still.
“Company name?”
“Northstar Materials.”
Marc and Caleb exchanged a look.
“What?” I asked.
Marc closed the bedroom door.
“Northstar Materials doesn’t supply construction materials.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I investigated them two years ago for a client.”
My stomach tightened.
“What are they?”
“A shell company.”
Silence.
Caleb took out his phone.
“Arthur’s reaction downstairs suddenly makes sense.”
I stared at them.
“You think Isaac is stealing from his own company?”
Marc shook his head.
“I don’t think anything yet. We follow records, not guesses.”
That was Marc.
Evidence first.
Always.
I looked toward the missing laptop.
“Then somebody just stole one of those records.”
Caleb nodded.
“Which means somebody knew you had it.”
A soft noise came from the hallway.
Caleb opened the door quickly.
Chloé stood outside.
Her mascara had run down her cheeks.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
She looked terrified.
Not embarrassed.
Terrified.
“I need to talk to you.”
“About Isaac?”
She shook her head.
“About Arthur.”
Marc moved closer.
Chloé glanced toward the staircase before lowering her voice.
“Your laptop isn’t missing.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“I saw Isaac take it yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
She nodded.
“He knew you were investigating the invoices.”
That meant tonight had not been spontaneous.
The wine.
The humiliation.
The punishment.
Maybe none of it had been spontaneous.
“Where is it?” Caleb asked.
Chloé looked at me.
“Arthur has it.”
“Why?”
Her lips trembled.
“Because there’s something on that computer that could destroy the Vance family.”
Before I could ask another question, shouting erupted downstairs.
Then a man yelled Arthur’s name.
Caleb moved toward the door.
Chloé grabbed my arm.
“Flora.”
I looked at her.
She whispered the words that changed everything.
“The affair wasn’t the secret they were afraid you’d discover.”
May you like
And downstairs, Arthur Vance was already trying to leave.
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