Chapter 2 - The Comb
“That belonged to Jacob.”
Ethan’s voice barely carried across the foyer.
Victoria lowered the scissors.
Leah gripped the diamond comb.
“It belonged to my husband.”
The guests began whispering.
Ethan stared at her.
“Your husband?”
“Jacob Reed.”
The estate electrician.
The quiet man who repaired the mansion’s antique wiring and refused every invitation to enter through the front doors.
Seven months earlier, Jacob had died in a service-elevator accident at a Mercer hotel.
Ethan had attended the funeral for twelve minutes.
Leah had stood beside the coffin alone.
Victoria laughed nervously.
“Jacob was not her husband.”
Leah reached into her apron pocket and removed a folded marriage certificate.
They had married at a county courthouse eighteen months earlier.
Ethan looked at Victoria.
“You knew?”
“She never disclosed the marriage during hiring.”
Leah’s face burned.
“I was hired before we married.”
Victoria stepped closer.
“You concealed a relationship with a contractor to gain access to this family.”
Leah looked around at the chandeliers, marble and champagne.
“I cleaned your bathrooms.”
A pause.
“What access did you think I gained?”
A few guests lowered their eyes.
Ethan examined the comb.
His mother had given it to Jacob when they were children, then claimed it had disappeared after his death.
“How did you get this?”
“Jacob left it in a safe-deposit box.”
“With what?”
Leah swallowed.
“A letter.”
Victoria went pale.
Ethan noticed.
“What letter?”
May you like
Leah met his eyes.
“One explaining why your family made an electrician use the service entrance to a house where he was born.”
