Prove it

Serena’s POV:

Charles’s voice filled the bathroom. He stepped closer. His eyes never left the silver cuff link

in my hand.

I closed my fingers around it.

“It’s mine.

”

“That belongs to my brother.

” He held out his hand.

“Give it to me.

”

“No.

”

He moved fast. His hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled my fingers open. The cuff link

dropped into his palm. He stared at it like it might burn him.

“Daniel wore these the night he disappeared,

” he said. His voice stayed low but it shook with

something dark.

“I looked for them for three years. They were never found. How do you have

one?”

I pulled my wrist free.

“I found it in my coat the next morning. That’s all I know.

”

“That’s not enough.

” He stepped even closer. The bathroom felt too small.

“You were with

him and you ran. The company fell apart. And you kept this like a prize.

”

“I kept it because I could not remember anything else,

” I shot back.

“Pieces of that night are

gone. I wake up and try to see what happened and there’s only black space. I did not take

your brother. I did not take the money. Someone set me up.

”

Charles laughed once. It was not a kind sound.

yourself so you can sleep.

”

“Someone set you up. That’s the story you tell

“It’s the truth.

”

“Then prove it.

” He held the cuff link up between us.

night. Every minute and every word. Start talking.

”

“Tell me exactly what happened that

My chest felt tight.

“I already told you. I can’t.

”

“Try harder.

”

I pushed past him and walked into the bedroom. He followed. The large windows showed

only darkness outside. The big bed and soft chairs looked wrong under the heavy silence.

“I remember leaving a meeting with Daniel,

” I said. My voice came out rough.

“He was angry.

He said we had to move fast. We were going to take something important. Then there was

noise. People were shouting. Someone grabbed me. After that everything went dark until I

woke up in a hotel room the next day with blood on my sleeve and this cuff link in my

pocket.

”

Charles stared at me.

“Blood?”

“Yes. I don’t know whose.

”

He turned the cuff link over in his fingers again and again.

“Daniel would never leave these

behind. He never took them off. Not even when he slept.

”

“I did not take them off him.

”

“Then how did they end up with you?”

“I don’t know!” The words came out louder than I meant.

“I have asked myself the same

question for three years. I have nothing. No clear memory or proof that clears my name. Just

this one thing and a lot of people who want me gone.

”

Charles put the cuff link in his pocket.

“You will get it back when I decide you deserve it.

”

“That’s not yours to keep.

”

“Everything under this roof is mine to keep.

” He walked to the side door and stopped.

“Get

some sleep. We start tomorrow. I’ll ask the same questions until something comes back. And

if nothing comes back, I’ll keep you here until the six months are over.

”

He left and slammed the door hard behind him. I heard the lock turn.

I stood in the middle of the room with my hands shaking. The silence felt heavier than the

shouting. I walked to the windows and tried them. Locked, just like he said. I checked the

main door. Locked too. I was stuck.

I sat on the edge of the bed and tried to slow my breathing. The cuff link was gone. The only

real piece of that night I had left was in his pocket now. I wanted to scream. I opened my bag

instead and pulled out the small box again. It was empty now. I put it back and lay down

without changing clothes.

Sleep did not come easy. I saw Daniel’s face every time I closed my eyes. Then the dark

spaces. Then Charles’s eyes when he saw the cuff link.

A soft sound woke me.

I sat up fast. The room was still dark. The only light came from under the side door. Someone

was moving on the other side.

I stood and walked quietly to the door. I pressed my ear against it.

Charles’s voice came through, low and sharp.

She claims she found it the next morning.

”

“I have her. Yes. The cuff link was in her hand.

Silence then he spoke again.

“I don’t care what Mother thinks. She stays here. Six months. That’s the deal.

”

More silence.

“Adrian, keep the board quiet. No one needs to know she’s under this roof yet. And check the

old files again. Every name that touched the accounts that night.

”

I pulled back from the door. My heart beat hard in my throat. He was already talking to his

partner, already digging, already deciding what to do with me.

The light under the door went out. Footsteps moved away.

I went back to the bed and sat with my arms around my knees. The house felt too big and too

full of eyes. I needed a plan. I needed to find my own answers before he found ones that hurt

me more.

Light came through the windows slowly. I washed my face and changed into clean clothes

from my bag. Dark jeans and a simple top. Nothing fancy. I was not here to look pretty for

him.

A knock came at the main door. Then the lock turned.

A woman in a gray uniform stood there with a tray.

Humphrey. Mr. Humphrey is waiting.

”

“Breakfast is ready downstairs, Mrs.

The name made my stomach turn. I followed her down the long hallway and the wide stairs.

The entrance looked even bigger in daylight. Everything shone. Everything cost more than I

could ever afford.

Charles sat at a long table in a bright dining room. Papers and a laptop were open in front of

him. He looked up when I walked in. He had changed into a fresh shirt. The steel in his eyes

was still there.

“Sit,

” he said.

I sat across from him. The food on the table looked perfect. Eggs, toast, fruit, and coffee. I did

not touch any of it.

“You locked me in,

” I said.

“I protect what’s mine.

”

“I’m not yours.

”

“You are, for six months.

” He closed the laptop.

“Eat. Then we talk.

”

“I’m not hungry.

”

“Then talk now.

” He leaned forward.

“The blood on your sleeve. Whose was it?”

“I told you. I don’t know.

”

“Guess.

”

“I’ll not guess about something that important.

”

He watched me for a long moment.

“You said Daniel was angry that night. Why?”

I forced the pieces to come.

“He said people were moving money that did not belong to them.

He said we had to stop it before it was too late. He had files and he wanted me to help him

get them out.

”

“Files that later vanished,

” Charles said.

“Along with him.

”

“I did not take the files.

”

“Someone did. And you were the last one seen with him.

”

The argument went back and forth. Every answer I gave led to another question. He never

raised his voice but the pressure never let up. My head started to hurt. The coffee in front of

me went cold.

Finally he sat back.

“Enough for now. You will stay in the east wing during the day. The

library is open to you. So is the garden under watch. Nowhere else. My people will know if

you try the gates.

”

“Am I a prisoner?”

“You are my wife for six months. Act like it.

”

He stood and gathered his papers.

“I have meetings. Don’t make my staff chase you.

”

He left the dining room without looking back.

I sat alone at the long table. The silence pressed in. I stood and walked through the open

doors into a large living room. Everything was perfect and cold. I kept moving. A hallway.

Another room. Then I found the library.

Shelves covered every wall. Books from floor to ceiling, soft chairs, a desk by the window. It

smelled like old paper and money.

I walked the rows slowly. My eyes moved over titles I did not care about. I needed something

real. Something that might help me remember.

I stopped at a shelf near the back. A thin folder sat between two large books. It did not belong

there. The edge stuck out just enough.

I pulled it free.

There were photocopies of bank records from three years ago inside. Numbers, dates, and

names. One name appeared again and again on the transfers that emptied the accounts.

My name.

Serena Kent.

But the signature next to my name was wrong. It looked close but it was not mine. The loops

were different. The way the S was written was different.

Someone had signed my name on the papers that destroyed the company.

My hands started to shake. This was proof. Real proof that someone had used me.

I heard footsteps in the hallway.

I shoved the folder under my shirt and walked to the window like I was only looking at the

garden. The footsteps passed and faded.

I waited ten full breaths. Then I left the library with the folder pressed against my skin.

I needed somewhere private to look at every page. My room. The locked room.

I climbed the stairs fast. My heart beat so hard I felt it in my throat. I reached the east wing

and pushed my door open.

Charles stood in the middle of my room.

He held the small empty box from my bag in one hand.

His eyes lifted to my face. Then they dropped to the shape under my shirt where the folder

sat.

His voice came out soft and dangerous.

“What are you hiding this time, Serena?”