Ten minutes later, the foyer was a sea of flashing blue lights. Two officers hauled a screaming, thrashing Seraphina toward the door.
“It wasn’t me!” Seraphina shrieked, her eyes wild. “It was Cynthia! She told me to do it! She gave me the layout! She said we had to get rid of the baby!”
William stood with his arm around Victoria, who was trembling violently. He watched his ex-fiancée with cold detachment.
“Check her phone!” Seraphina yelled as they dragged her past the grand entrance. “She planned it all!”
The heavy oak doors opened, and Cynthia Sharpe walked in. She was flanked by a police detective. She looked immaculate in her trench coat, calm and composed.
“I’m afraid she’s confused, Officer,” Cynthia said smoothly. She pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it to the detective. “I tried to talk her down. I have the recording right here. She was threatening to kill Mrs. Croft. I called 911 the moment she got out of my car.”
The detective pressed play. Seraphina’s voice, clear and manic, filled the foyer.
*”Accidents happen in old houses… If she falls… William will need me.”*
Seraphina went limp in the officers’ grip. She stared at Cynthia, the realization of the betrayal finally piercing her delusion.
“You snake,” Seraphina whispered.
“I’m a survivor, darling,” Cynthia replied coolly.
The police dragged Seraphina out into the rain. The doors slammed shut, sealing the madness outside.
Cynthia turned to William. She didn’t look apologetic. She looked like a business partner who had just liquidated a bad asset.
“I trust this concludes our business regarding Ms. Rivers,” Cynthia said, smoothing her lapel. “You’ll find my invoice for ‘Crisis Management’ on your desk in the morning.”
William stared at her. He knew she was just as guilty, but she had played the game perfectly. She had handed him the villain to save herself.
“Get out,” William said quietly.
Cynthia nodded once to Victoria–a chilling acknowledgement–and walked out into the night, free and untouchable.
Victoria buried her face in William’s chest. He tightened his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. The immediate danger was gone, but as William looked at the closed door, he knew the war wasn’t over. One monster was in a cage, but the other was still loose in the city.