The Crime Scene Beneath
Chapter 02 - The Crime Scene Beneath
Within thirty minutes, the quiet vineyard estate was swarming with state police cruisers, forensic vans, and mobile crime lab units. Bright halogen floodlights illuminated the grand driveway, drawing a crowd of curious neighbors and local news reporters to the gates.
I sat in the back of an ambulance while a paramedic finished stitching the wound on my temple. The sharp pain was fading into a dull, throbbing ache, but my mind was sharper than it had ever been.
Officer Miller walked over to the ambulance, holding a tablet and a notepad.
“Mrs. Vance,” Miller said quietly. “Forensic teams are down in the east wine cellar right now with ground-penetrating radar. We’ve locked down the entire family inside the living room for questioning.”
“Did you find anything?” I asked, holding an ice pack against my head.
“The radar showed a massive structural anomaly four feet beneath the newly poured concrete slab in the cellar,” Miller revealed gravely. “We’ve called in a forensic excavation team. If what your sister-in-law said is true, this is no longer just a domestic assault investigation.”
Maya walked out of the house escorted by a female officer, carrying her two young children wrapped in blankets. When she saw me, she guided her children toward a patrol car and walked straight over to the ambulance.
“Claire...” Maya whispered, her eyes red and swollen. “I’m so sorry. I should have spoken up years ago. But they threatened to take my kids away if I ever said a word.”
“What happened to Sarah, Maya?” I asked softly. “Tell me the truth.”
Maya took a deep breath, looking back at the massive vineyard mansion. “Sarah was Adrian’s first wife. Five years ago, she discovered that Charles and Eleanor were using the vineyard to launder tens of millions of dollars for a cartel syndicate. When she threatened to go to the FBI, Adrian... he lost his temper during a family dinner, just like he did tonight.”
A cold shudder ran down my spine.
“Only five years ago,” Maya continued, her voice breaking, “nobody called 911. They covered it up, poured new concrete in the cellar, and told the world Sarah had abandoned her family. They brought you into this family three years later because you had a high-income corporate tech job and a multi-million dollar condo they could use to replace the money Sarah had threatened to expose.”
I looked down at my hands. The blood on my fingers had dried, leaving dark streaks across my skin. I hadn't just married a greedy, arrogant man; I had walked directly into a family of murderous sociopaths.
Suddenly, a loud commotion erupted near the front porch of the estate.
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A forensics officer burst out the front door, running toward Sergeant Miller with a sealed evidence bag.
“Sergeant!” the officer called out, his voice echoing across the driveway. “We broke through the top layer of concrete in the cellar! We found human remains and a stainless-steel safe buried directly beneath the foundation!”
