CHAPTER 272: RED HANDED

Ken shoved the office door wide, Bella right behind him, both of them stumbling into the room as the storm outside cracked like a warning.

Edward who had been seated in a chair before they left, now lay sprawled on the floor.

The chair now overturned beside him, the envelope still on the desk, but its contents scattered like fallen feathers photographs, typed sheets, a half-crumpled receipt were now stained by a fresh, dark red pool spreading beneath his head.

Bella gasped and stopped in her tracks, clapping a hand over her mouth in fright. Ken inched closer to the prone body, then he dropped to his knees beside the body. Edward’s eyes stared glassy and vacant at the ceiling, frozen in an expression of horror so sharp it seemed etched into his bone.

"Edward!" Ken pressed trembling fingers against the man’s throat. Nothing. Silent. Still. Gone.

Bella’s voice trembled. "Ken... Is he...?"

"Yes, he’s dead."

The words were gravel, scraped from his lungs.

From the angle of Edward’s neck, the unnatural twist, the deep bruise forming along the jaw, Ken recognized it instantly: a kill executed quickly, efficiently. Someone had been here seconds ago. Someone who moved like a shadow.

But how had they gotten in here? How did they get away so quickly? This must be Ophelia’s doing.

He surged to his feet, scanning the room. No broken window. No unlocked balcony. No one in the hallway. Just silence.

And Edward’s body cooling on the floor.

Bella stumbled backward, hand shaking violently as she pointed at the clutter of fallen papers. "Who did this? We were right outside the door... Ken, we were right there!"

"I don’t know." He took a step toward her, gripping her shoulders. "Bella, listen to me. You need to get help. Right ow."

"But..."

"Now." His tone snapped like a command. "The killer might still be around and i need you to go to the doorman."

Bella hesitated. "If they are still here, they could harm you. What if they came here specifially for you?"

"If Ophelia wanted me dead she woud not have waited for her husband to come here first to strike." He answered for a beat. "Whoever did this came for Edward. Now, hurry before they get away."

She nodded quickly, terror widening her eyes, then ran out of the room and down the hallway, the rapid echo of her footsteps softened by the rug.

Just as another sound rose up the elevator shaft.

Boots.

Multiple.

Fast.

Ken didn’t even have time to turn.

The office door blew open so violently it slammed against the wall.

"KENNETH STUART! PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!"

Five officers flooded the room, weapons drawn, bulletproof vests emblazoned with POLICE in harsh white letters. Bella had barely made it to the lobby. They must have been waiting. Or following. Or tipped off.

Ken froze, shock slicing through him. "What the hell—?"

They had literarily caught him red handed. Ken thought with a sickening feeling in his belly.

There was no way that Bella had already contacted the police, how then were the police already here as if they had been waiting next door. Somehow, Ken did not feel secure with the arrival of the police.

"Step away from the body!" an officer barked.

He raised his hands slowly, eyes darting toward the corpse on his floor. "You think I did this?"

"Turn around!" another shouted. "Do it now!"

Ken complied, jaw clenched, his mind racing through the implications. Timing, too perfect. Response, too fast. Premeditated.

Ophelia.

This had her fingerprints all over it.

Cold metal clamped around his wrists. The cuffs bit into his skin as they yanked his arms behind his back.

"Listen officer," Ken said tightly, "I didn’t touch him. I didn’t kill that man. I stepped out for a second and someone came in here."

"Why don’t you save it for your lawyer."

They hauled him upright. Bella’s horrified cry echoed faintly from the hallway as more police dragged her back, preventing her from reentering the room.

"Ken!" she screamed. "I tried to tell them! They just barged in... Ken!"

He twisted to look over his shoulder. "Bella, stay calm! Call Chris, have him take out the next available flight..."

A hand shoved his head down, pushing him toward the door.

"Move."

"But at least let me talk to her" Ken began as he resisted the men pulling him away.

"You’re under arrest for suspicion of homicide," the officer snapped. "Keep talking and we will add obstruction and assault of a cop."

At that point, Ken knew with certainty that it had all been planned out, the moment Edward had stepped into the building his fate had been sealed.

They pulled him through the office, past the scattered evidence Edward had brought, past the body of a man who had come begging for help, past the last flicker of truth that Ophelia had allowed to escape.

As they dragged him into the hall, Ken’s gut twisted.

Not from fear.

Not from shock.

From clarity.

Ophelia hadn’t sent Edward to warn him.

She had sent him to die.

And she had timed it so perfectly that Ken would fall right into the trap.

At that point, Ken did not worry for himself, he was worried about what Ophelia would do to Lyse. She was a woman desperate to keep the Welhaven fortune in her hands and she would probably do anything to make sure it stayed that way, including Murder. Ken knew that he would have to find a way to keep Lyse safe and even though he hated the idea, there was only one person he realized would be able to protect her.

As the elevator doors closed and the police descended with him into the building’s depths, Ken lifted his head, jaw tightening with cold fury.

"This isn’t over," he whispered.

And somewhere above, in the background of a room still echoing with the ghost of Edward’s last breath, the storm raged on.