Chapter 5
Z
The darkness inside the mansion was suffocating, broken only by the sharp flashes of lightning outside the conservatory windows. I pressed my back against the cold cabinet doors, listening to the heavy footsteps of Daniel’s hired accomplice moving toward my grandmother's study.
Victoria was trembling beside me, her hands pressed over her mouth to stifle her terrified whimpers. I knew I couldn't stay hidden forever. Daniel knew the layout of the ground floor almost as well as I did, and if they reached the study, they would find the secondary master key to the hidden wall safe—where the original trust deeds and my grandmother's real jewelry were kept.
"Stay here," I whispered into Victoria's ear. "If you get a chance, run for the front driveway and get to the security guard's gatehouse."
Without waiting for her response, I slipped out from behind the island, staying low in the shadows. The floorboards beneath my feet were familiar; I knew every creak and groan of this house. I glided through the pantry, stepping silently onto the Persian rug in the formal hallway.
Ahead, a flashlight beam cut through the dark of the study. Daniel was inside, tearing through the wooden panels near the fireplace, while his accomplice stood guard at the doorway, holding a heavy iron crowbar.
"It has to be behind the portrait!" Daniel hissed, his voice laced with manic desperation. "She wouldn't keep the master key anywhere else! Hurry up, the security guards outside will realize the signal jammer is on in a few minutes!"
"You said this was gonna be an easy sweep, man," the accomplice grumbled. "If the cops show up—"
"Shut up!" Daniel snapped. "If I get those deeds and the secondary bearer bonds, we leave the country tonight. My mother is already waiting at the airstrip in New Jersey. Just break the panel!"
My blood ran cold. He wasn't just trying to rob me; he was planning to flee the country with my life savings, leaving me crippled by the forged debt he had created in my name.
I didn't hesitate. I reached over to the side table in the hallway, grabbed an expensive Venetian crystal vase, and threw it with all my strength toward the far end of the conservatory.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering glass exploded through the quiet house.
"What was that?!" the accomplice shouted, spinning around, his flashlight beam whipping across the hallway.
"It's her!" Daniel yelled. "Get her! Don't let her reach the driveway!"
The accomplice burst out of the study, charging toward the conservatory. As soon as he passed my hiding spot behind the heavy velvet drapes, I stepped out into the open and swung the brass candleholder with every ounce of force in my uninjured arm.
The solid metal struck the man squarely across the back of his knee. He let out a painful roar, collapsing heavily to the floor, his flashlight rolling away across the polished wood.
"Daniel!" he yelled, clutching his leg.
Before Daniel could react from inside the study, I grabbed the heavy brass candleholder, lunged forward, and slammed the heavy oak study door shut, throwing the antique brass bolt into place from the outside.
"Lena! Open this damn door!" Daniel screamed from inside, violently rattling the brass handle. "Open the door!"
"You're trapped, Daniel!" I shouted through the thick wood, my chest heaving as adrenaline surged through my veins. "The security team outside has backup landlines! The police are already on their way!"
"You think you've won?!" Daniel’s voice turned shrill, muffled by the heavy door. "My mother has the files, Lena! Even if I go down, she will release everything about your family’s estate! She will destroy your grandmother's legacy!"
"Your mother isn't at the airstrip, Daniel," a voice called out from the front entrance.
The emergency lights suddenly clicked back on, blindingly bright, as the mansion's backup generator roared to life. Standing in the foyer was Margaret Sloan, flanked by four armed state troopers and a woman in a sharp dark suit holding a federal badge.
The accomplice on the floor groaned, raising his hands in immediate surrender as two troopers pinned him to the ground.
Margaret walked over to me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright, Lena?"
"I'm fine," I breathed, dropping the candleholder. "What did you mean about Evelyn?"
The federal agent stepped forward, her badge gleaming under the chandelier lights. "Evelyn Montgomery was apprehended thirty minutes ago at a private marina in New Jersey attempting to board a charter boat. She had a briefcase full of forged bearer bonds, stolen trust assets, and three decades worth of illegal extortion documents. FBI Special Agent Vance. We've been tracking your husband's firm for six months."
I blinked in shock. "Agent Vance? Are you related to..."
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Victoria stepped out from the hallway shadows, a small, triumphant smile playing on her lips. "She's my aunt, Lena. I told you four years ago I would get justice for what they did to my family. We just needed Daniel and Evelyn to make a move big enough to involve federal jurisdiction."
From inside the locked study, Daniel began pounding furiously on the wood, his screams turning into desperate, terrified sobs as he realized the net had finally closed around him.
