Chapter 5 - SIX O’CLOCK
Arthur evacuated the staff by four.
He told Elena there had been a gas leak reported beneath the property.
She laughed.
“A gas leak?”
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to leave my own house?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Arthur looked at her.
“Then stay.”
Elena’s confidence flickered.
At 5:10, she packed a small suitcase.
At 5:22, she left.
Rebecca watched from a security monitor.
“She’s driving east.”
“Follow her.”
“My people already are.”
Maria sat beside Lucas in a reinforced SUV parked two blocks away.
Arthur had wanted Lucas removed entirely.
Rebecca disagreed.
“If the threat is designed to force us out, they probably need access to the property.”
So they staged the evacuation.
By 5:45, the mansion appeared empty.
Arthur and Rebecca remained inside with two private security specialists.
At 5:58, nothing happened.
At 6:00, silence.
At 6:03, Arthur exhaled.
“Maybe it was a bluff.”
Rebecca held up one finger.
At 6:07, the security system went offline.
Every camera died.
Arthur’s blood ran cold.
“Power?”
“Still on.”
Rebecca opened her laptop.
“They killed the network.”
A noise came from downstairs.
Glass.
Breaking.
One of the security men moved toward the hallway.
Rebecca grabbed Arthur’s arm.
“Stay here.”
“This is my house.”
“And right now somebody else is treating it like a crime scene.”
Footsteps echoed from the lower floor.
Then another crash.
Arthur heard drawers opening.
Cabinets slamming.
“They’re searching.”
“For what?” he whispered.
Rebecca looked at the papers.
“Evidence.”
Arthur’s expression changed.
“The envelope.”
Maria had taken the originals with Lucas.
Rebecca nodded.
The footsteps reached the second floor.
Security intercepted the intruder outside Elena’s office.
A struggle erupted.
Arthur heard someone shout.
Then a body hit the wall.
Rebecca drew the legal firearm she carried under her jacket.
Seconds later, one security guard appeared.
“We have him.”
They found the intruder face-down on the carpet.
Male.
Early forties.
Black clothes.
Gloves.
A set of burglary tools beside him.
Arthur recognized him immediately.
“Victor?”
The man stopped struggling.
Rebecca looked at Arthur.
“You know him?”
Arthur stared in disbelief.
“Victor Shaw. He works in corporate security.”
Victor had been with Vance Meridian for seven years.
Rebecca crouched.
“Who sent you?”
Victor said nothing.
Arthur stepped closer.
“Look at me.”
Victor finally did.
“You worked for me for seven years.”
Still nothing.
“Who sent you into my house?”
Victor’s eyes shifted.
Not toward Arthur.
Toward Elena’s office.
Rebecca saw it.
She opened the office.
They searched for twenty minutes.
At first they found nothing.
Then Arthur noticed a picture frame on Elena’s desk had been moved.
Behind it was a small wall panel.
A hidden safe.
Arthur stared.
“I didn’t install that.”
Rebecca forced it open.
Inside were prepaid phones, passports under multiple names, stacks of cash and a flash drive.
Arthur picked up one passport.
Elena Hart.
Another.
Elena Foster.
Then a third document.
A birth certificate.
Lucas Vance.
Arthur’s hands stopped.
“What the hell?”
Rebecca took it.
The document appeared genuine.
But under “Mother,” the name wasn’t Rachel Vance.
It read:
Elena Marie Hart.
Arthur stared at it.
“That’s impossible.”
Rebecca turned toward Victor.
Victor closed his eyes.
Arthur grabbed his shirt.
“What is this?”
Victor finally spoke.
“You don’t understand what they’re doing.”
“Then explain it.”
Victor looked toward the birth certificate.
“Monday was never just about the trust.”
Arthur’s grip tightened.
“What else happens Monday?”
Victor swallowed.
“They planned to prove Lucas isn’t Rachel’s son.”
May you like
Arthur froze.
“And after that,” Victor said, “Elena was going to claim the boy as hers.”
