Chapter 7 - THE MIDNIGHT THREAT
An hour later, the bridal suite was quiet.
Michael had returned, looking shaken after confronting Victoria, who had abruptly left the hotel in a rage.
“She wouldn’t look me in the eye,” Michael told Sarah, sitting on the edge of the chair.
“She kept saying Arthur was unstable.”
“She’s lying, Michael,” Arthur said, standing up with renewed strength.
“She’s been hiding behind lies for thirty years.”
“And she has millions of dollars of my family’s inheritance locked in a trust fund bearing Sarah’s real name.”
My ears perked up.
“A trust fund?” I asked.
“Yes,” Arthur nodded.
“Set up by my grandfather before he passed away.”
“It was supposed to go to Sarah on her twenty-fifth birthday.”
“Victoria forged my signature on the renunciation papers to steal the entire sum.”
Suddenly, the overhead lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then plunged into total darkness.
“A power outage?” Michael asked, standing up.
“No,” Arthur’s eyes widened with sudden horror.
“That’s not a power outage.”
Before anyone could move, the heavy oak door of the bridal suite splintered inward.
Heavy boots pounded across the carpet.
Two masked men dressed in black tactical gear burst into the room!
One of them pointed a heavy stun baton directly at Arthur’s chest.
“Get on the floor!” the first intruder roared.
“Stay back!” Michael shouted, lunging forward to protect Sarah.
The second intruder struck Michael across the temple with the butt of a heavy flashlight.
Michael collapsed unconscious onto the carpet with a dull thud.
“Michael!” Sarah screamed.
I grabbed a heavy porcelain lamp from the side table, preparing to swing.
The first intruder turned his weapon toward me.
“Drop the lamp, bridesmaid,” a cold, gravelly voice echoed from the hallway.
A third figure stepped through the broken doorframe.
May you like
Victoria.
Her hair was slightly disheveled, but her smile was venomous and triumphant.
