Chapter 6: The Uninvited Guest
The moon hung heavy and pale above the slate roof of the Vance estate, casting long, skeletal shadows across the manicured lawns. Inside the grand foyer, the scene remained undisturbed; the broken picture frame still rested near the staircase where Grace had left it hours earlier. The house was dead silent, save for the faint, rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock and the occasional settling of old timber in the damp night air.
A soft click echoed near the rear service entrance. The heavy deadbolt slid back with barely a whisper of sound. Grace slipped into the dark kitchen like a phantom, her soft-soled shoes making no contact against the cold tile floor. Behind her, Thomas stepped inside, securing the door with a practiced, silent motion. They had chosen the old staff entrance—a blind spot in the modern security grid that Eleanor’s newly hired private firm had neglected to monitor.
Grace moved instinctively through the familiar corridors, her hand brushing against the paneled walls to guide her way in the pitch black. She wore a dark wool coat over her dress now, blending seamlessly into the cavernous shadows of the hallway. Her heart hammered against her ribs, but her mind remained razor-sharp, focused entirely on the heavy mahogany door of her father’s study at the far end of the east wing.
As she approached the study, a faint line of amber light spilled out from beneath the door frame. Someone was still inside.
She crept closer, pressing her back against the cool wood paneling just outside the entrance. The low murmur of voices drifted out into the hallway. Mark was speaking, his tone urgent and frayed at the edges.
"We can't just wait for the courts, Eleanor! The digital audit is running automatically. If those encrypted files sync to the external servers, we are both finished. Every cent we moved will be flagged by the federal investigators before the end of the week."
May you like
Eleanor’s voice replied, cool and dripping with disdain. "Calm down, Mark. The physical hard drives are locked in the floor safe beneath the desk, and the combination died with Arthur. Nobody can open it without the mechanical key, which is currently sitting at the bottom of the lake behind the boathouse."
Grace listened from the darkness, a grim smile touching the corners of her lips. They didn't know about the secondary wall safe behind the oil portrait of her grandfather.
