Chapter 8 - The Hidden Compartment
"Clara, go inside," Elena ordered sharply, her voice dropping an octave as she physically shielded her daughter from the man’s sudden, menacing posture.
"I'll wait by the back door, Mom," Clara said, turning and walking toward the house with an eerie, unhurried calm that made Elena’s stomach churn.
Miller watched the girl go, his jaw tightening slightly before he turned his attention back to Elena. The polite facade had completely dropped, revealing the raw, aggressive predator underneath. "Smart girl. Too bad she spends so much time listening to fairy tales about dead men. Let's make this simple, Mrs. Vance. You give me the combination to the desk safe in the study, and I make sure you and your daughter aren't caught in the middle of a federal audit that could strip away this house, your savings, and everything your father left behind."
"I don't have a safe combination," Elena lied, her voice shaking as she recalled her father’s frantic warning moments before he vanished. Something in my old desk drawer... a small leather-bound ledger hidden beneath the loose floorboard near the radiator.
"You're a terrible liar, Elena," Miller said, taking another step forward until he was standing uncomfortably close, his breath pluming in the cold air. "Your father was playing a very dangerous game before he checked out. And unless you want me to tear this house apart plank by plank while your daughter watches, you'll walk inside right now and hand over that ledger."
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Elena looked past Miller’s shoulder toward the patio door. Clara was standing on the threshold, holding the door wide open, her small hand pointing directly at the baseboard heater inside the study.
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